"I don't know what specific psychology is at work, but it serves a tactical purpose for him and his allies by muddying the water and contributing to the widespread cynicism in American life that leads people to think everyone is corrupt and there's nothing to be done about it."

#Trump #Biden #impeachment #Republicans
/2


"Trump instinctively projects his own shortcomings and problems on his enemies and then attacks them which is what he's doing with the 'Biden Crime Family' thing."

~ Heather Digby Parton

#Trump #Biden #impeachment #Republicans
/1

https://www.salon.com/2023/09/13/kevin-mccarthy-secures-payback--but-at-what-cost/


Texas is Number One! In book bans among US states, that is — with 93 attempts to restrict access to over 2,300 books in 2022. The laserlike focus of the bans: books teaching Black history or respect for Black culture and books dealing with LGBTQ people or themes.

#Texas #BookBans #censorship #education #libraries

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/14/texas-most-book-bans-2022


Joyce Vance also reports today on the tortoise-like pace at which Judge Cannon is handling her Trump case in contrast to the hare-like pace of the Georgia cases. She states,

"There is no reason for Judge Cannon’s delay. The conflict issue needs to be resolved, once raised. Taveras offers evidence of obstruction of justice against both Nauta and De Oliveira. Might they decide to cooperate against Trump if a lawyer lays it out to them straight? Tick tock."

#AileenCannon

https://joycevance.substack.com/p/the-tortoise-and-the-hare-of-criminal


David Kurtz reports that, though Aileen Cannon finally did something in Florida, there's this:

"1) The government had been poised since mid-July to turn over classified discovery to Trump but Cannon’s lack of a ruling stalled that discovery production for more than two months; and 2) Cannon still hasn’t scheduled a hearing on the government’s Garcia motion to address the conflicts of interest of two defense counsel.

The clock keeps ticking."

#AileenCannon #Trump
/1

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo/aileen-cannon-protective-order-mar-a-lago


As Parker Molloy notes, parents of trans young folks organized by the group Fight for the Future just sent the US Senate a letter which states,

"To the US Senate and all organizations supporting the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA):

We write to you as the parents of transgender kids to ask you to please not put our children in further danger by advancing dangerous and misguided legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA.)"

#children #trans

https://www.readtpa.com/p/parents-of-trans-kids-urge-the-us


“The Trump years unleashed the willingness of many who call themselves Christian to lie about all manner of things if it meant achieving their goals, one of which seems to be the eradication of queer people, especially if they’re people of color, poor, old, disabled and disenfranchised.”

#evangelicals #churches #WhiteChristianNationalism #LGBTQ #homophobia #Trump
/3


“The church has no problem telling lies if it works to advance their political ambitions, and we see now the extent of Christian nationalist desire for a theocracy rooted in white supremacist, patriarchal values which have nothing to do with the gospel and everything to do with power."

~ Susan Shaw

#evangelicals #churches #WhiteChristianNationalism #LGBTQ #homophobia
/2

https://baptistnews.com/article/at-awab-lecture-susan-shaw-lays-out-10-lies-christians-tell-about-queer-people/


"It’s no coincidence that there is such a high correlation between states that overwhelmingly voted for Trump and states with low educational achievement scores. The states ranked worst in education are the same states where evangelical churches are most likely to preach political religion from the pulpit."

~ Alexander Lang

#Trump #evangelicals #WhiteChristianNationalism

https://baptistnews.com/article/christian-nationalism-how-evangelical-christianity-became-a-political-religion/


Tori Otten reports on a new poll conducted by ChangeResearch which finds that, in the 18–34 in age group, 64% of women are politically left of center, as are 86% of trans and nonbinary people. Just 39% of men identify as liberal or progressive.

Want to know who's driving the Republican-Trumpian attempt to break democracy as it appears democracy no longer serves Those Who Count?

This. 👆🏼

#gender #GenderRoles #patriarchy #MaleEntitlement

https://newrepublic.com/post/175556/poll-men-women-red-flags-dating


"The gerrymandering alone undermines Wisconsin’s status as a democracy. If a majority of the people cannot, under any realistic circumstances, elect a legislative majority of their choosing, then it’s hard to say whether they actually govern themselves."

~ Jamelle Bouie

#Trump #Republicans #democracy #BigLie #authoritarianism #gerrymandering
/3


"The removal of a judge who threatens the existing power structure by calling for more democratic representation is the sort of things we associate with authoritarian regimes. And now we associate it with Wisconsin."

#Trump #Republicans #democracy #BigLie #authoritarianism
/2


"Wisconsin was the pre-Trump canary in the coal mine, alerting us to the undemocratic depths to which the GOP would descend. The state’s Republicans then became bolder following Trump’s Big Lie example."

~ Don Moynihan

#Trump #Republicans #democracy #BigLie #authoritarianism

https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/wisconsin-republicans-authoritarian-power


"And Trump’s attempts to threaten and coerce election officials into breaking the law to overturn the will of the voters are at least as serious as those for which his shock troops are being locked up.

Could it be that the most lawless of presidents will, like many of those around him, be brought down by, of all things, the rule of law? That’s beginning to look like a real possibility."

#Trump #crime #criminal #LawandOrder #InmateP01135809 #BigLie #insurrection
/2


"Trump’s defenses are cracking, his vulnerability has deepened. The evidence of his guilt in the crimes for which he’s been charged are seemingly as solid as that which led to lengthy prison terms for Tarrio, Rhodes, and their brethren."

~ Bill Lueders

#Trump #crime #criminal #LawandOrder #InmateP01135809 #BigLie #insurrection
/1

https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/a-time-for-consequences


"Poverty has shot upwards because we as a nation (through our representatives in Congress) decided to eliminate a relatively modest monthly bump in federal support — $250 to $300 per month for households with children."

#ChildPoverty #children
/3


"Not an economic depression. Not a huge increase in the numbers of people unemployed. In fact, employment is high.

The reason, according to the Census Bureau, is the refusal by Congress to renew the enhanced child tax credit that was developed during the Covid-19 pandemic. That expiration was a policy choice."

#ChildPoverty #children
/2


"The United States has just experienced the largest spike in child poverty since the current models for measuring economic distress were developed in 2009. All of the record gains made against child poverty over the previous two years have been erased.

The reason for this extraordinary rise in poverty? Not the pandemic. Not a vicious recession."

~ Robert Reich

#ChildPoverty #children
/1

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/new-proof-that-poverty-is-a-policy


"We can say the facts as they are plain: that Donald Trump is a singularly corrupt figure, that the Republican party is controlled by extremists, and that this new impeachment effort is an inquiry in search of a subject, a pretext and a fishing expedition. There simply is no equivalence between the ways that Trump routinely abuses his power and the misdeeds of any other politician. No number of press conferences will change that."

~ Moira Donegan

#Trump #Biden

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/13/the-republicans-impeachment-inquiry-into-biden-is-laughably-cynical


nostr:npub1383k9kcwt0lf8lv0l3fazalus8cky635l8282qacn64wr6rlvedqe7frpr Unfortunately, it seems some 40% of Americans are inclined to let those things sway them.


nostr:npub1m9qhl6ete4zl8563s2us4r0xkdnv2fypnd2qfgr4nzwdz2yxplkq9v7ssd nostr:npub147pt4jrpsjvh7nsh9azc07usqzd89qxsyptq000ylqjehcfznlwqzjlnth That was, one has to admit, a clever retort!


nostr:npub1qqlvz9rl664djwa20gz9g9gar8us3c2hw5xurwv9lt24855je0sqy7nkgv Thank you. I'm sorry you had to live with those things, too. I think I've pretty much put most of this behind me. I hope that having lived through those experiences as a child, I learned to be less inclined to inflict pain on others and more inclined to compassion.


nostr:npub1njyd8x8tkzhyjvqlx7hmdfxz3wuzmux0un4njy9vnexzqng65aksst5n46 Well-described. I agree. KoC is essentially a Catholic arm of the Republican party after Carl Anderson's tenure as Supreme Knight.


nostr:npub147pt4jrpsjvh7nsh9azc07usqzd89qxsyptq000ylqjehcfznlwqzjlnth nostr:npub1m9qhl6ete4zl8563s2us4r0xkdnv2fypnd2qfgr4nzwdz2yxplkq9v7ssd Thanks for helping me understand more about Maine politics.


"Yes, Senator. Your party is full of bigots and fools and angry, insecure white heterosexual goobers who, I assure you, if you begin to show a little momentum in the polls, will have no compunction about saying that you're Black...and gay."

~ Charles Pierce

#TimScott #Republicans #homophobia #heterosexism #racism

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a45122562/tim-scott-single-washington-post/


nostr:npub1qsnh0yuxdxjkg95mvhuzqt8znzr9gqpcu5ufs2m8ep98k3azpa7sf6prlr I have no great fondness or admiration for Sykes, but I'm willing to highlight critiques of what the Republican party has made of itself even from its longtime fellow travelers who really need to be ashamed of what they helped set into motion.


nostr:npub1m9qhl6ete4zl8563s2us4r0xkdnv2fypnd2qfgr4nzwdz2yxplkq9v7ssd nostr:npub147pt4jrpsjvh7nsh9azc07usqzd89qxsyptq000ylqjehcfznlwqzjlnth That's quite a story. I think that drug dealing may be invisible in some neighborhoods precisely because it's a white enterprise. I say that as someone who moved into my house in 1997, only to discover a few years later that there was a methadone house down the block, with dealers coming and going constantly and no one noticing. It all blew up — literally — when an apartment in the house blew up.


nostr:npub147pt4jrpsjvh7nsh9azc07usqzd89qxsyptq000ylqjehcfznlwqzjlnth nostr:npub1m9qhl6ete4zl8563s2us4r0xkdnv2fypnd2qfgr4nzwdz2yxplkq9v7ssd Yes, I remember LePage, and how I so often wondered how someone of his ilk got elected in Maine. I recall his wild allegations that nearby states were busing "outsiders" into Maine to vote — and the thinly veiled racism of those allegations and his anti-drug rants. Maine is interesting in that it can produce someone of the caliber of Heather Cox Richardson — then vote hatefully to yank away the right of same-sex marriage.


nostr:npub1p909ckm807jmz6e272p4km0ar0e2ea4wkyys3rgpqnp7sc8mgpfq6n5svf Clever wordplay, for sure. Took me a moment to find it!


nostr:npub1w5vpr5y9ky9juusa3cawd6cqsz70y5escn7yfqnzfjpjpkwjgurssn79f9 Yes to everything you say here!


nostr:npub1h930lrespk6s9wg29fuy7w0f9fc58sfv8uv8r9uaeus8azxt8gzsg2rjpx Yes, I agree.


nostr:npub1fxmqftqvyw4ndxghsax5zgtquvm6cujym5urwqpu7an96km3nyns07guxz Interestingly enough, I had that very conversation just this morning with a friend who's in my age range (I'm 73 and he's 72) who said he just can't bear the thought of spending his final days in a country run by the Republicans — and they will run it for as long as possible if Trump regains power — and he's wondering what alternatives he has, where he can go.


nostr:npub10d24k240muv385aznymt7w0y7nzrv3xrhys4f8razfdzajqszqjs7vfy4f Yes, that's my point — and I grew up in a white suburb, too, so I share that perspective.


nostr:npub10rplu9aqatn6990numd7qwpq2dcmnmgx5g9ssnm5j8z5z3uwy32sxj0ulh Shill for Trump if you wish. I don't intend to use my time and energy in that way — but you do you, please.


Just as you can count on night following day, you can count on Ms. Boebert, a self-proclaimed white Christian nationalist, always to keep it classy.

And why even notice such appalling behavior? Well, there's the inconvenient claim to represent Christian values in a stellar and exemplary way, for one thing. And there's the example her behavior sets (and normalizes) for everyone else.

#Boebert #WhiteChristianNationalist

https://newrepublic.com/post/175530/watch-video-lauren-boebert-kicked-out-beetlejuice


~ Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism, on how the right-wing conspiracy-fest in the US is getting more bloodthirsty than ever, and it behooves the rest of us to pay attention

#RightWing #Republicans #ReligiousRise #racism #WhiteSupremacy #violence #WhiteChristianNationalism

https://newrepublic.com/article/175514/reawaken-america-political-violence-conference

https://files.toad.social/media_attachments/files/111/058/669/305/375/280/original/ba143e81bbf42f9a.jpg

https://files.toad.social/media_attachments/files/111/058/669/743/296/037/original/f86d2dcc37e64a94.jpg


nostr:npub1m9qhl6ete4zl8563s2us4r0xkdnv2fypnd2qfgr4nzwdz2yxplkq9v7ssd nostr:npub147pt4jrpsjvh7nsh9azc07usqzd89qxsyptq000ylqjehcfznlwqzjlnth That's my impression as someone who hasn't actually met a drug dealer, but who knows a number of people who buy illegal drugs.


nostr:npub19det76duhykfkxztuwfm8unvfyr2hvfkmzgtfhdvalln0em98nusmrynwy So it seems.


nostr:npub147pt4jrpsjvh7nsh9azc07usqzd89qxsyptq000ylqjehcfznlwqzjlnth Yes, from Reagan's ugly racist rhetoric about welfare queens and lazy "bucks" — some of it delivered right in Philadelphia, Mississippi, whose significance he knew well — through Atwater, Gingrich, the whole Southern campaign, there has been a relentless attempt of the Republican party to make people think black and brown when they think welfare. When the facts tell us something entirely different….


nostr:npub1g80cek0539j5awn0pctr9acsce6e7zm9nerqdentqajgdznjun5qyc8spd I think that the Democratic party has been shamefully slow to respond proactively to the attack on the judicial system.


nostr:npub16a63nsfz465nndfakqdtjl4qhm9a6cw2980yr4mgjr9u35v82nzq338qn5 Why sorry?


nostr:npub1q08tcadaaqqukfv654je90gx7jf0am4c3r4wdzl73ju7kerz5s6qlldl5j Yes, acknowledging other drivers with some kind of hand motion is considered polite in a lot of rural areas, but would seem crazy to folks in rural areas. I find that, in my not-so-large mid-South city (Little Rock, AR, USA) it is still considered polite to say hello as you pass strangers walking in the park or on sidewalks, but some people who apparently now want to appear "sophisticated" will not return a greeting — and are simply rude, as far as I'm concerned, not sophisticated.


nostr:npub1drcfyzwlfku08h973sehg27trygtdsxxkhdg5ay9crly34slxjksr9s7v5 nostr:npub1mfq6yq3gmhs8wy5gvynwpjh4xmua4rh80tegxv8rjuf3kpukk95swcfur3 Happens to the best of us!


nostr:npub1l747g0w0983cvtmk4vs88ddr2dwc6emwx9agz7297srrzvsu9ecs6nfjfv Amen.


nostr:npub1nmx0rknn3u3dp5c587wmw8xht2025mja62487kmh95ppsdanr34s4ahr5v Yes, we're told often now that the media are now hyper-correcting after they called 2016 wrong. But I think Nate Cohn's flat statement that he's somewhere between a libertarian and a liberal tells us a lot about his own specific commitments and motives that go well beyond the post-2016 "correction" process.


nostr:npub1m6n54fjleyce5yt5sgxmzucc42tg3dwjh7cc2zpt0d5acaylsxesjz0eqx Sure — Trump makes just as much sense as Biden, is just as good of a leader as Biden, is just as trustworthy as Biden.

In some bizarro world inhabited by knaves and fools, that is to say….


nostr:npub1uglf38as3syyjpu67f6eaakhgvxpxhz8ekqstw3294ny7xwf8m5q2hwx5l Thank you for pointing me to him. I need to read the links you provided, and am very grateful for them. Thanks for helping to educate me.


nostr:npub19d6klswjsj9m97aymyv8del3d3jg3fe4w6mrjz6ue9h5qfw5hhssz0jr8q nostr:npub1hq5k0yyd2k0q23s26c2xp3r4l2gvwamm8yedrdgzurp9ytpkrj5sh6qqsd Touché.


nostr:npub1pt39wfsr6rt9p3cmtpzwhu3m6223rgk35ltexyzt4hlvpd9hr4kqcsj6kw You're absolutely right. Disingenuous is a great word to apply here.


nostr:npub1qqlvz9rl664djwa20gz9g9gar8us3c2hw5xurwv9lt24855je0sqy7nkgv Yes, this is a recurring theme in literature about intrafamilial abuse: even when it is initiated by the father, as it often is, the mother quite often shields the father and does not protect her own children.


nostr:npub1hj3a8jlgklaad922vks2va668avkhj702avhcfcl38m05skt4e8qzlxjlz Don't you think it's a predictable development that movements based in a charismatic leader and her or his enigmatic sayings will, over time, hear those sayings differently and see the leader differently, and split into various groups? That seems predictable to me.


nostr:npub1dvqm66yjpu5rsvncxzs03wtn9jflnjr93yzhktrrxdm30qlm253qpvuxak No place good, I'd say.


nostr:npub10d24k240muv385aznymt7w0y7nzrv3xrhys4f8razfdzajqszqjs7vfy4f But doesn't dominance often go with being blissfully unaware, as one takes one's cultural hegemony for granted as "natural" or even divinely ordained?


nostr:npub1w47hnjukvf66wj284cpkehpcd8spkht4r0sm9d4nzflu6fv8d6ps38mj88 I hope so. I have a personal connection to these stories in that I'm married to a Minnesotan — together now 50+ years — and some of his family roots lay in Wisconsin prior to the family's move to Wisconsin. States with a fascinating political history, and in the case of his family in this generation, these are right-wing Catholic Minnesotans who are bitterly opposed to the Democratic party.


nostr:npub1wspe7uh3tv90ff6ql6uh52ktp2l4p33xh0nsmq5zkmn50h90668q2njysc She certainly seems central to this impeachment drama — this sham — though the exact role she's playing seems less than clear.


nostr:npub1sac955537xel5vs9a2r5knejhkq2l9vljj5agsgwa90pj20xf3xqhxapc0 I very much agree.


nostr:npub1h930lrespk6s9wg29fuy7w0f9fc58sfv8uv8r9uaeus8azxt8gzsg2rjpx Yes, I think that's more powerful among their motives than many folks want to see or admit.


nostr:npub1mef23773cpvd3pkaytu7snxch7sluudf4sqy654rzcud4zu6dtcq7x8v63 I agree.


nostr:npub1mdkyjchm0jly49hfz3yh4awjuy9v86gk9ycp4k0cmcspr4xpal2stjtw9v I am, too.


nostr:npub1ffs57jmd4hjlsd5f0c35wrw8pc790w7fxwewd5qxgw8zxvplcy5q06en00 Yes — the most credulous, simple minded fools, and the most morally vacuous.


nostr:npub12nauvzcqjf8gns5449m3auwhv6mkkwm2wkjspndzef0m3sthtc7qtmku5m I agree!


nostr:npub1ezxuyey29gdneq8qqva23f6ktz83nws3l38vvd0mdw2tsey4lmqq0y74mr That's a central problem here, isn't it, the profit motive? Not to mention the irresponsibility.


nostr:npub1cgs99f3vhylueaj8t380t9r8qnlhtjqqrk0tjzyg2gryrv79a5csex0c0v nostr:npub1sac955537xel5vs9a2r5knejhkq2l9vljj5agsgwa90pj20xf3xqhxapc0 You're right.


nostr:npub1k75ft59wnvep7hxpdg0e3l85e4eu8sphv8dtpw6s07zkj6m3vcwsmep956 Definitely needs to be radically changed, it seems to me.


nostr:npub1cx6wm9mcs9yaxr9m3hpp66qrgqlq43am4c2xapzy8qe5elus7dds5ja3tc Yes.


nostr:npub1t00l79rzats4sqw66utxup5qwxpymkhkca53y9nkc3jpf0dkp2fs5s8lrn Indeed.


nostr:npub1erfutpq7a03np0qksr6phspf95cc77chwsqjutwdmjqas95gj9rsazvzyk Perhaps. I think his age is being exaggerated, myself, and find it telling that Trump, who is only three years younger and is in obviously much less robust health, is not subjected to this treatment.


nostr:npub1554hvhvwdlef73t24cqrk4l3c7as0erwtxas07yq3m6cx8auxwsqemrx00 Yes, I think that's how the word's meant to function rhetorically. And PRRI's research has found repeatedly that a very large percentage of white US Christians hanker for the "again" of the 1950s, which they imagine as a golden era in which they were on top and everyone else knew their place. They are perhaps the biggest consumers of this Trumpian rhetoric.


nostr:npub1sqpl08wa7dcdyr2lp9myzl64rx26vf44h8wtsdr9vyaaj9m3z48qyfpmmt Yes and no, it seems to me. Yes, all media are owned by oligarchs who have a less than admirable agenda vis-a-vis democracy. But there's surely a qualitative difference between, say, Fox News and the Washington Post.


nostr:npub1v0qkt7talz9vkmmmgfaa3r0arlf72r4jgczz7vsxrksrkcyy5npssnlla7 Thank you.


nostr:npub1ex328w5w0hjweznw8t6f9epk5w5xy4ak6kzyc7y93lfjtelxuymsk9c58j I agree. And now the Republicans show signs of backing down, which seems to indicate that they know they have royally beclowned themselves and befouled their nest with these antics.


nostr:npub1yxl9ef55xmm8pkxj4tx2kvydtvk2jqt0k5vamgzq28x0x5tzus7qe5sup8 These access mavens could not disgust me more.


nostr:npub1lgmezr02rtw7hq70amz5y6uw0mdaxhulw3r882j8g7c5wur3750sm9npu0 I do think there's a new factor — the omnipresence of social media and the internet. This raises the warfare by lies to a whole new level.


nostr:npub19cr8a8l46vj3ymuv2ja4x543gp8ncmvk5xlqvvxssp2lzlw6ax0sgnqyum Yes, would be hard for anyone else to humiliate the man more than he has humiliated himself.


nostr:npub1w5vpr5y9ky9juusa3cawd6cqsz70y5escn7yfqnzfjpjpkwjgurssn79f9 I hear you. At the same time, hilarious, isn't it?


nostr:npub1w47hnjukvf66wj284cpkehpcd8spkht4r0sm9d4nzflu6fv8d6ps38mj88 I wholheartedly agree.


nostr:npub16qptyvc6446hu66ahlluvymv7eu9f4q32e567d7mxqk7l5acu4wqz2u0e9 Excellent. You're exactly right, and put the point so well.


nostr:npub1v86usnn08gayn70ujzu2n3pp6a6ge8z8098v728tt7ygqdahj0gsex4dlg I'm all in favor of a proactive response, and have resumed all my precautions in recent weeks, from masking to avoiding gatherings. I suspect we will not see much government action of any kind, however. They choose to pretend it's all over.


nostr:npub147pt4jrpsjvh7nsh9azc07usqzd89qxsyptq000ylqjehcfznlwqzjlnth You're right, there's that. Folks  like Manchin always want us to imagine Black faces when we hear the word "drugs," but the addiction problem in the white population in many areas of the country and notably in Appalachia is horrendous.


"As the GOP has become increasingly authoritarian and anti-democracy, Republicans have become increasingly committed to undermining and mocking forms of democratic accountability. A nakedly partisan and clownish impeachment is useful because it signals to voters that all impeachments are clown shows, and all impeachments are partisan. That exculpates former President Donald Trump and delegitimizes resistance to him should he win the presidency again."

#Republicans #impeachment #democracy
/2


"Republicans have openly admitted that their efforts to impeach President Joe Biden — which will begin in earnest this week as House members return to DC from summer break — are in bad faith. They don’t just want to tarnish Biden. They want to tarnish the impeachment process itself."

~ Noah Berlatsky

#Republicans #impeachment #democracy #PoliticsofDistraction #PoliticalTheater #ClownShow
/1

https://www.publicnotice.co/p/house-republicans-biden-impeachment-23-explained


"It [i.e., the cynical Republican impeachment sham] is of course laughable and a disgraceful abuse of power while also being potentially effective, so long as the DC press corps lives up to GOP’s quite-low expectations. So far so good on that front. Political journalism still isn’t up to this task."

~ David Kurtz

#impeachment #Republicans #McCarthy #MediaFail

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo/climate-change-property-insurance-bubble


V"ladimir Putin could barely contain his excitement Tuesday while discussing Donald Trump, telling a forum in Vladivostok that the criminal cases against the former president are 'good' for Russia and that the Kremlin took delight in Trump’s claim he’d swiftly force an end to Moscow’s war against Ukraine."

~ Allison Quinn

#Trump #Putin #Russia #Ukraine #Republicans

https://news.yahoo.com/putin-goes-full-maga-welcomes-141148452.html


"Trump not only needs the impeachment as a weapon of mass distraction, but also as an instrument of moral flattening. If everyone is a crook, no one is a crook. If everyone is impeached, then impeachment is no longer a badge of shame.

His own legal nightmare? Four indictments? Ninety-one felony charges? Whatabout Hunter’s laptop?"

~ Charlie Sykes

#Trump #impeachment #Republicans #PoliticalTheater #PoliticsofDistraction #ClownShow

https://morningshots.thebulwark.com/p/flooding-the-zone


"Not only is the [Alabama] legislature knowingly violating the Voting Rights Act and multiple federal court orders directing it to create two (not one) majority-black voting districts. But in a new and troubling low for Republicans, the state’s GOP lawmakers have also openly and admittedly flouted a June 8, 2023 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court holding that two black districts, not one, are required by law."

~ Kimberly Wehle

#Alabama #LawandOrder #racism #Republicans

https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/alabama-republicans-lawless-lawmakers


"Fantasies of secession or forming new states through ballot measures and social movements are becoming more and more attractive to the militaristic-fanatic wing of the populist far right. These dreams represent an abdication of politics itself, and the cynical use of the public commemoration of the lives lost on 9/11 just adds to the shame of it all."

~ Joe Perticone

Looking at you, Marjorie Taylor Greene.

#MarjorieTaylorGreene #CivilWar #violence

https://presspass.thebulwark.com/p/new-mexico-govs-gun-order-attacked


"Capitalism is an insecurity machine. It depends on all of us being insecure to amass power and profits. And we need something different."

~ Astra Taylor

#capitalism #insecurity

https://www.democracynow.org/2023/9/12/astra_taylor_loan_forbearance_student_debt


"The roots of McCarthy’s problem go back to his decision to bring Greene into leadership in the first place, granting her a platform and his public trust in exchange for her support for his Speakership. It’s a bit like dating a crazy person in order to get in nice with her family."

#McCarthy #MarjorieTaylorGreene #Republicans
/2


Jay Kuo's commentary on Kevin McCarthy's (self-made) predicament is worth reading for the title alone:

"Kevin McCarthy Made His Bed. And Marjorie Taylor Greene Is In It."

#McCarthy #MarjorieTaylorGreene #Republicans
/1

https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/kevin-mccarthy-made-his-bed-and-marjorie


"I don’t, yet, have the stomach to write up the shittiness of the Hill reporting on Kevin McCarthy’s embrace of James Comer’s wet dreams of dick pics and SARs.

Suffice it to say access merchants like Jake Sherman are transcribing Big Kev’s preordained decision to back impeachment without mentioning that he is supporting an inquiry because he has no evidence of wrongdoing on Biden’s part, a constitutional abomination."

~ Marci Wheeler

#McCarthy #impeachment #MediaFail

https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/09/12/as-kevin-mccarthy-embraces-james-comers-wet-dreams-of-dick-pics-george-santos-discusses-paths-forward/


Lucian K. Truscott suggests that we're seeing now an effective new way of conducting warfare, as nations like China spread lies and disinformation about the Maui fires — an attack campaign modeled on what Russia did to the US in the 2016 elections.

I think this new way of waging warfare needs to be noted and needs to be called what it is — a kind of war. But attention also needs to be given to why so many Americans are eager to swallow lies.

#China #disinformation

https://luciantruscott.substack.com/p/what-will-world-war-iii-look-like


As Patrick Lenton reports today, 16 of 16 complaints filed have been knocked down by New Zealand's Media Council, which finds that if neo-Nazis attend a rally and routinely follow an anti-trans activist, it's perfectly legitimate for the media to note and report about that.

#trans #Nazis #PosieParker #NewZealand
/2


When anti-trans activist Posie Parker staged a rally in New Zealand back in March and the media reported that, as per usual, neo-Nazis, who support her and attend her rallies, were present at a rally in Melbourne and gave Nazi salutes, complaints were filed.

The complaints alleged that the media had been unfair. Some folks did not want reporting on Parker's connection to neo-Nazis.

#trans #Nazis #PosieParker #NewZealand
/1

https://heterosexualnonsense.substack.com/p/nz-media-regulators-say-its-perfectly


"Senator Joe Manchin joined with Republicans to kill the childcare tax credit because Manchin reportedly believed that caregivers were using the money to purchase illegal drugs. A new study by the US Census Bureau released on Tuesday reports that child poverty nearly doubled as a result of the termination of benefits by Manchin and the GOP."

~ Robert B. Hubbell

Not to be forgotten: Manchin is a pro-life Catholic, a Knight of Columbus.

#Manchin #ChildPoverty

https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/mccarthys-sham-impeachment-inquiry


"Vladimir Putin is the last person any American politician should want as a political cheerleader. But on Tuesday, Putin went out of his way to amplify Trump's claims that he is being persecuted by his political adversary, Joe Biden."

~ Robert B. Hubbell

#Trump #Putin

https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/mccarthys-sham-impeachment-inquiry


"Quite simply, Protasiewicz’s victory represents an existential threat to the Wisconsin Republican Party because there are now two lawsuits challenging their gerrymandered maps. Though the state Supreme Court has not even yet said it will take either of the cases, Republicans are terrified their stranglehold on the state will be loosened."

~ Lisa Needham

#Wisconsin #Republicans #democracy #Protasiewicz #impeachment

https://www.publicnotice.co/p/protasiewicz-wisconsin-impeachment-explained


Kim Wehle says today

"THE REPUBLICAN-DOMINATED ALABAMA LEGISLATURE is hellbent on constraining the black (read: Democratic) vote in that state—and on doing it illegally."

That's absolutely correct.

And on the very same day two of New York Times' biggest BS artists (BS = both sides), David Leonhardt and Nate Cohn spin a fable about how people of color increasingly vote Republican and white people are votingn more liberal.

Which is total BS.

#race #politics #Alabama

https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/alabama-republicans-lawless-lawmakers


"What do you do when your candidate is twice impeached and four times indicted? Apparently, MAGA Republicans will do anything to try and make it look like the score is even ahead of the general election. So here we are."

~ Joyce Vance

#Republicans #Trump #crime #impeachment #theater #distraction #ClownShow

https://joycevance.substack.com/p/impeachment-and-recusal


"A new liberal tilt to the court is driving Republican fears of losing their large legislative majorities, which were built under some of the most gerrymandered political maps in the country."

#Wisconsin #Republicans #gerrymandering #democracy
/2


"Wisconsin Republicans have enjoyed outsize control of the Legislature in one of the most closely divided states for a dozen years. Maintaining that power is now at the heart of a drama involving the state Supreme Court that has national political implications."

~ Scott Bauer and David A. Lieb

#Wisconsin #Republicans #gerrymandering #democracy
/1

https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-supreme-court-impeachment-republicans-gerrymandering-legislature-21fc8c3cf99623a379cbf4dd01ed0b8c


"White men have controlled women’s reproductive rights throughout US history. The post-Dobbs era is no different.
This is not the first period in U.S. history when white men have exercised control over women’s right to bear – or not bear – children, including during slavery."

~ Rodney Coates

#men #race #women #abortion #WomensRights

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/white-men-have-controlled-womens-reproductive-rights-throughout-us-history-the-post-dobbs-era-is-no-different


"As the GOP has become increasingly authoritarian and anti-democracy, Republicans have become increasingly committed to undermining and mocking forms of democratic accountability. A nakedly partisan and clownish impeachment is useful because it signals to voters that all impeachments are clown shows, and all impeachments are partisan. That exculpates former President Donald Trump and delegitimizes resistance to him should he win the presidency again."

#Republicans #impeachment #Biden
/2


"Republicans have openly admitted that their efforts to impeach President Joe Biden — which will begin in earnest this week as House members return to DC from summer break — are in bad faith. They don’t just want to tarnish Biden. They want to tarnish the impeachment process itself."

~ Noah Berlatsky

#Republicans #impeachment #Biden #democracy
/1

https://www.publicnotice.co/p/house-republicans-biden-impeachment-23-explained


"It appears from the record that, prior to this game-changing decision [to turn off his satellites and thwart a Ukraininan military operation], Musk held talks with Russian officials about the war."

#ElonMusk #Russia #Ukraine #LoganAct
/2


"Musk was not only wrong in his strategic assessment, he was interfering in the military operations of a U.S. ally in a time of war. This could amount to a violation of the Logan Act, an old and rarely invoked law which prohibits U.S. citizens from negotiating or communicating without authorization with any foreign governments about U.S. foreign policy or disputes."

~ Jay Kuo

#ElonMusk #Russia #Ukraine #LoganAct
/1

https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/the-week-ahead-38b?


"Phantom-docket cases have allowed the court’s conservative majority to rewrite precedents while avoiding any immediate real-world consequences of their rulings. Yet even by those standards, Kennedy’s case might be the most phantasmal of them all."

It's impossible to believe that the right-wing bloc controlling the Supremes do not know these cases are frequently based on outright lies. Treating them seriously dishonors the court.

#Florida #prayer #SupremeCourt #JoeKennedy #ReligiousRight
/3


As Matt Ford notes, this case was one of an increasing number of "phantom docket" cases the right-wing block controlling the US Supreme Court increasingly take to advance the agenda of the religious right — made-up cases about nonexistent "persecution" of "religious" people.He writes,

"These might be more simply described as fake: They rest upon nebulous theories of standing, hypothetical injuries, and right-wing causes célèbre."

#Florida #prayer #SupremeCourt #JoeKennedy #ReligiousRight
/2


"Ageism is one of the last acceptable prejudices, 'so ingrained in our culture that we often don’t even notice,' according to the American Psychological Association.

Because of ageism, women in the spotlight must wear a ton of makeup to appear youthful, while men can age naturally without worrying about looking old."

~ Mary Mitchell

#ageism #Biden #Trump

https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2023/9/8/23863029/ageism-biden-age-starting-over


As is being widely reported now, Republicans have shot themselves in the feet by capturing the Supreme Court and using its right-wing Catholic bloc to rip away from women the right of abortion.

As Tori Otten reports, they're now facing a branding problem vis-a-vis abortion, and it's a difficult one, since they have for so long relied on calling themselves the "pro-life" party.

When they're anything but that…. And now the mask is off.

#abortion #Republicans #ProLife

https://newrepublic.com/post/175455/republicans-new-term-pro-life-losing-elections


As Reuters reports, Supreme Court Justice Alito has refused to recuse himself from "a tax case that involves an attorney who interviewed him for a newspaper article and helped him "air his personal grievances."

A reminder: Alito is Catholic. So is Thomas. So is Roberts, who refuses to hold either justice accountable for unethical behavior.

The US Catholic bishops have rattled their sabers at Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden.

#SupremeCourt #Alito #ethics #corruption
/1

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/sep/08/samuel-alito-supreme-court-recusal-tax-case


Joy Reid then puts on the screen a polling finding of Jones' PRRI, which asked (2023) Americans to respond to this statement:

"God intended American to be a promised land where European Christians could create a society that would be an example to the rest of the world."

Onlyn 30% of Americans agree. But 52% of Republicans and 56% of white evangelicals agree.

#WhiteSupremacy #WhiteChristianNationalism #racism #RobertPJones
/2


Joy Reid interviews Robert P. Jones about his new book The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy. He states,

"One of the things I've really become convinced of one reason it's at the heart of this new book is that this idea that this country is intended by God to be a promised land for European Christians is very much still with us."

#WhiteSupremacy #WhiteChristianNationalism #racism #RobertPJones
/1

https://www.whitetoolong.net/p/watch-my-conversation-about-the-hidden


Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons sounds the alarm about the theocratic aspirations of the well-funded right-wing Heritage Foundation and its Project 2025. The Project is a blueprint for right-wing Christian takeover of the government, and Graves-Fitzsimmons says that its theocratic agenda is getting insufficient media attention.

These folks claim to own "the" bible, and they want to impose their version of it on all of us.

#Republicans #WhiteChristianNationalism #theocracy

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/project-2025-heritage-foundation-christian-nationalism-rcna103510


Josh Marhall's lede:

"Elon Musk got caught with his hand in the national security cookie jar, sabotaging or blocking a major Ukrainian military operation after conversations with a Russian government official."

Am I reading that right? Elon Musk has the unilateral power to shut down him satellite system, shutting down a Ukrainian military operation, after a chat with an unmamed Russian official? And "liberal" remain Twitter/X? Do tell.

#ElonMusk #Russia #Ukraine

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/musk-shutdown-ukrainian-attack-after-chat-with-russian-official


"A federal judge declined to remove Mark Meadows’ Fulton County prosecution to federal court, per an order issued on Friday.

U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones for the Northern District of Georgia said in the ruling that Meadows’ alleged involvement in Trump’s effort to reverse his loss 'was not related to his role as White House Chief of Staff or his executive branch authority.'”

~ Josh Kovensky

#MarkMeadows #Trump #crime #LawandOrder #InmateP01135809 #BigLie

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/judge-denies-meadows-bid-to-remove-georgia-case-to-federal-court


As she states,

"That the executive director of the George W. Bush Institute felt obliged to take a step that is a veiled critique of today’s Republican Party—Bush’s party—is a sign of how deep concern over our democracy runs."

#democracy #USA #Republicans #Trump #MAGA
/2

https://files.toad.social/media_attachments/files/111/031/974/274/773/017/original/a496681381453aae.png


Very important commentary today by Heather Cox Richardson about the extraordinary step U.S. presidential foundations and centers for thirteen presidents since Hoover have taken in releasing a statement expressing concern about the health of US democracy.

#democracy #USA
/1

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/september-7-2023

https://files.toad.social/media_attachments/files/111/031/960/354/281/324/original/50edc433d6f6ac3e.png


nostr:npub1ultdtscjrkdufw0yec50n08m5djh090wlgm6vn85m9c3dyhwcges58hg4l nostr:npub1v0efhk93h64lwypcgwgkmh5fplysly578jh7g6fkaljaffhdw4mq703wwh Yes.


nostr:npub10cms20lv32u62lx7w8v0uwk6qtwwlthff0mtw0usx9m8x3wra5sqc036ex Yes — this is one of the things that appalls me most about many people I know who keep pulling that GOP lever.
Given the real and horrific threat posed by climate change, what are they thinking? What are they thinking about their children's and grandchildren's future? Clearly, they are not thinking at all and have empty heads full of misinformation and disinformation.


nostr:npub1cxdfjhl0lnunrztxvywyahd2wt8duqdnvlgmtutn25ngtpk9dw6qcyqqkx Thanks for letting me know. What I don't know about football — or any other sport, for that matter — would fill a stadium! I can imagine that a touch back would be a … mistake.


As Charlie Sykes points out today, two days ago the HaleyFan Twitter feed posted a photo of idyllic Montpelier, Vermont, with the statement, "Democrats will never win small-town America again."

Only one problem, a big one: Montpelier voted 88% for Joe Biden in 2020.

#Democrats #Republicans

https://morningshots.thebulwark.com/p/deplorables-deplorables-deplorables


And Christianity + corruption is a central part of this story because, as French notes, "The contagious corruption of a broken president and a broken party has turned the hearts of millions of Christians away from scripture’s clear moral commands."

This is all good and I'm grateful that French is talking about it, though I think he doesn't acknowledge how his own Christian Republican commitments have helped create this situation.

KenPaxton #Texas #corruption #Christianity
/2


A recurring word in David French's consideration of the case of Ken Paxton in Texas: the word "corrupt" or "corruption," which is found 7 times in this short essay.

French conjoins the word corruption to another C- word — Christianity — since, as he points out, Paxton claims to be a big-time, exemplary Christian for whom regular churchgoing (another C-word) (Southern Baptist, in his case) is supremely important.

#KenPaxton #Texas #corruption #Christianity
/1

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/07/opinion/columnists/paxton-gop-corrupt.html


OMG. People are doing poems.

And on aircraft carriers, of all places!

The mind shudders to think of all the deplorable implications.

Or, excuse me for my poor spelling: "The mind shutters to think." People doing poems! my godamighty!

#TommyTuberville #Alabama #beclowning  #StupidityPersonified #military #NationalSecurity

https://morningshots.thebulwark.com/p/deplorables-deplorables-deplorables


nostr:npub10cms20lv32u62lx7w8v0uwk6qtwwlthff0mtw0usx9m8x3wra5sqc036ex I hear you. If I were younger and realized I'll likely have to live down the road for quite some time as these unserious people wreak havoc, I'd be mad as hell — on behalf of future generations, too.


nostr:npub1nvma0khxxpxee430jg2qhqtn6aegghmz3602m74nfc556a70nmesmyfsvt nostr:npub1hq5k0yyd2k0q23s26c2xp3r4l2gvwamm8yedrdgzurp9ytpkrj5sh6qqsd He is, indeed.


nostr:npub1mfq6yq3gmhs8wy5gvynwpjh4xmua4rh80tegxv8rjuf3kpukk95swcfur3 Yes — except when that oncologist or cardiologist tells them they need a gamut of vaccines to safeguard their health because they have cancer or heart problems, she or he is likely to meet a stone wall, since they'll likely have been told vaccines are the devil's work.


nostr:npub1ultdtscjrkdufw0yec50n08m5djh090wlgm6vn85m9c3dyhwcges58hg4l nostr:npub1v0efhk93h64lwypcgwgkmh5fplysly578jh7g6fkaljaffhdw4mq703wwh Thanks. I want them to do something, too. And I have never seen them or any other political party as perfect. But my instinct with stories like this is not immediately to jump on the Democrats but to look carefully at the mass of evidence showing that the problem with Republican-controlled states is very serious.


nostr:npub1nvma0khxxpxee430jg2qhqtn6aegghmz3602m74nfc556a70nmesmyfsvt nostr:npub1hq5k0yyd2k0q23s26c2xp3r4l2gvwamm8yedrdgzurp9ytpkrj5sh6qqsd I think so, too.


nostr:npub1qqlvz9rl664djwa20gz9g9gar8us3c2hw5xurwv9lt24855je0sqy7nkgv Good commentary.


nostr:npub10cms20lv32u62lx7w8v0uwk6qtwwlthff0mtw0usx9m8x3wra5sqc036ex I can't disagree. I'm in an older age bracket and have been just about worn out by it all in recent years.


nostr:npub194nfl9qgu2ctsn2c739a3yuhxvqrzxdt9apd0kd906aqha4pgpfqyzlkvs Not the only judge in Florida, and she has had warnings issued by her peers in the past. She may be courting more warnings in the future.


nostr:npub18jwjag6f7al9z6yr80l2ejv6d7ka033sp7aluez9n0m9cnmv04csk74ykg Yes. Jill Lawrence's analysis is clear and sharp.


nostr:npub18jwjag6f7al9z6yr80l2ejv6d7ka033sp7aluez9n0m9cnmv04csk74ykg If they can get past the barricades! I'm being facetious in saying that, but it's ironic, isn't it, that the threat is said to be from the Mexican side?


nostr:npub16r44qeyukzcs54uhx8l8tklqshg9a95a0r947sq5qsl4pvuagdds8vux5a Yes, important to make our voices heard about this and how it's undermining national security.


nostr:npub1hq5k0yyd2k0q23s26c2xp3r4l2gvwamm8yedrdgzurp9ytpkrj5sh6qqsd He's magnificent, isn't he? That sharp Irish tongue that never fails him….


nostr:npub1cxdfjhl0lnunrztxvywyahd2wt8duqdnvlgmtutn25ngtpk9dw6qcyqqkx Indeed. I'm sorry that I'm very much sports-challenged and don't even know what a touch back is!


nostr:npub13xrgpdya4drxlln86xnnf3f45cnh8ddt8wszv6vtat9mup9l5xhswqevnd Especially inadvisable to go up against the military while  you try to depict your party as "strong" and pro-military and paint the other party as the opposite.


nostr:npub12pd94262v5w9sef2ht62kkfzcs0pdqvlkhu8jrel3tjl4ds99rusu6nypf I think an argument could be made that it  has already ended badly for Huckabee, if preserving a reputation for integrity ever mattered to him.


nostr:npub1ultdtscjrkdufw0yec50n08m5djh090wlgm6vn85m9c3dyhwcges58hg4l nostr:npub1v0efhk93h64lwypcgwgkmh5fplysly578jh7g6fkaljaffhdw4mq703wwh Hmm — I had been under the impression that moves to relax and abolish laws prohibiting child labor are occurring SOLELY in states controlled by Republican legislatures and governors. As HRW reports, children's situations are much worse in Republican-controlled states than in Democratic-controlled ones, though in the latter, there's room for improvement. Both-sidesing this issue is a steep uphill climb. I wouldn't try.


nostr:npub1z7c4xtclyt9s88pr8mst5kjmj74nltzacdt4sp3lqs86w2gzgr6quwwgqx I agree.


nostr:npub1zhptf0fj25shlsscj5dtg7q4djx0hxys9fx9tsh0yc5he5ty780sxr60ce I think it's not at all likely HRW forgets that.


nostr:npub1q3usmx83nrxgamn6sq0qmtw4awm9az6hs37gm5axe5f5x3hl0vdqfumlgr Yep. That's how I've long seen it.


nostr:npub1dzjekzdn2qawmln6gnfuvn00x6l2jdxxw6z2gld0nfy4y4jc43qs4j7n2l Absolutely.


nostr:npub1y2escxzaukxf7fj6hp98w0ajhuetk23z93hmu88wuwhuaav65gusfyskxk Yes.


nostr:npub1ck7vl9ernlp5cm3vtw087rhppvvk2hyspewqepf8ny7zczuhd4jshrtrv8 I agree. The myth of perfect, period, strikes me as pernicious, something dangerous to pursue or to image we've achieved.


nostr:npub1wdww2es5c4r4fhkxw8r4l428qx8ugr45ekzxfssl608z2fs35fzsp2y5te Indeed. And men who imagine that shoving women back into the kitchen are setting up conditions to be served good, safe food may need to think twice about that assumption!


nostr:npub1mfq6yq3gmhs8wy5gvynwpjh4xmua4rh80tegxv8rjuf3kpukk95swcfur3 Yes, as you know, this is a worldview impervious to scientific fact and learning in general. The bible suffices.


The backstory here: the state government in Arkansas is now totally controlled by Republicans. You don't get a top position at UAMS, e.g., chancellor, unless you've shown Republican leaders that you're happy to bow to their leadership and work with them. Only Republican-leaning top administrators need apply.

And those top administrators rake in huge, huge salaries and benefits, as low-level workers are sued for $100 debts.

#Arkansas #UAMS #nurses #doctors #MedicalWorkers #Republicans
/2


As CNN reports, Arkansas' flagship university med school hospital UAMS has been on an orgy of filing lawsuits — numbers rose from 35 lawsuits in 2016 to more than 3,000 in 2021 — to recover payments owed for medical services, some as little as $100. Those sued include UAMS employees who worked during the Covid pandemic and were then called "heroes" by UAMS.

#Arkansas #nurses #doctors #MedicalWorkers
/1

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/08/us/arkansas-hospital-debt-collections-lawsuits-pandemic/index.html


Cliff Schechter explains why the "heroic" young woman who repeatedly clowns behind the über-clown Peter Navarro when he appears on camera is performing a valuable service by using her free speech to point out exactly who Navarro is, as the media invite Jan. 6 coup plotters onto their shows and normalize them.

#PeterNavarro #FreeSpeech #CoupPlotter #insurrection #Jan6 #BigLie #normalization #MediaFail

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd52mASqL-0&t=159s


Igor Mitoraj's Fallen Icarus, at the Temple of Concordia in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, Italy, photo by Fabrizio Villa

#Icarus #art #artwork

https://www.theguardian.com/news/gallery/2023/sep/08/fallen-icarus-and-rearing-horses-fridays-best-photos#img-17

https://files.toad.social/media_attachments/files/111/029/836/121/945/665/original/e18d3a71c9285113.png


"But the social and political reality across much of the nation is that women are being shoved back into the metaphoric kitchen where their choices are being systematically reduced."

#US #Mexico #women #WomensRights #abortion
/2


Kareem Abdul-Jabbar looks at Mexico decriminalizing abortion and concludes,

"While the rest of the world marches forward with progressive social issues, the U.S. stumbles backward."

As he says,

"America gives the impression that it respects and appreciates women by producing TV shows and movies with smart, tough, intelligent women."

Then there's a big "but":

#US #Mexico #women #WomensRights #abortion
/1

https://kareem.substack.com/p/gop-plot-to-remove-elected-judiciary


Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is on a roll today with his incisive analysis of the "ethical downward spiral" on which the Republican party has been moving for some years now.

#Republicans #ethics

https://kareem.substack.com/p/gop-plot-to-remove-elected-judiciary

https://files.toad.social/media_attachments/files/111/029/721/540/297/865/original/20ce04ea4db93cf0.png


As many of us who grew up in evangelical families can attest, whippings and outright beatings have long been doled out in devout evangelical Christian households as a way of raising children "right" — and the beatings extended to (and continue in) public schools in parts of the country dominated by white evangelical culture.

#ChildAbuse #religion #ChristianRight #parenting #CorporalPunishment
/3


The link between a certain kind of repressive, obedience-centered, right-wing religion and  child abuse is not something just now being discovered. It has been written about extensively for some time now. The brilliant Polish-Swiss psychologist Alice Miller wrote groundbreaking books about this link. Philip Greven's Spare the Child studies this link in an American historical context.

#ChildAbuse #religion #ChristianRight #parenting #CorporalPunishment
/2


Amanda Marcotte notes that the arrest of Mormon child-rearing guru Ruby Franke for child abuse is part of a wearily predictable story, in which lauded right-wing Christian parents turn out to practice cruelty towards their children.

Why do Americans keep falling foir this, she asks?

"People...desperately want to believe in this fairy tale of the shiny, happy perfect white Christian families."

#ChildAbuse #religion #Mormon #ChristianRight #parenting

https://www.salon.com/2023/09/08/another-christian-influencer-arrested-for-child-abuse-why-conservatives-keep-falling-for-these-cons/


Brian Klaas reports on the Life in the UK test he had to pass as he applies for dual US-UK citizenship. It began with a question about what became of St. Augustine after he christianized Britain and moved on to a question about the day on which Jesus died. Klaas says that, strangely, the following question wasn't asked:

"Which two countries automatically give religious leaders seats in parliament? The answer: the UK and Iran)."

#UK #ChurchofEngland #ChurchandState

https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/my-life-in-the-uk-test-and-a-great


"But, so far, no one has been willing to employ the power of the judicial system to stem the violent incitements and the danger they are to the process of justice and democracy.

That must change. Either there’s rule of law or there isn’t."

#Trump #crime #criminal #InmateP01135809 #LawandOrder #BigLie #insurrection #violence


"In a sane world, neither the Russians nor a criminally charged ex-president of the United States would be in a position to endanger the lives of Americans performing this most fundamental task of citizenship."

~ Steven Beschloss

#Trump #crime #criminal #InmateP01135809 #LawandOrder #BigLie #insurrection #violence
/1

https://america.substack.com/p/as-the-vise-tightens


"DA Willis is deeply concerned about the safety of jurors in the upcoming trials, so she has moved for secrecy. Specifically, she asked the court to 'restrict dissemination of jurors’ identities' by any defendant or media.

In her filing, some dark aspects of online pressure campaigns became clearer."

~ Jay Kuo

#FaniWillis #doxxing #Russians  /1

https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/a-thursday-legal-lightning-round


We cannot discuss child abuse in the U.S., much of it totally legal and societally approved, without examining how it frequently develops in a religious matrix.

#ChildAbuse #religion #Mormon #LDS
/2


Mallory Challis goes where mainstream media have refused to go in analyzing the story of the child abuse of which Ruby Franke is accused as rooted in her LDS faith. As she notes, both Franke and her friend Jodi Hillebrandt, arrested with her, are "openly part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints," and Franke's videos about disciplining children often employ religious language about "repentance."

#ChildAbuse #religion #Mormon #LDS
/1

https://baptistnews.com/article/sensationalized-child-abuse-ruby-frankes-arrest-the-lds-church-and-social-media/


Todd J. Gillman reports that Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson screamed at a recent scuffle at a rodeo at which he was handcuffed,

“I’m an ER doctor. I’m a board certified emergency medicine physician.”

Big problem, though: he has no Texas medical license, his Virginia license expired more than three years ago, and his Florida license hasn’t been valid since 2019.

#RonnyJackson #Texas #Republicans

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/09/07/im-an-er-doctor-rep-ronny-jackson-told-officers-at-rodeo-but-license-is-expired/


"The conservative movement lacks both the will and the capacity to stop Trump. Their plan to nudge him aside only made him stronger.

McLaughlin wrote last summer that the effort to depose Donald Trump would prove to be 'a test of character' for Ron DeSantis. In fact, it has proved to be a test of character for the entire party—a test that most Republicans seem happy to have flunked."

~ Christian Vanderbrouk

#Republicans #Trump #character #MoralVacuity #EthicsLite

https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/they-did-this-to-themselves


What the despicable Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, is doing here should be seen for what it is: this is a threat. By predicting violence if Trump doesn't win in 2024, Huckabee is blessing violence, endorsing violence, eliciting violence, with the underlying claim that he and the minority of voters with whom he stands have the right to overthrow the Republic if the majority elects the "wrong" person.

#MikeHuckabee #violence #democracy #Republicans

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/7/2192008/-Mike-Huckabee-predicts-violent-revolution-if-Trump-doesn-t-win-in-2024


"The Senator's [Tommy Tuberville] hold on military promotions is just a senseless, anti-choice tantrum that virtually the entire military establishment has condemned."

~ Charles Pierce

#Alabama #TommyTuberville #Republicans #abortion #military #CultureWars

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a45034471/tommy-tuberville-carlos-del-toro-cnn/


"Trump White House official Peter Navarro found guilty on two counts of contempt of Congress. Sentencing set for Jan. 2024."

~ David Kurtz

#Trump #Navarro #crime #LawandOrder #BigLie #insurrection #Jan6

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/down-goes-navarro


“A reminder that Aileen Cannon remains a disgrace to the Florida bench and a stain on the American judiciary in general.”

#AileenCannon #Florida

https://us17.campaign-archive.com/?e=83410ca3fd&u=781676ecd265bc2d527ffd03c&id=62c81feb25


nostr:npub1mjjjvkcnah8z9psp5k4zpuam7pag0uvl3wvw29krdkdul0jpjv6sl3406l Yes — well-noted.


"Biden’s real problem is not his age. It’s our age … of performative politics.

As usual, Donald Trump is at the root of the mess. From the minute he entered the 2016 presidential race on a golden escalator in a building blaring his name, U.S. politics has been a twisted reality show that elevates outrage, insults, and cruelty in a spirit of sadistic fun."

#Biden #Trump #age #PerformativeCruelty #cruelty

~Jill Lawrence

https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/joe-biden-problem-isnt-his-age-its-our-age


nostr:npub1e0wca3dhcw8et9egss0cgds7szjq8rn0jyl6gff9gfsqv3sa6qcsd4tuz0 Indeed. Touché. To answer that, we only have to look at who — still — largely owns and controls the media, and who for a very long time has been hired to do the reporting.


nostr:npub1k9qecpkl6vwxjhtelyxhkuejfld0zey9d7tru0cljk9allusr55sk3j0yn Yes, I think if he did gain the White House again, we could not begin to imagine the havoc he would wreak, with the gloves now off.


nostr:npub1qqlvz9rl664djwa20gz9g9gar8us3c2hw5xurwv9lt24855je0sqy7nkgv Yes, I see this trend happening in many places. It's one reason chaos agents like Steve Bannon deliberately want to induce chaos in various societies — and why they welcome the chaos produced by climate change. Their hope is to use the fear and anxiety created by chaos to goad people to target minority communities. They think that creating these social conditions will drive people to an authoritarian solution to the chaos.


nostr:npub1qq29fvsu4jen4a04avh83zyvsvkmf3retcq3hjhrfwced8zxcx2sh6xe3f Let's hope that turns out to be right, if he gets the nomination.


nostr:npub1zlf30z52fyvgz7x43urydvkahtvd8sncp2slzml3ra0pn8cfuv0q6jjxfl I agree!


nostr:npub1x76f3rmq2hzfa08880sddg7hue8xwxxtazr595gw2hxlpfv34dhq98gzg7 Same here.


nostr:npub1jszvy99w7kzd5se3hyz3z6k2wlcqg9jtxh3c3vl3uwrpdec4yqhsdk42fk Ah, Adorno — one of my favorites among the critical theorists. Yes, this is valuable analysis to apply to our current situation.


nostr:npub1glwzevtuggzwvkpn5rs3l2f2ykm7y9wenrsqfxjfervecg3f2yfsgdasnj A good summary of the tired, groundless, silly talking points.


nostr:npub1vj9ndkx03aundwa3csr5fu7vcrngevl0hcdhquz3apzm099l6cjsjufldn Amen — from your mouth to God's ears.


nostr:npub1n2p2x95yptslsata5x4prnev729q6ccaqgwghja2h2kkw4anlt6qmcz9ad Yes — and I like your use of that underused word "claptrap" here!


nostr:npub1v0efhk93h64lwypcgwgkmh5fplysly578jh7g6fkaljaffhdw4mq703wwh I agree. And I think an inescapable conclusion of the HRW report's findings is that, judged by its treatment of children, the US is far from decent and civilized, especially in its "pro-life," bible-belt, Republican controlled states.


nostr:npub18pgg079sknh9fyn5pv02yzp93j7wf7ad6ppgzyhwd6jtwsrktd4q7lvu8p What may be obvious to many of us not obvious to others. As Flannery O'Connor famously said, "to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures." Some things need to be said over and over and over in a world in which many people are flatly inclined to deny  reality.


nostr:npub10cms20lv32u62lx7w8v0uwk6qtwwlthff0mtw0usx9m8x3wra5sqc036ex Sadly, not only did Republicans think that the clown was POTUS material, Republican voters continue to do so, and if they have their way, will return him to the White House.


"While political reporters obsess over the anger and resentments felt by blue-collar white men in Rust Belt diners, liberals’ emotions are seldom considered worthy of the same kind of exploration."

~ Paul Waldman

#Trump #Biden #polls #MediaFail

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-biden-2024-presidential-election-polls-rcna103655


"Mexico’s supreme court has unanimously ruled that state laws prohibiting abortion are unconstitutional and violate women’s rights, in the latest in a series of victories for reproductive rights activists across Latin America."

~ Lillian Perlmutter

#Mexico #abortion

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/06/mexico-decriminalizes-abortion


"If televised preachers, and televised quacks, and reruns of NCIS have grown over-familiar for your weekday viewing, take a ride down the streaming river of content to Austin, where the Texas Senate is trying Attorney General Ken Paxton on articles of impeachment for allegedly being a greedy mofo."

~ Charles Pierce

#Texas #Republicans #KenPaxton #impeachment #crime #criminal

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a45027065/ken-paxton-impeachment-trial/


"In other words [as ABC now reports], Trump knew that a search was likely in the works when he set Nauta and De Oliveira to the task of removing boxes from storage in Mar-a-Lago, and subsequently returning fewer of them than were removed. The inference is that Trump knowingly removed items he did not want prosecutors to find."

~ Joyce Vance

#Trump #crime #LawandOrder #InmateP01135809 #NationalSecurity #BigLie #insurrection

https://joycevance.substack.com/p/things-that-happened-today-867


"Trump had also asked the Judge to stay the January trial, pending his appeal on 'absolute presidential immunity.' The Judge denied his request as frivolous and told Trump no more delays. The Judge cited Trump's 'advanced age' as justification for moving forward, noting the age of both parties and concluding that further delays might prevent Carroll from ever receiving compensation she is entitled to."

~ Joyce Vance

#Trump #EJeanCarroll #crime #defamation #age

https://joycevance.substack.com/p/things-that-happened-today-86


"This morning, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that Trump’s liability for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll had already been established by the jury in May and that the jury in the January trial will only have to decide how much money to award her. Kaplan also refused to cap the damages. The jury in May awarded Carroll $5 million."

~ Heather Cox Richardson

#Trump #EJeanCarroll #crime #LawandOrder #defamation

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/september-6-2023


Robert B. Hubbell minces no words in summing up what the Republican party in Wisconsin is cynically seeking to do in having Justice Protasiewicz impeached before she's even made a ruling:

This is a determination to nullify an election in which the people of Wisconsin placed Janet Protasiewicz on the state Supreme Court by an 11-point margin.

Republicans don't like the results of an election? Nullify it! Lie about it. Impose minority rule.

#Wisconsin #Republicans

https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/wisconsin-republicans-seek-to-nullify


"Let me be absolutely clear. Third-party groups such as No Labels and the Green Party are in effect front groups for Trump in 2024, and should be treated as such. …

As long as the anti-Trump vote is unified behind Biden, Trump cannot win, as Biden demonstrated in 2020.

But if a third-party candidate takes even a small part of the anti-Trump vote away from Biden, Trump is likely to be returned to the White House."

~ Robert Reich

#ThirdParty #NoLabels #GreenParty

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/no-fables-no-labels-is-a-trump-front


Jill Filipovic adds,

"Over and over again, the worst states for children are clustered around the 'pro-life' Bible Belt, and the map of the states that are the worst for children looks a lot like a map of red state America."

#children #US #Republicans #ProLife
/2


“Children in the US can be legally married in 41 states, physically punished by school administrators in 47 states, sentenced to life without parole in 22 states, and work in hazardous agriculture conditions in all 50 states.”

~ Human Rights Watch, cited by Jill Filipovic

#children #US #Republicans #ProLife
/1

https://jill.substack.com/p/the-us-fails-on-child-rights


"To ignore Kennedy, or his supporters, on the grounds of their holding such easily falsifiable beliefs seems extremely shortsighted. A lot of Americans believe things that aren’t true—which, given the (literally) whitewashed version of history most of us get taught, shouldn’t be surprising."

~ D.D. Guttenplan

#RFKJr #ConspiracyTheories #AntiIntellectualism #vaccines #antivax

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/rfk-jr-rally-anti-vax-campaign/


Jonathan V. Last responds to the Wall Street Journal's (purported) finding that 51% of voters find Trump having a greater record of accomplishments than Biden:

"What?

Trump has more of a record of 'accomplishment' in office than Biden?

I would pay a lot of money to sit down with that 51 percent of respondents and ask them to tell me five things Trump accomplished in office."

#Trump #Biden #Republicans #MAGA #cult

https://thetriad.thebulwark.com/p/americas-authoritarian-exceptionalism


Thick as thieves, so of course Sidney Powell and Kenneth Cheseboro do not want to be tried together — because trying them together underscores links in a conspiracy to overthrow the government that they do not want to acknowledge.

I'm all for letting the light shine on them — together, as co-conspirators.

#Cheseboro #Powell #conspiracy #Rico #Georgia #crime #LawandOrder #BigLie #insurrection

https://newrepublic.com/post/175412/judge-tosses-chesebro-powell-attempt-sever-cases-georgia-trial


“As someone who was born in a Communist country, I would have never imagined that actually one of our own senators would actually be aiding and abetting Communist and other autocratic regimes around the world. This is having a real negative impact.”

~ Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro about Alabama Senator Tommy "Coach" Tuberville

#Tuberville #NationalSecurity #CultureWars

https://newrepublic.com/post/175394/navy-secretary-tuberville-aiding-abetting-communists-military-blockade


"I understand why so many Americans want to burn the political system to the ground. But I don’t. Not when the system they propose replacing it with is one in which, as Donald Trump promises, explicitly a tool of authoritarian Trumpian vendetta. A system in which the MAGA movement’s Christian nationalist allies dream of faith-based restrictions on the right to vote."

~ Max Burns

#democracy #authoritarianism #Trump #MAGA

https://maxburns.substack.com/p/our-republic-is-dying


nostr:npub1573ewn9fnjvffmq8u5k7cus3g9z22k7dzf3xlzcrm8a73eyqay4q9lkmev Absolutely. It has to be rotting his socks that he's under the authority of Judge Chutkan, and that it was a stellar Black female attorney in Georgia, Fani Willis, that indicted him and his co-conspirators.


But above and beyond that, the way that Green works in slurs against not only Hunter Biden but "Biden Inc," and insinuations about the Biden family profiteering from Biden's political career — evidence for this? — are disgusting. Especially when they constitute part of an article supposedly addressing the latest indictment against Trump.

#Trump #Republicans #crime #LawandOrder #BigLie #RICO #insurrection #conspiracy #Guardian
/2


"It’s about the central role that race is likely to play not in the federal case but in the state case, from the race of the prosecutor, to the focus on Black election worker Ruby Freeman, to the essential nature of the race-baiting bogus voter-fraud charges in Georgia that formed Trump’s basis for falsely claiming that he was the rightful winner."

#Trump #Republicans #crime #LawandOrder #BigLie #RICO #insurrection #conspiracy #race #racism #Georgia #FaniWillis
/2


"Press coverage intended to fairly represent 'both sides' of an issue runs a high risk of failure when one side is dominated by bad-faith actors. In such cases, creating the impression of balance can lead to drawing false equivalences, elevating unserious positions, and minimizing serious crimes."

 ~ Joe Perticone

#Trump #crime #criminal #LawandOrder #BigLie #insurrection #MediaFail #BothSidesism
/1

https://presspass.thebulwark.com/p/reaction-to-hunter-biden-news-a-clinic