Monday, December 16, 2024

Rudy G -- the 'g' is for grifter

Poor Ann.  She has to cover Rudy G.  He's back in the news, I told her I'd grab it if she wanted.  She said absolutely, she's going to write about BLUESKY tonight.  So Rudy G was pimped by Lorne Michaels and other losers as "America's Mayor" after 9/11  Me?  I think you'd really have to hate the United States to pimp that claim.  He was always a con artist and estranged from his family.  He's only become worse as years ago by.  I sit and watch as years go by -- a steal from the Stones.  In fact, PP Arnold did a great cover of that song so let me note her video.




PP's a former Ikette, by the way.  Rudy G?  Liz Dye reports:


Rudy Giuliani is ready to start 2025 off with a bang. America’s mayor is courting contempt in two federal courtrooms, and he’s on the verge of getting himself a default judgment to boot. Squad goals!

Rudy’s been at this passion project since November of 2020, when he falsely accused Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Atlanta poll workers, of tabulating thousands of fraudulent ballots. In August of 2023, Judge Beryl Howell ordered a default judgment against him, thanks to his utter refusal to comply with his discovery obligations. And in December a jury awarded the plaintiffs $148 million in damages.


Freeman and Moss have been trying to collect on the judgment for a year, with Giuliani stumbling into and out of bankruptcy in an effort to halt collections while he pursues his doomed appeal. Rudy has long since worn out his welcome with Judge Lewis Liman in the Southern District of New York, including by showing up at Mar-a-Lago in a Mercedes the court had already ordered him to hand over to the plaintiffs.

“There should be no higher priority for your client than complying with the court’s orders,” the judge warned Rudy’s new counsel, a Staten Island divorce lawyer named Joseph Cammarata. That admonition came at a hearing two weeks ago when Rudy’s prior lawyers got their exit visas stamped after convincing Judge Liman that they could not ethically continue to represent him in his bid to claim the homestead exemption for his Florida condo.



If you haven't figure it out, Rudy G thinks he's above the law.  He clearly is not.  My favorite Rudy G moment?

This one. 




Poor, pathetic Rudy G. 


Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Monday, December 16, 2024.  Satan Trump makes clear he will not be the president of all Americans in his second effort to destroy the United States of America.

Let's start with Joseph William's latest at THE CHICAGO DEFENDER:


Four years ago, a white man suffocated George Floyd, a Black man, to death on a gritty Minneapolis street corner as bystanders begged for mercy. That brutal killing of an unarmed Floyd — caught on camera — turbocharged the Black Lives Matter movement, put the phrase “white privilege” into the national lexicon and inspired philanthropists to throw bushels of money at social justice nonprofits.

A year later, Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer whose job included training rookies, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 22 years and 6 months in prison — a rare instance of accountability and introspection in America’s long history of racist, systemic violence.

Monday brought us yet another reminder of how fleeting that reckoning truly was when a white man was found not guilty of suffocating Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old Black man, to death on the floor of a grimy New York subway train as bystanders called for mercy. 

The acquittal of Daniel Penny — already a vigilante hero among the far right — comes just weeks after Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris for the presidency in a racist campaign, Walmart became the biggest U.S. employer to shut down its DEI program, and social justice nonprofits realized philanthropists are closing their checkbooks to avoid Trump’s enemies list. 

The Manhattan jury trying the second-degree murder case unanimously agreed with Penny: Neely, a homeless man dealing with mental illness and substance abuse, was a threat to others on the subway car that day, and Penny, a former Marine with a lethal chokehold, should not be held criminally responsible for killing him. 

“What are we going to do, people? What’s going to happen to us now? I’ve had enough of this. The system is rigged.”

– Andre Zachary Neely’s father

Never mind that the killing happened in broad daylight, in front of many eyewitnesses, and was also recorded on a cellphone camera. Or that when Penny attacked him, Neely hadn’t committed an actual crime or put hands on anyone. Or that Neely was unarmed, that no lives were in danger, that passengers pleaded for Penny to let Neely go, that Penny kept McNeely in a chokehold for nearly five full minutes, maintaining it long after McNeely stopped struggling. 

The jury saw and heard and processed all that evidence and — following roughly 17 hours of deliberation, including deadlocking over a lesser charge — collectively shrugged.


 

Satan Trump will never be the president of all Americans and that's a result of his choices and actions.


Penny killed McNeely.  


We can argue many things but that is not in dispute.  But for Penny being on the subway that day, McNeely would be alive.


This quickly became an issue with FOX "NEWS" and the others on the fright-wing insisting Black man got what was coming to him and White man a savior.  That is how they played it and don't pretend otherwise.  McNeely was Black and so, in their eyes, he had it coming.  As Amercian history shows, decade over decade, killing people of color always results in less consequences than killing a White person.  


I don't know Daniel Penny and I wouldn't want to at this point.  When the verdict was delivered, I had nothing against Penny.  He clearly killed Jordan Neely.  Did he mean to?  Maybe he did, maybe he didn't.  I had no idea.  Terrible things happen especially in a country where if a person of color is disruptive, a White person is encouraged to attack the person of color.  Racism is not just ingrained into the American culture, it is encouraged and taught.  


In his mind, Penny might be trying to address his own actions.  Serious actions because he killed Jordan Neely.


He might be.  

I've shared before about being a child and being kidnapped from school and taken off and raped.  I was a  kid, a very young kid.  And as soon as the kidnapper went to sleep, I grabbed a sharp object (I pretended to be asleep before that) and drove it repeatedly into the man's leg over and over, blood everywhere and then ran out screaming calling for the cops.  Did I kill him?  Because he's dead.  And he was dead by the time the authorities were there.  I would guess I did kill him.  (Guess?  The police were outraged by what had taken place.  From time to time, it was suggested over the years that the man was denied medical assistance.)  


That man terrorized me and raped me.  


And I'm glad he's dead.  I can't imagine going through life with him being alive -- I'm being honest here.  But there are times when I think about that and think about taking someone's life. 


Grasp that I was less than ten years old.  Grasp that he intentionally sought me out.  Grasp that he beat and then he raped me.  


And then there's Penny.  Who clearly killed Jordan Neely.  


The verdict comes down and he goes to the bar to 'celebrate' with his attorneys.  Not a good look.  And then, days after, this.




Days after the verdict, he's a guest of Satan and JD Vance at a football game?


You killed a man.  You may have gotten off without prison time, but you still killed a man.  Someone who did you know physical harm is dead because of you.


And you're out having fun and celebrating? What?  Getting away with murder, that's what.


Horrible mistakes happen every day.  And Penny's actions with Neely could have been a horrible mistake.


But not when you turn that into political cash.  For FOX "NEWS" and the fright-wing, this was always about Big White man killed man of color.  It was always a racist attack.  And that's why they rushed to defend Penny from the start.  


And that's why he got celebrated and treated like a hero instead of either a killer or a very unfortunate person.


He's given up the right, in the court of public opinion, to be seen as a very unfortunate person.


When he should have been home contemplating the life he took, he was instead out in public with racist Trump and racist JD.  He chose where he wanted to be.


And Satan and JD chose where they wanted him to be.  


He got away with killing Jordan Neely.  That's what Penny, Satan and JD were celebrating, in front of the whole world.


This wasn't some kid who'd won a science fair, this wasn't some athlete who'd delivered an amazing performance.  This was a killer who beat the rap for murdering a Black man.

At COMMON DREAMS, Ralph Nader writes:


Now is the time to prepare anticipatory strategies against what the vengeful, avaricious, lawless Trump and his Trumpsters have boasted out loud about daily. Don’t wait until Trump’s inauguration. A short list of suggestions follows:


No link to trash.  


Now is the time?  


Now, Ralph?


No the time to prepare was ahead of the presidential election -- you know, back when you were attacking Kamala Harris week after week while you 

Ralph is a lot like Daniel Penny.  


His actions in 2000?  The Iraq War is something he helped create.  Millions are dead as a result.  But, week after week, on air and in print, he can never express remorse for his actions or take accountability for his part in starting the Iraq War.


.  Back on December 6th, I noted:


The Supreme Court is probably going to deliver a severe attack on trans rights.  They heard the case this week.  We've noted many videos here about it -- and no one laid it out better than Danielle Moodie -- that's why we included her video in yesterday's snapshot.


I haven't written about this case here (but did two pieces for community newsletters) and the reason is, I just can't.  I don't know if it's a scene from a film I'm recalling or something from news footage that's blurred in my mind long ago.  But it's black and white when I dream and it's a child and they identify as female so some hateful thugs -- adults, not peers -- shaves her hair and beats her up.  And it was popping up in dreams and I've not been able to sleep and now carry it over to waking moments.  This isn't a topic I can address right now myself.


Today, John Russell (LGBTQ NATION) reports:

The ACLU of Florida is suing the state’s Department of Corrections over a new anti-transgender policy that will restrict trans prisoners’ access to gender-affirming medical care as well as their ability to express their gender identity.

According to a report from The Marshall Project and the Tampa Bay Times, a federal judge in Tallahassee held a preliminary hearing in the case on December 9. The ACLU of Florida has asked the judge to block enforcement of the policy, calling it an unconstitutional ban on gender-affirming care. A ruling is expected in the weeks ahead.

[. . .]

In court filings and interviews, incarcerated trans women in Florida prisons also reported being subjected to breast examinations to determine whether or not they would still be allowed access to bras.

“It felt like I was being treated less than human,” Josie Takach, a trans inmate at a Florida men’s facility, said of the examination. Takach said her undergarments, now considered contraband, were confiscated. “I feel like I’m 12 years old again, sneaking around wearing a bra.”

Sara Maatsch, who is also incarcerated in a Florida men’s prison, said that her gender dysphoria diagnosis was now considered a serious psychiatric illness. She was told she would have to be moved to a more restrictive facility with fewer work and programming opportunities to continue receiving treatment.

Mariko Sundwall told The Marshall Project that after spending 10 days in solitary confinement for refusing to cut her hair, a prison barber buzzed her hair short while she was handcuffed.

“I’m very sad and depressed. I feel like they’re taking away my identity,” Jada Edwards, another trans inmate, said of the buzz cut she was forced to receive.


Let's wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:


Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) reintroduced the BUY GREEN Act, legislation to establish $1.5 trillion in federal procurement commitments for our clean energy future. The funds would be used to purchase American-made clean, renewable, and emission-free energy products for federal, state, and local use and to establish grant funding for U.S. companies to invest in clean energy manufacturing.

The federal government spends $500 billion annually to purchase goods and services. Many of these products have significant environmental impacts, including transportation equipment, building infrastructure, and electronics.

“America needs to invest in clean energy like our future depends on it,” said Senator Warren. “This bill will help grow our green economy and establish America as a world leader in clean energy.”

"As we face the urgent challenges of the climate crisis, I'm proud to introduce a bill that represents a transformative step toward a cleaner, more sustainable future," said Representative Huffman. "By investing in supporting American-made clean energy products, we are not only driving the transition to renewable and emission-free energy but also creating opportunities for innovation and good-paying jobs here at home."

A 2021 poll showed that 59% of voters support this bill. This strong bipartisan support suggests that our country is ready for us to make big investments to save our planet and build back greener.

Specifically, the bill would:

  • Establish a "Clean Energy Fund" at the Department of Energy (DOE) for green procurement by authorizing the DOE to provide funding to federal agencies for clean energy purchases and creating a competitive federal grant program for state, local, and tribal governments to purchase clean energy products.
  • Reduce carbon pollution by providing enough funds to electrify the entire federal fleet, including postal service vehicles; providing enough funds to electrify all public transit and school buses; and providing funds to design, build, and retrofit buildings, including federal, childcare, educational, and manufacturing facilities, to be more energy efficient.
  • Boost the green economy and clean energy sector by establishing a grant program for U.S. companies to invest in clean energy manufacturing by retrofitting or building facilities that produce covered products and bolstering our ability to create clean energy products that can then be exported globally to make the U.S. a leader in green innovation.
  • Support workers and frontline communities by including strong labor provisions to ensure jobs provide strong wages, benefits, and worker protections by and directing 40% of state, local, and tribal grant funding to purchases that benefit frontline, disadvantaged, and vulnerable communities that have been environmentally neglected.
  • Protect taxpayer funds from fraud, waste, and abuse by forming a Green Procurement Oversight Advisory Board that will ensure the use of funds is compliant with clean energy and labor provisions and by directing the U.S. Comptroller General to conduct oversight of the use of funds and to publicly report on program efficacy each year.

In the Senate, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) cosponsored this legislation.

The BUY GREEN Act has been endorsed by Sunrise Movement, MoveOn, GreenLatinos, Sierra Club, Green New Deal Network, Center for Progressive Reform, League of Conservation Voters, Earthjustice, Friends of the Earth, New Consensus, Public Citizen, Climate Hawks Vote, and Zero Hour.

Senator Warren has long worked to protect taxpayer money and ensure strong implementation of climate policy: 

  • In November 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren reintroduced the Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act. The bill proposes streamlining the process for people in communities affected by natural disasters seeking housing assistance.
  • In November 2024, Senator Warren and Representative Jared Huffman reintroduced the National Institutes of Clean Energy Act (NICE), legislation that would invest $400 billion over the next decade to establish and operate a new system of clean energy institutes at the Department of Energy (DOE) focused on research and development of advanced clean energy technologies.
  • In September 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Angus King, along with Representatives Ro Khanna, Alma Adams, Pramila Jayapal, and Jan Schakowsky, wrote to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urging the agencies to develop strong guardrails for the 45Q tax credit, which is designed to encourage carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects.
  • In June 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Sean Casten led a letter to the Federal Reserve Board (Fed), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), urging regulators to stop their obstruction of global financial regulators’ work to tackle climate-related financial risks. The lawmakers also called out the weaknesses revealed by the Fed’s 2023 “pilot scenario analysis” exploring six major banks’ resilience to climate-related financial risks.
  • In May 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congressman Robert Garcia reintroduced the BUILD GREEN Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which would authorize the U.S. Department of Transportation to distribute $500 billion over ten years to electrify and modernize public vehicles and rail and build new electric transportation infrastructure across the country. The bill would also create 1 million new jobs, save $100 billion annually in health damages, and prevent 4,200 deaths per year from air pollution.
  • In April 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representatives Sean Casten and Veronica Escobar, urged the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council, composed of the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to finalize the Federal Supplier Climate Risks and Resilience Rule as quickly as possible.
  • In March 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren, released a statement describing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) finalized climate risk disclosure rule as “the bare minimum.”
  • In September 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Martin Heinrich, Ed Markey, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Jeff Merkley called on the Treasury Department to take key actions pertaining to climate and climate-related financial risk to avert the impending environmental and economic crises.
  • In September 2023, at a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren urged Chair Gensler to quickly finalize a strong climate risk disclosure rule, reminding him that he has a mandate to protect investors and strong public support.
  • In March 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Representatives Dan Goldman and Jamie Raskin and 47 of their colleagues sent a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, urging him to protect investors and finalize a strong climate disclosure rule without further delay.
  • In September 2022, at a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren called on SEC Chair Gary Gensler to protect investors and stand up to fossil fuel lobbying by issuing a strong climate risk disclosure rule quickly.
  • In June 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren led a comment letter with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Brian Schatz on the SEC’s mandatory climate disclosure rule, highlighting several areas for improvement and key elements that the SEC should preserve in its final rule, including strong Scope 3 emissions disclosure requirements.
  • In March 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren led a letter with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Brian Schatz urging the SEC to require disclosure of anti-climate lobbying activities in the Commission’s rule.
  • In May 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren and then-Congressman Andy Levin introduced the Buy Green Act to use the enormous breadth of U.S. federal procurement to help fight the climate crisis, spur innovation, and boost demand for American-made clean energy products at home and in the rapidly-growing markets for green products abroad.
  • In May 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren and then-Congressman Andy Levin introduced the National Institutes of Clean Energy Act of 2021, legislation that would invest $400 billion over the next ten years to establish and operate a new system of institutes at the Department of Energy dedicated to research and development (R&D) of advanced clean energy technologies.
  • In April 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Sean Casten reintroduced the Climate Risk Disclosure Act of 2021 which would reduce the chances of environmental and financial catastrophe by requiring public companies to disclose more information about their exposure to climate-related risks.
  • In March 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren unveiled the BUILD GREEN Infrastructure and Jobs Act which would invest $500 billion over ten years in state, local, and tribal projects to jumpstart the transition to all electric public vehicles and rail and help modernize the nation's crumbling infrastructure. 

###



The following sites updated:


Posted by at

Saturday, December 14, 2024

Does Will have a secret? And the top ten tours of 2024

Caroline Frost (DEADLINE) reports: 

Will Smith has requested people stop posting memes on social media that align him with Sean “Diddy” Combs, saying he hasn’t been anywhere near the controversial music mogul.

The Oscar-winning actor was speaking onstage Thursday in San Diego, California, when he referred to his name being associated with that of Combs, who is currently awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, all of which he denies.


Will Smith.  He's a joke so no one believes him.


It's too bad because he's publicly homophobic and yet we've all heard the rumors -- even his former bodyguard repeating online that he walked in on an unnamed rapper plowing Will who was bent over a couch.


What if P Diddy turned Will out?  What if that's why Will struggles so with same-sex sex?  It would certainly explain a lot. 


Still on music, DEADLINE notes the top ten ticket selling tours of the year -- here are the first five:


1) Taylor Swift

2) Coldplay

3) Pink (go Pink! That one completely surprised me)

4) Luis Miguel 

5) Bruce Springsteen 

6) Rolling Stones

7) Bad Bunny

8) Zak Bryan

9) Metallica

10) Madonna


So Taylor was number one -- no surprise and good for her.  I was a little surprised Coldplay made it to number two.  I was blown away by Pink.  Good for her.  She's an amazing artist but you barely heard about her in 2024.  In fact, most people might have realized she was on tour when she performed at the DNC.  Pink's the real deal and I'm glad she did so well.

I'll skip to number five to note Bruce extorted his fans with those overpriced tickets.  Think about that.  If hadn't charged hundres for a ticket, he probably wouldn't have made the top ten.  While his audience is devoted it's also dwindled.  The Rolling Stones keep on touring -- as do Metallica so good for both of them.  Is Bad Bunny the only 'recently' emerged artist to turn out a huge crowd?  That surprises me.  But good for him and good for Madonna.  Clocking in at number ten during a year where she was savaged by the press over and over.


Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Friday, December 13, 2024.  Nancy Mace is the new Jussie, Donald's breaks campaign promises before even being sworn in, and much more.


We should probably start with nut job Naomi Wolf.  Her out of shape body gets fatter and fatter and apparently so does her brain.  But we're not going to.


I really wanted Kamala Harris to win the presidency.  I wanted that for democracy and to save our country.  I also wanted to write in depth about media failures from 2016 forward that enabled Donald Trump.  I don't think I can write about that now.  With Kamala in the White House, we'd be at a different place and could shine an honest light on multiple issues.  

Nut job Naomi is part of the media problem, however, and we can carve out a small sliver of our planned topic -- Ava and I -- by focusing on the dim wit.  If you've seen the Tweet -- and a number of you e-mailing have -- just know we'll address it at THIRD.  


Now it's time to plea for money.  From time to time, in the past, I would note PACIFICA RADIO or BUZZFLASH and encourage people to donate if they could.

Clearly, most of those groups just stole our money.  And they walked away from the Iraq War.  After using it as a fundraiser.  

So I stopped noting things like that in 2008.

But I think I've found an issue that we really need to dig into our pockets on.  If you can't, that's fine, like I used to say back when we'd do this.  I'd honestly prefer us to do this on June 28th.  But that's a long way off.  Now I'm not going to ask you to donate to any media -- independent or 'independent' -- because all they did was waste our money.

What I'd like us to do is to focus on helping one person.  They are in need.

I'd like us to all buy a Christmas gift -- or Hanukkah or Winter Solstice  or Kwanza or whatever -- for someone.

Elon Musk.

Wait -- wait.  Hear me out.

Elon does not wear under shirts.  He insists upon wearing paper thin shirts.  And I'm sorry but I am just sick to death of having his MOOBS (Man Boobs) in my face when I'm just trying to follow the news.  He needs a bra.  I think it need to be something more than a training bra because he's really getting stacked.  He looks a bit more curvy than Susan ("Medea") Benjamin so I'd guess maybe a 34C or a 34D would best fit him.  


I know he has the money to buy these himself.  But he hasn't.  And I was thinking that maybe he was refusing to face reality.  But discussing this with a number of people, we kept coming back to our first bras.  And how it was kind of intimidating -- maybe even scary.  

So that means we need to help him.

You can buy wireless, you can buy one with hooks in the front or hooks in the back or any color you want.  And then put it in an envelope



Please hold for Elon Musk
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20500



It would be such a relief for Elon and mean so much to him.  So this giving season, give generously to the man with the ever increasing MOOBS.  Let's fill up his chest of drawers with bras now that we know his chest won't stop filling out.  


Now let's turn to TV.  FOX's new series ALMANAC is in trouble.   The hour long drama was set to premiere next year and the setting was Elbert, Colorado and the premise was local MAGAs form their own recording industry in an attempt to revive minstrel music.  The main character, Vira Hazel Slutsky did a screw rap version of "Old Black Joe" and wasn't getting residuals so she shot the label head.  The fate of the show is now, however, in doubt.  In real life, the actress playing Vira Hazel Slutsky staged an attack and cried in public about it.  Now she's going to have to leave the show because no one can trust her.

Oops!  She's not on TV, she's in Congress.  Which means she can stage her own attack and suffer no consequences.

Yes, we're talking about transphobe Nancy Mace.  WIKIPEDIA:


On November 18, 2024, Mace introduced a resolution to ban transgender people from using bathrooms other than those of their sex assigned at birth at the U.S. Capitol, in anticipation of the swearing in of Sarah McBride, who is the first trans person elected to Congress.[119][120] Mace described McBride as a "biological man trying to force himself into women's spaces" and as a "guy in a skirt", later following this up by saying "It's offensive that a man in a skirt thinks that he's my equal".[119][121] She confirmed that McBride was "absolutely" the target of her bathroom resolution.[122] Talking to Leland Vittert, Mace announced that she will "fight like hell" to exclude McBride from women's restrooms on the Capitol.[123] Mace's 2024 House resolution prevents McBride from using "single-sex facilities". H. RES. 1579 entitled, "Prohibiting Members, officers, and employees of the House from using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex, and for other purposes."[124][125] Mary Miller and Matt Rosendale co-sponsored her bathroom resolution.[126] Two days later, Mace announced a new national resolution to ban "biological men from women's spaces on all federal property."[127] As some trans activists were protesting her bill, Mace referred to the trans activists using the slurs [. . .]  resulting in her posts on some social media being flagged for hateful content.[128][129][130][131]



Then, this week, Tuesday, December 10th an encounter took place in public.  Here's how Nancy wrote up her encounter:



I was physically accosted at the Capitol tonight by a pro-tr*ns man. One new brace for my wrist and some ice for my arm and it’ll heal just fine. 

The Capitol police arrested the guy.

Your tr*ns violence and threats on my life will only make me double down. FAFO. 


She went and reported the person to the police. 


All that drama and not a Subway sandwich in sight which is all the more surprising since it turns out Nancy lied about the encounter.  Some people just need attention and they'll do anything to get it -- like Nancy who'll play the victim her entire life.


Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Jussie Smollett Is Nancy Mace's Life Coach" went up yesterday.





Eyewitnesses who watched the interaction between Representative Nancy Mace and James McIntyre are questioning the congresswoman's claims about being assaulted, describing instead a scene where McIntyre was just shaking her hand.
McIntyre, a 33-year-old from Chicago, was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police on Tuesday evening at an event for foster children and charged with assaulting a government official. Authorities said that the suspect was tracked down after Mace's office reported an incident in the Rayburn House Office Building.

[. . .]

Lisa Dickson, a veteran advocate for foster youth from Ohio, wrote in a Facebook post, "I want to express deep disappointment in the fact that Congresswoman Nancy Mace came to a national foster youth event, told participating youth that it was a safe space — and literally had one of them arrested by Capital police for simply shaking her hand and asking about trans rights."




But three witnesses at the scene have contradicted her claims, telling The Imprint and The Hill that McIntyre merely shook Mace's hand at a Foster Youth Caucus reception and asked her to support the rights of transgender people. Mace, who co-chairs the congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, spoke at the reception, telling attendees she looked forward to working with them.

"James [McIntyre] met her by the door where people could see her and him to say, 'trans youth are in foster care and they need your support,' and gave a handshake and then walked back to his seat and sat down," one witness told The Hill, describing it as a "pretty normal interaction."



Zoë Richards (NBC NEWS) reports on eye witness Elliott Hinkle's account:

"I think James took that seriously," Hinkle said, describing how they and others watched McIntyre, who co-founded Foster Care Alumni of America’s Illinois chapter, approach Mace after she spoke and reached out his hand.

"They shake hands, and James says, 'Trans youth are also foster youth, and they need your support.' And then sat down," Hinkle said.

Shortly after Mace left with a congressional staffer, Hinkle said, the staffer came back into the room and approached McIntyre, asking for his name and the message he had for Mace.

Several minutes later, Hinkle said, U.S. Capitol Police began arriving outside the event. Capitol Police said in Tuesday’s statement that officers later arrested McIntyre after an investigative interview.

"I watched that interaction happen, and I saw a handshake and a conversation and a very normal thing for an advocate to come to D.C. and do," Hinkle said. “She didn’t even seem to have, like, that big of a reaction to him. She just sort of made, like, almost like a tiny shock face, and then she left the room.”


Nancy's now threatening to sue reporters covering the story and/or self-created drama.  Ryan Grenoble (HUFFINGTON POST) notes:


Mace also shared a photo of herself wearing an arm sling and a brace on social media Thursday. The photo was immediately ridiculed by Natalie Johnson, a former Mace staffer, who called it “a pathetic ploy for attention.”

“This is the same woman who told staff, myself included, during Jan. 6 that she wanted to get ‘punched in the face’ by a rioter so she could get on TV,” Johnson said on X, formerly Twitter.


As Ann pointed out last night "BlueSky gets millions of new users while Twitter loses millions."  Let's move over to BLUESKY.








Before we move on, let's emphasize something.  Jussie Smollett lied about being attacked and his career ended.  EMPIRE let him go from the show.  I'm not saying that shouldn't have happened.  It should have.  But a member of Congress fakes an attack and we won't see Republicans line up to demand her resignation.  She'll stay in office and continue to lie. 

Speaking of the liars, Satan Trump.  Alice Tecotzky (BUSINESS INSIDER) reports:



  • Trump said in his Person of the Year interview that lowering grocery prices is "very hard."
  • He said that high food prices were part of why he won the election.
  • Some economists think Trump's economic plans, like tariffs and deportations, will be inflationary.
President-elect Donald Trump didn't commit to being able to lower grocery pri ces in his Person of the Year interview with Time Magazine, after flagging the issue as an important part of his win.



David Badash observes:


As a candidate, Donald Trump campaigned—and won—this year on the promise he would lower prices for Americans angry after the COVID pandemic’s inflation brought steep price increases, but now he’s backtracking, saying he’s not sure he will actually be able to fulfill those vows. Outrage at Trump, and the people who voted for him based on that pledge, was palpable on Thursday.

As recently as Sunday, MSNBC reports, Trump insisted, “We’re going to bring those prices way down.”

On Monday, Fox News reported: “Pointing to high grocery prices, Trump says, ‘I won an election based on that'”

But in his TIME magazine “Person of the Year” interview, Trump suggested he might not be able to lower prices as he promised to do. Appearing to remove himself from the equation, he declared: “It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard.”

Sam Stein of The Bulwark and MSNBC noted via social media, “’Prices will come down,’ Trump told voters during a speech last week laying out his vision for a return to the White House. ‘You just watch: They’ll come down, and they’ll come down fast, not only with insurance, with everything.'”

Not even sworn in yet and he's already making excuses for not keeping a campaign promise -- that has to be some sort of a record. 


President-elect Trump’s mass deportation proposals threaten to gut the U.S. economy, shrinking growth and the labor force while juicing inflation, according to a report released Thursday by Democrats in the Congressional Joint Economic Committee (JEC).



Sourcing data from the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the report found that deporting 8.3 million immigrants in the country illegally would reduce GDP by 7.4 percent and reduce employment by 7 percent by 2028, likely resulting in zero overall growth throughout Trump’s second term.

Trump has proposed deporting all such immigrants in the United States — currently an estimated 11 million — and millions more currently protected by humanitarian programs such as Temporary Protected Status, who could lack legal status if those programs were cut.

According to an American Immigration Council (AIC) estimate sourced by the JEC report, deporting at a clip of 1 million people per year — echoing a proposal by Vice President-elect JD Vance to “start with 1 million” — could generate a 4.2 percent to 6.8 percent loss in GDP. The U.S. economy shrank by 4.3 percent during the Great Recession, the report’s authors noted.

“Trump’s plan to deport millions of immigrants does absolutely nothing to address the core problems driving our broken immigration system. Instead, all it will do is raise grocery prices, destroy jobs, and shrink the economy. His immigration policy is reckless and would cause irreparable harm to our economy,” JEC Chair Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said.


Which brings us back to yesterday's point.  If we can survive the next four years, MAGA will do itself in.




As Ashford and Simpson sing, "Times Will Be Good Again" (they wrote the song and it first shows up on their classic album STREET OPERA).  Or at least good again for those of us lucky enough to survive.  As Betty noted this week in "Chicago's the first city targeted," not even in the White House yet but already they've decided who will be targeted firs: Chicago.  

A lot of people are going to suffer.  

And we need to keep our heads right now.  We do not have a lot of friends in the media.  We have liars who tell us that it's over for the Democratic Party -- unless we move to the right.  Ana Marie Cox has a piece at THE NEW REPUBLIC on how we need to learn from MAGA.

Huh?

No, we don't.  But more to the point, Ana Marie -- who did a gossip blog years ago -- never understood politics, was a hack at TIME magazine and has never been right about anything political. 

We need to grasp that.  We need to be very diligent about the media we consume.

Jonny Stewart wants to talk about the election with . . . Mark Cuban.  I don't have any beef with Cuban but we are not on the same page politically.  More to the point, it's further proof of how useless Jon Stewart truly is -- and it's yet another example of another White man being brought on Jon's show to discuss . . . nothing of value.  Cuban's not an activist, he's not a scholar.  He's also not really impacted -- wealth will shield him.  It's amazing that Jon wants to talk the election and the direction of the party with someone making the same generic talking points.

It's even more amazing that Jon wants to try to pass that off as information.

This is not helping anyone and Jon needs to take a hard look at what he's doing as opposed to what he thinks he's doing.  

The Democratic Party will have a new party chair in the new year.  Patrick Svitek, Leigh Ann Caldwell and Alec Dent (WASHINGTON POST) report:


As the race to lead the Democratic National Committee ramps up, a range of factions is jockeying to shape the priorities of the next leader after a disappointing presidential election.

But looming over the internal party debate is a more fundamental question: Just how much power does a DNC chair have to change the direction of the party?

“There’s no savior that’s coming in to save the DNC,” said one candidate for chair, Ken Martin, who argued the DNC is part of a “larger ecosystem of organizations that are fighting for economic and social justice.”

A key role for the DNC chair, he added, is to take the lead in bringing those groups together.

The DNC chair contest is expected to become more formalized Thursday, when the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee is set to meet in Washington to go over the rules and procedures for the Feb. 1 election.

At least four candidates have already declared they are running: Martin, a DNC vice chair who also leads the Minnesota party; Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin party; Martin O’Malley, the former commissioner of the Social Security Administration and Maryland governor; and James Skoufis, a New York state senator from a battleground district.


Remember that whomever gets the job needs organizing and leadership skills.  It would also help if they had a little understanding of the 2024 election -- including that there was no landslide for Trump, none at all.


In the real world, Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following:


Murray discusses how bipartisan overhaul she negotiated has simplified FAFSA, expanded aid eligibility—and shares update on law’s implementation

Washington state lags in FAFSA completion rates; in 2023, WA left $65 million in Pell Grants on the table by not completing the FAFSA

Senator Murray: “Take advantage of every penny of federal grants available to you. Fill the FAFSA out—it’s quick, it’s easy, and thousands of dollars in federal grants could be just ten minutes away.”

***WATCH: Senator Murray discusses FAFSA form that is now live***

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), urged Washington state students and families to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, which is now live, to take full advantage of the federal grants, assistance, and loans available to them to pursue a higher education. Senator Murray discussed how the new FAFSA form is easier and quicker to complete than ever and how more aid is now available to more students—thanks to the bipartisan FAFSA Simplification Act she negotiated and got signed into law in 2020. The law overhauled the financial aid application process, simplified the FAFSA form for students and families, and significantly expanded eligibility for federal aid. She also provided an update on implementation of the law.

“Here’s what high school seniors, college students, and families across Washington state should know: the FAFSA form for the upcoming school year is available now and you should get it done as soon as possible,” said Senator Murray. “Filling out the FAFSA is the only way to unlock federal grants, assistance, and loans to help you get a higher education. Whether you’re looking to get a four-year degree or to head to community or technical college, fill the FAFSA out! And now, thanks to the bipartisan reforms I worked hard to make happen, the form is shorter and quicker than ever.”

“Unfortunately, our state has lagged behind in filling out the FAFSA—and that means not taking advantage of federal aid that they qualified for,” Murray continued. “In 2023, Washington state left $65 million in Pell Grants on the table because no one applied for them—so let’s turn that around!  That’s the message I want to get across today: take advantage of every penny of federal grants available to you. Fill the FAFSA out—it’s quick, it’s easy, and thousands of dollars in federal grants could be just ten minutes away.”

Washington state still has one of the lowest FAFSA completion rates in the nation. In 2023, students in Washington state left $65 million in Pell Grants on the table by not completing the FAFSA.

The bipartisan FAFSA Simplification Act Senator Murray negotiated and got signed into law:

  • Significantly expands who is eligible to receive Pell Grants and the maximum award;
  • Significantly simplifies the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA);
  • Makes the financial aid process easier to navigate for students experiencing homelessness and students formerly in foster care.
  • Restores Pell Grant eligibility for students who have been defrauded, students with drug-related offenses, and more.

Senator Murray has led oversight efforts of implementation of the new, simplified FAFSA and has continued to stay in close contact with the Department of Education to ensure the new form works for students and families. The draft Senate Fiscal Year 2025 spending bill, authored and negotiated by Murray, which funds the Department of Education, includes an additional $100 million for the administration of student aid programs—the funding would support a wide range of activities, including implementation of the FAFSA. The bill also directs the Department of Education to undertake various activities related to the FAFSA, including conducting outreach to students who have uncompleted FAFSA applications, providing weekly updates to Congress on FAFSA implementation, and correcting errors that have made it difficult for unaccompanied homeless youth to access the FAFSA application. Senator Murray’s funding bill passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee 25-3—and she is now working to get it signed into law.

Read about the FAFSA Simplification Act HERE.

Senator Murray’s full comments, as delivered, are below:

“My siblings and I all were able to pursue a higher education thanks to federal support.

“So I personally know just how important it is. And that is why I have been so focused throughout my career on making sure students can get the federal support they need to make it through higher education.


“Today, one of the first steps many kids take to make that dream a reality is filling out the form called FAFSA, which is how they get access to funding for higher education through the federal government.


“Now, for many, many years, the application was daunting. Many, many questions. Very complex to fill out. You had to import your tax information.

“And I’ve always believed there’s no reason for what should be a first step on the path to a higher education to become the first stumbling block. And I wasn’t the only person who thought that.

“So I set out to make the form a whole lot easier and quicker to fill out. And I worked with my Republican counterpart on the Senate Education Committee—and together we passed a bipartisan bill to streamline the FAFSA—and to rework the financial aid formula so that we could get more aid to more students, including, of course, in Washington state.

“The rollout of the new form and the overhaul I negotiated last year was rocky—to say the very least.

“So I’ve had to continue to work with the Department to push them to address the incredibly frustrating problems that students and families were experiencing.

“Now, many of those major kinks have been addressed, and I am much more optimistic about where things stand this year, and going forward.

“So I’m going to keep making sure it works well—but bottom line: students can expect a much smoother, easier process.

“And despite the challenges over the last year—we are already seeing more students get more aid, which is exactly why I pushed so hard to reform this process.

“We know now that, nationwide, 10% more students are on track to receive Pell Grants—not loans, Pell Grants—this school year than last year.

“And in Washington state, over 12% more students are now eligible for Pell Grants than just a year ago. Which means more people will be able to get federal grants so they can get a higher education.

“This is really important for students and families across our state to take advantage so that they can get access to the federal money to open those doors to higher education and it will be available for them immediately.

“So here’s what high school seniors, college students, and families across Washington state should know: the FAFSA form for the upcoming school year is available now and you should get it done as soon as possible! It’ll just take 10-15 minutes, as little as 18-20 questions—done with it, and you will know whether you are eligible and whether you can be eligible for financial aid.

“Even if you think you may not be eligible for financial aid, it is worth taking a few minutes to fill out that form and find out. And I think many students will be very surprised to learn they are eligible to get additional support—especially with the expanded aid that we helped to get.

“Filling out the FAFSA is the only way to unlock federal grants, assistance, and loans to help you get a higher education.

“Whether you’re looking to get a four-year degree or to head to community or technical college, fill the FAFSA out!

“And now, thanks to the bipartisan reforms I worked hard to make happen, the form is shorter and quicker.

“Instead of over a hundred questions, it’s now down to as few as 88. So it’ll only take you about 10 minutes to fill it out.

“So I encourage anyone thinking about going to college, community college, or technical school next year—or who will be returning—to take a few minutes and get the FAFSA done.

“Unfortunately, our state has lagged behind in filling out the FAFSA—and that means not taking advantage of federal aid that they qualified for.

“In fact, in 2023, Washington state left $65 million in Pell Grants on the table because no one applied for them—so let’s turn that around!

“That’s the message I want to get across today: take advantage of every penny of federal grants available to you. Fill the FAFSA out—it’s quick, it’s easy, and thousands of dollars in federal grants could be just ten minutes away.

“And know that I am working hard to make sure students and families and people who work in higher education know this form is out there. Let’s get it done. Let’s make sure everyone gets access to higher education that qualifies.”

###

That's probably the case in every state so take her advice to heart. 


The following sites updated:


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