"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Today, two days before Martin Luther King Day, I realized as I stood among my sister and brother resisters at De La Guerra Plaza that it had been a long time since I've attended a demonstration.
My Greatest International Scavenger Hunt (GISH) comrades and I did a virtual demonstration at the height of the pandemic as part of our GISH week in August 2020, and before that the last demonstration I took part in, I believe, was in June 2020 during the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyd's death.
It's been a good, quiet four years, hasn't it?
I dug out my original sign that I used in Los Angeles eight years ago in the original Women's March, taped a new stick to it, and set out downtown for the People's March. I joined several hundred people here, and there were demonstrations and marches from coast to coast.
To be honest, I was iffy going. I'm feeling the doldrums about our situation. I'm glad I went. I felt SO MUCH better standing there among like-minded people, being inspired by political leaders and organization leaders who are devoted to action.
It was a convivial atmosphere! I enjoyed it. We are ready for action.
We heard from women's groups, gun safety groups, environmental groups, and local press who talked about misinformation and the importance of supporting local free press. I learned about a trio of local journalists who are working for media literacy, MomentofTruthTraining.org, and a local group of moms for gun safety with MomsDemandAction.org. We also heard from MLKSB.org, who are having a march on Monday to honor the memory of the great Martin Luther King, Jr.
I have to admit, resisters, it has been hard coming back to LSR to face four more years. Pollyanna LSR is having a hard time, and I know you all are too.
It seems more bleak this time around. He has a different cabal surrounding him. Gone are the "adults in the room." Now it's oligarchs and the ass-kissingest yes-men to be found. (Though "Ass-Kissingest Yes-Men" would be a great name for a band!) And he has a darker agenda now.
Yet, I must find Pollyanna and bring her out to quash bad thoughts. I really am an optimist at heart. And for my own mental health, it is important to stay in that world as much as I can.
I chatted recently with a sister resister who is also struggling, and we decided that straw-grasping, as meager as it is, is where we must live for now. So let's grasp.
So what straws do we have?
We have the same idiot
He is demented, and ego drives him. This may actually work in our favor, as those who would whisper in his ear are subject to his whims. He will likely become more paranoid, which does not make for good relationships. The very essence of an authoritarian regime is imbued with paranoia and distrust. With cognitive difficulties, his paranoia may become worse. This may actually work to our advantage, as he will continue to be disorganized, change on a whim, with no real plan, and fire and hire at will based on some warped sense of "loyalty." It's what he does; he did it last time and we can expect more.
He has surrounded himself with a new set of idiots.Yes, they are bad actors, but they are also incompetent. Most do not have experience in government or in the area they are to run. This may be a positive in that it will be hard for them to get things done. It will be chaos, like it was last time.
While they are flailing, Congress, statehouses, the courts, and The People can put up guardrails.
Work with me, folks. Trying to find positives!
We have a subset of IQ47's voters: the FAFO voters
They have fucked around. Now they are finding out. They are waking up and saying Wait a minute. This isn't what I voted for.
We know from the FAFO world that people are disillusioned, in their own little warped way. For example, the Tech Bro Oligarchs are gunning for a reversal of the immigration issue when it comes to cheap foreign skilled labor. The Racist Right is clashing with the Let-the-Corporations-Do-What-They-Want Right. While they are fighting, Dems can get things done. Maybe?
Instead of "bringing prices down immediately," he is blathering about buying or invading other lands. Do even the die-hard MAGAts want this?
Once the economy starts tanking, they will have buyer's remorse.
And once Leon's DOGE plans start taking shape, more people may wake up. Remember what he said, that we will have some "temporary hardship?" Voters do not like to face hardship, temporary or otherwise. They want their eggs at $2.99/dozen. Social Security and Medicare? Those are issues that are very dear to all people across the political spectrum.
They will sour on Musk. We may have people rebel.
They have a very narrow majority in the House
Currently it's 219-215 Repug in the 119th Congress, with Matt Gaetz's vacated seat still to be filled. It's a little stronger in the Senate. Currently at 51-45 and 2 Independents, there will be two seats to be filled by Repugs, WV and Assistant to the Vice President JD Vance's seat.
We have mid-terms in two years
This one is big. The 2027 midterms will be exciting. There are 33 Senators whose terms end in 2027. Twenty-one of those are Repugs. Some of those are close to retiring. If things go south in the next two years, which they likely will, let's hope disaffected voters will go to the polls. If we can flip the two bodies of Congress, we can put the brakes on. Campaigns will begin in just one year!
We still have a triumvirate system of government
I know: Only to an extent. Yes, the Supreme Court is corrupt and in 34's pocket, but we still have state and federal courts. They have the obligation to dismiss frivolous lawsuits and ensure that illegal acts are blocked. Mark Elias writes about it in Democracy Docket.
With that in mind, please donate if you can to organizations that are ready to use litigation to protect our rights.
President Biden has been on a federal judge appointment spree, and several federal judges who were set to retire withdrew their retirement after the election.
And see this from Brian Taylor Cohen. The Arizona courts may – just may – be able to bring some justice and get The Felon behind bars. They still have a case against some of the conspirators who tried to overturn Arizona's election results. There is a certain unindicted co-conspirator in the indictment, a guy who oversaw the conspiracy in his bid to remain president of the United States. It's possible that the case can circle back around and get him in the net.
Thanks Sister Resister Anne for sending this straw of hope!
We can learn from the past
There have been fascist governments around the world, and we can learn from them.
One of the biggest obstacles to us who want freedom: information. We have a misinformation crisis in the U.S. To me, this is our biggest obstacle to making things better.
FAUX News and the other right-wing media have been feeding lies to their huge, confused audience. "Mainstream" or "legacy" media have begun to "obey in advance." Their weakening independence is thanks in large part to being owned by oligarchs or by frightened corporations.
The trouble with most legacy media outlets is that they are owned by bigger business entities who can benefit or be harmed by the next administration's whims. They have an interest in keeping their dollars, less so in keeping information flowing freely. The independent part of "an independent free press" is being threatened.
And legacy media has been taking a hit business-wise even before this election. Readership and veiwership has declined. There has been a steady stream of layoffs across platforms.
Yet the legacy media is where journalists are. The hard-hitting, hard-working, question-asking, standards-upholding, educated journalists.
I hate where we are, because a good, thorough, and free press is integral to a democracy. There's a reason Freedom of Speech is enshrined in the First Amendment.
The history of the media decline has to do with corporate conglomerate ownership and the rise of social media, influencers, and self-publishing platforms like YouTube and podcasts.
There is a new media coming out. Outlets like Medias Touch, and Brian Tyler Cohen, who I shared above, are good pro-democracy outlets. There are many commentators and journalists blogging on platforms like Stubstack as well. Even though they are satiric, late night media can also give a dose of reality to the news. Watch The Daily Show, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver.
There are plenty of left-leaning media outlets. They are good for calling bullshit, but they are often hyper-biased, which also isn't healthy. All of these "alternative" media sources get their information second- and third-hand from the legacy media anyway.
We shouldn't completely abandon the legacy media, but we need to be careful. As we know, The Washington Post, ABC (owned by Disney), the Los Angeles Times, and MSNBC have already shown their tendency to obey in advance. The New York Times and CNN have been known to sane-wash the lunatic's fever dreams. I don't trust the Washington Post any more at all. The others, I use with caution.
Consume carefully. Seek out the most unbiased and reliable sources. Here is our old friend, the Bias Chart from Al Fontes Media. You can also check with Media Bias/Fact Check or All Sides. These sources are on constant watch and update regularly.
Some of my favorites are The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Independent, ProPublica and PBS NewsHour. There's also AP, The Hill, NPR.
BREAKING! Here's one alternative. Storied columnist Jennifer Rubin has also resigned from WaPo. She turned to Substack and has teamed up with Norman Eisen, attorney, CNN commentator, and founder of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, to launch a new pro-democracy journalism site, The Contrarian. Thanks, Sister Resister Pagrs, for pointing me to this!
The Bigger Problem: How to reach the MAGA voters. The Traitor Tot's main weapon is lies. Misinformation and disinformation work to make everyone confused. There are so many lies and so much misinformation that they can't believe anything. It is Authoritarianism 101.
How can we undo the misinformation? The MAGAts won't listen to left-leaning outlets, or even least-biased sources. They're been told it's all "fake news." It is so distressing. If they were only properly informed and educated, they may make different choices at the ballot box.
The Lincoln Project has done brilliantly in their ad campaigns. Run by a bunch of good Republicans, they produce ads excoriating 45/47. Being Republicans, they know what speaks to that mind. Is it enough though?
We need a new way to reach the righties. Any ideas, resisters?
Sister Resister Anne has done old-fashioned leaflets and posters. It's a good idea. How can we do this on a large scale? Would people read a leaflet, in this memefied world? Would meme leaflets work? How to get factual information into their hands? How to get them to trust a source? Or can it even be done? These are big questions.
As expected, he said goodbye to the justice department after two years of work on two large cases, the insurrection case and the stolen classified documents case. We owe him a big bunch of gratitude for his hard work, even though in the end it was for naught.
Because of a standing DOJ policy to not pursue criminal cases against a sitting president, the cases were dropped (Pollyanna adds... for now).
He filed his final reports on the January 6 case and the stolen classified documents case last week. Though Judge Eileen "Loose" Cannon quashed the documents case against The Felon, there is still a case pending against two co-conspirators. That report is being held in deference to that case. (Yes, 47 could make the case against them go away, too, but let's cross that bridge later.)
We got one of the reports
Early this morning the report on the coup attempt was released to the public. It's 137 pages, and can be found here.
A few takeaways
Smith called the undertaking an "unprecedented criminal effort" and but for the election, King Leer would have been convicted, saying, “Indeed, but for Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.”
Smith explained why he did not charge incitement. He had tread carefully; he cited free speech and evidentiary reasons for not charging incitement. He also said that, as a practical matter, Jabba the Gut's words did indeed incite the mob and it was a foreseeable consequence.
Smith explained how difficult the investigation was, with all of the assertions of executive privilege, witness intimidation, and reluctant witnesses there were. And of course, the immunity ruling by the corrupt Supreme Court, which made charges more difficult – but not impossible – to finesse.
Smith rejected assertions that his work was politically motivated, calling it laughable: “Nobody within the Department of Justice ever sought to interfere with, or improperly influence, my prosecutorial decision making. And to all who know me well, the claim from Mr. Trump that my decisions as a prosecutor were influenced or directed by the Biden administration or other political actors is, in a word, laughable.”
Will he step up and finally pay the women he defamed? And stop defaming them more? The judge dressed him down and required that he file a declaration that the facts are the facts. She stopped short of ordering him to jail, but said that it would be her next move if he doesn't shape up.
Politicizing fires in LA
It has been a horrible week in Los Angeles. Fires have decimated several communities, wiping the town of Pacific Palisades off the map entirely.
And true to form, Orange Julius Caeser has shot his mouth off again, bringing lies and politics fresh off an historic tragedy. He hates "liberal" California and he doesn't understand how water works and he's an idiot.
So much misinformation is floating around that Gov. Gavin Newsom made a website for the facts. Gov. Newsom also invited the Orange Anus to come see for himself:
This is such a maddening and sad by-product of a terrible, terrible calamity for thousands of families. Nothing like this should be politicized. Real people lost their lives, homes, and livelihoods.
DonOld can eat shit.
The Phone Call with Alito
The day before he was about to be sentenced, King Minus just happened to ring up his buddy Sammy Alito. The phone call was supposedly about a former clerk interested in a federal position.
The "clerk" cover was so transparent. It's someone who clerked for the justice 13 years ago and has already been in a federal position. There was no need for this kind of phone call. Of course the call was another bid for a favor.
Besides, even if it were an "innocent" and "perfect" phone call, it 👏 should 👏 not 👏 happen 👏. He has no business speaking to a justice of the United States Supreme Court! And Alito has no business taking the call!
Ethics! We need ethics!
Yet...The Felon was sentenced the next day
SCOTUS did the right thing and blocked stay of sentencing (should have been 9-0, not 5-4, though! Surprise: Alito was one of the four), and The Felon was formally, if in name only, sentenced. There was no punishment. But a sentence, even this one of "Unconditional Discharge," means that The Felon is and forever will be a Felon. 34 times felon. He can't own a gun, but will have the button to nuclear missiles.
Pete Hegseth's hearing for Secretary of Defense was today. I watched a bit of it, but every time a smarmy Repug senator came on, ready to nuzzle Pete's nether regions, I got sick to my stomach. Literally. Rather than throw things at the TV, I turned it off. I will say I caught Sen. Elissa Slotkin from Minnesota and she was on fire. We need more Slotkins in this country.
She is ex-CIA and worked in the Department of Defense. She is one smart cookie.
And I saw a bit of Purple Heart Veteran Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.). Fierce:
And Tim Kane!
"....including the name of your own mother."
Hegseth: Anonymous false charges
Kaine: They’re not anonymous.. We have seen records with names attached to all of these including your own mother
The chatter about acquiring Greenland, the Panama Canal, and Canada continue. Some think it is all just a distraction, but The Guardian feels that these expansionist ideas should be taken seriously and should be nipped in the bud.
Jimmy Carter's funeral
President Carter was laid to rest, and all of the living former (and current) presidents were in attendance. The internet had a lot to say about the seating arrangements, the optics, and the doings of one certain former/future president. In a word: awkward!
The President is working on lots of things before he leaves office. I've told you about some of his final acts, like commuting the sentences of most of the death row prisoners in the United States and expanding Social Security by signing the Social Security Fairness Act.
He has done a lot more. For example, he extended temporary status for 800,000 Salvadoran and Venezuelan immigrants. He announced $2.5 billion for Ukraine; he blocked a takeover of a U.S. steel corporation by a Japanese firm; he banned offshore drilling along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts; he wiped medical debt from credit reports; he expanded Veterans' benefits; he imposed additional sanctions on Russia; he restricted exports of AI chips, and more. Read in Time.
I am happy to live in California.
Gov. Newsom and the state have allocated $50 million for litigation to Drumpf-proof California, including resisting his efforts to use us to implement his mass deportation agenda. Keep your stinking paws out of our beautiful state, you loser!
Keep your chin up.
David Cole, who was national legal director at the ACLU and argued many cases in front of the Supreme Court, believes that civil society will be a thorn in the authoritarian's side.
He cites the fact that last time, The Hungry Hungry Hippocrite controlled both houses of Congress and appointed bunches of federal judges but got very little legislation passed and "had the worst win-loss record in the Supreme Court of any president in history." Many of his own appointees ruled against him.
Cole talks about the ACLU's actions against 45's administration, their defense of civil liberties in general, and the readiness to go up against The Incompetent Incontinent again. Read his interview with Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.
YOUR MOMENT OF BEAUTY
How fun is this?!
YOUR MOMENT OF ACTION
Find the location of Saturday's People's March and go! Make a sign, get your friends, and march, darn it!
And secondly, contact your Senators today and tell them to oppose the confirmation of Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense. Use Resistbot or 5 Calls. Or find your Senator's contact information here.
LOOKING FOR MEMES?
Watch for the next post! Coming soon!
MY PROMISE
My promise, resisters, is to stay here. I will stay aware, devour media, and bring the news and my thoughts to you. As hard as it is, I must. Staying informed is activism. Writing is activism. Activism staves off the hopelessness.
I haven't felt too bloggy lately. The news is anxiety-inducing and overwhelming and I feel better when I'm not digesting media about COVID-19. But, as I stated in my very first post, "the purpose of Little Sister Resister is firstly, to chronicle this moment in American History, from my Little Ol' Eyes."
And this is a moment. Not for America, but for the world. And so, I chronicle.
The official Federal response has been, quite simply, a shit show.
IMPOTUS continues to be a transactional "leader" during the Covfefe-19 crisis, insisting that governors be appreciative before he'll cooperate in sending medical equipment to their states.
Corruption and incompetence laid bare by the appearance of SCROTUS's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who also piled on the governors while dangerously inserting himself into the crisis, costing precious time. His judgment is terrifying to say the least. Then he goes on TV proclaiming of the stockpile of medical equipment, "the notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile, it’s not supposed to be states’ stockpiles that they then use." What the actual fuck is that supposed to mean?
The incompetence goes on and on. It's a deep, deep, dark rabbit hole. But probably the most tragic aspect of the "administration's" failure was simply the waste of time. Agent Orange knew early about the problem but chose to downplay it, letting the monster creep free among us, until now, weeks away from its peak, with 397,754 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 12,956 deaths in the United States as of this morning, April 8.
This tragedy is best exemplified in this ad. The ad is powerful, and I love Mika and Joe's treatment:
But we can all rest assured. Though this crisis is upending each and every one of our lives, SCROTUS's briefings are getting very good ratings (even better than The Bachelor!) and he is #1 on Facebook. Sleep well, my friends, with that knowledge.
Church services have continued around the country, with naysayers, blasting from both hips (literally), dying. "And the deniers shall be the first to perish from the earth" (Covid 1:9). Doesn't SCROTUS know he's killing his base?
There is yet more incompetence and recklessness, much more than I could possibly work out here. The history books will have volumes written about this pandemic and the worldwide response, laying bare the rot of 45's incompetence. A black stain on our history.
But you know what? There are leaders who are truly inspiring.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. He's been tough, truthful, and at the same time reassuring. Randy Rainbow agrees completely. Andy, we're all thirsty for what you're serving.
Andrew Cuomo: this is what a leader looks like.
Our California governor, Gavin Newsom. He was the first governor to issue a stay-at-home order, which, by the looks of the data, seems to be working to flatten the curve. California is in a good place at this point, such that Newsom is lending ventilators to four states and two territories. I prefer to listen to Newsom's updates vs. anything that comes out of Washington. He is straightforward, well-spoken, and frankly, easy on the eyes. This is what a leader looks like.
Captain Brett Crozier, the commander of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. Capt. Crozier raised alarms about the virus sweeping through his crew. He was relieved of duty, but obviously highly regarded by his sailors. He has since tested positive for coronavirus. He risked his career to bring attention to the plight on his ship. This is what a leader looks like.
The Queen. For the fifth time in her 68-year reign, other than her annual Christmas addresses, she spoke to her nation. Her words were hopeful and reassuring. This is what a leader looks like.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Dr. Fauci as been front and center on the "president's" coronavirus task force. He is often at the televised briefings, and somehow has held on to his job while pushing back against misinformation and stupidity. He knows when to hold 'em, knows when to fold 'em. But he doesn't have a very good poker face. It was the face palm heard 'round the world.
Fauci is smart, works hard, and speaks the truth. This is what a leader looks like.
Seventeen-year-old Seattle high school senior Avi Schiffmann. You may have used his data to track the virus, as millions have. What you may not realize is that he rejected an $8 million offer to have advertising on his site.
Schiffmann realized he had the skills to help, and created the site for the good of all of us. This is what a leader looks like.
These leaders all have one thing in common. They tell the truth, they tell it plainly, and they are right there with us. We appreciate the truth. We need the truth. The truth can calm us, heal us, prepare us.
And there are thousands more leaders out there in the trenches, men and women who work as paramedics, nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, PTs, OTs, and SLPs, CNAs, hospital housekeepers, grocery store clerks, gas station attendants, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, drive-through restaurant workers, migrant farm workers, letter carriers, bus drivers, and on and on. They are all working to provide us what we need and keep us well, while literally risking their own lives. They don't get to stay home. So you need to. Be patient. Stay home.
Now, for some additional links:
Here is a pulmonologist from NYC, who gave his personal friends and family this level-headed information. Watch the video here. It's long, but it's full of great information.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who I am learning quickly to despise, said this:
"I believe that the president has learned from this case.... The president has been impeached — that's a pretty big lesson. I'm voting to acquit because I do not believe that the behavior alleged reaches the high bar in the Constitution for overturning an election and removing a duly elected president.... I believe he will be much more cautious in the future."
She's right. He's learned a lesson, and so have we all. By leaving a despot in power, the GOP is teaching a powerful set of lessons.
The lessons learned are contained in the new University of the United States course entitled:
"Dictatorship 101. No Reins: An Unfettered March Toward Authoritarianism."
Unfortunately, we are all required to take this course. The lecturer is awful, but we must attend. The lecture hall holds 330,294,221, so take a seat. Be sure to bring water. It's a course that will last 37 weeks.
Dictatorship 101 Syllabus:
We'll explore the lessons learned when a presidential impeachment fails to remove a despot from power. We'll examine the recent, as well as the ongoing, ways that authoritarianism threatens to overturn 243 years of our Democratic Republic.
Lesson One: Overview: "When you are President you can do anything you want." We look at the ways an acquittal emboldens a dictator.
Lesson Two: Using Foreign Interference in Influencing Elections.
We'll see how cowards in the Republican party shrug their shoulders when presented with overwhelming evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors. Constitution too thick for your paper shredder? We'll explore other ways to destroy it.
Topics:
Congress says it's ok, so go ahead and ask your boyfriend Putie the Cutie to hack and propagandize
Reinforcing a debunked theory: repeat the false Ukraine narrative enough and it becomes fact!
Lesson Three: Witness Tampering and Intimidation.
We'll explore the fine art of witness intimidation, from live-tweeting threats during witness testimony to soliciting surrogates to out whistleblowers.
Lesson Four: Trashing the Rule of Law.
The meat of the dictatorship: eliminating the rule of law. Learn how using a corrupt attorney general to act as your personal attorney while undermining dozens of ethical federal prosecutors. Learn to present alternative facts as well as the AG's art of plausible deniability.
Topics:
Politicizing the Department of Justice by strong-arming prosecutors to change sentencing recommendations for your friends
Lesson Five: Undermining Checks and Balances by Stacking the Judiciary.
Part Two of Trashing the Rule of Law. We explore how putting sympathetic judges on the bench can help meet corrupt goals faster.
Lesson Six: Undermining Checks and Balances by Intimidating Members of the Legislative Branch.
We examine how lies, bullying, and pandering to an uninformed, rabid base can keep Repugs in line. Learn how keeping one's Congressional seat defeats supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States in every case.
Topics:
Using Twitter to intimidate Members of Congress
Pandering to your base
Insulting those who have disagreed with you
The ins and outs of propaganda: conspiring with Putie to control the narrative on social media
Managing the ally/enemy balance: the art of faint praise vs. intimidation and bullying
Lesson Seven: Part 1: Corruption Happens in Darkness.
We see how secret meetings and conversations can get around pesky do-gooders.
Having 1:1 meetings with the world's enemy, V. Putin
The benefits of confiscating interpreters' notes during meetings with other despots
Lesson Eight: Part 2: Corruption is Deemed Acceptable if Done in the Sunlight.
We look at the converse: how proclaiming your crimes out loud can bring down suspicion that what you're doing is wrong.
Lesson Nine: Distorting Reality.
The oldest and most effective method to destroy a nation. Lie, lie, lie.
Topics:
Forcing your sycophants to repeatedly call impeachment "overturning an election and removing a duly elected president" makes it seem like there is truth to that duality of falsehoods
Using Twitter to disseminate misinformation quickly and easily
Vilifying the good guys: demonizing the free press
Facts are lies; lies are facts. Apply, rinse, repeat
Lesson Ten: Bribery Works!
We'll explore how continuing the facade of having wealth can help corrupt people and institutions.
Greasing the palms of GOP senators can help your chances at being acquitted on impeachment charges
Lesson Eleven: Perverting the Military.
We'll visit the duality of proclaiming support of the military while simultaneously removing benefits and assistance.
Topics:
Politicizing the military by pardoning war criminals
Lesson Twelve: Using Fear to Suppress Freedom of Thought.
The premier tool of a despot: incite fear in the people. We'll explore how fear drives conservative thought and ways to exploit it.
"Do not consider it proof just because it is written in books, for a liar who will deceive with his tongue will not hesitate to do the same with his pen." – Maimonides ....Or his photograph.
Sunday it was reported that mega bad guy, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed (he reportedly blew up himself and some children after being chased down a dead-end tunnel) in a U.S. military raid on Saturday. It was a risky operation, made riskier by 45's earlier capricious decision to pull troops out of Syria. All the meticulous planning – which the president* was aware of – had to be speeded up before troops and equipment were lost to the retreat. What a dumb-ass.
According to Wikipedia, this isn't the first time his death has been reported. In fact, al-Baghdadi apparently has had more lives than a cat. Reportedly, soldiers were able to gather DNA from the scene and confirm the identity within a couple hours. Amazing.
And then, this photo was released.
My first impression was "yeah, right." And then it was adding a thought bubble to the TV-Addict-in-Chief: "I wonder when 'Hogan's Heroes' is on." Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Mark Milley on the right is pleading with us with his eyes. "Get. Me. Out. Of. Here."
I'm not the only one to be skeptical of this photo. Pete Souza, official Obama photographer, jumped on it. See his tweet:
The raid, as reported, took place at 3:30PM Washington time. The photo, as shown in the camera IPTC data, was taken at "17:05:24". https://t.co/XV0MFfFiTt
It doesn't take a genius photographer to know that this was staged. Where the hell are they all looking? And why aren't their machines plugged in?
Compare this picture to Souza's iconic photo of President Obama during the raid and killing of Osama bin Laden.
Even 45's propaganda is amateur.
Anyway, I guess the death of al-Baghdadi good for the War On Terror, but the loss of the leader is just that....the loss of the leader. ISIS isn't going away. Especially after TЯUMP let them out of the Kurdish prison with his stupid decision to withdraw from northern Syria.
If you don't quite understand the full situation in Syria, you're not alone. It's a hugely complex situation, as is all of the Middle East. This is worth the watch. John Oliver, in his no-nonsense and frequently funny style, explains it. And you get to laugh, too.
How does the death of al-Baghdadi affect the impeachment inquiry? It doesn't.
Other events of the last few days, impeachment and otherwise:
Rep. Elijiah Cummings was laid to rest on Friday. Such a loss of a fine statesman, dedicated to the country literally until his dying day. Within hours before his death, he signed subpoenas for the impeachment inquiry. May he rest in power.
Congress gets to see grand jury information presented during the Mueller investigation, according to a court ruling. The ruling also deemed the impeachment inquiry legal to proceed without a formal vote, which we already knew it was. Judge Beryl A. Howell of the Federal District Court in Washington indicates that 45's obstructive tactic actually worked against him. She wrote, “The White House’s stated policy of noncooperation with the impeachment inquiry weighs heavily in favor of disclosure. Congress’s need to access grand jury material relevant to potential impeachable conduct by a president is heightened when the executive branch willfully obstructs channels for accessing other relevant evidence.”
Good judges make good checks and balances.
There was fall-out from the storming the SCIF by idiot Repug lawmakers. There are calls for investigation and censure, as the Congressmen violated the law by bringing – and using – cell phones within the secure facility. Here's a good Q and A explanation of the SCIF situation from the New York University School of Law.
Kelly Anne Conway was her usual charming self last week. This time, she railed against a Washington Examiner reporter. See some of her 7-minute rant here.
"Don't pull the crap where you're trying to undercut another, a woman based on who she is married to." Hillary much, Kelly Anne? Later, Mrs. Conway took offense to the suggestion that she threatened the reporter, saying, "If I threaten someone, you'll know it." Straight out of the script of an abuser.
Late one night, another clown in the circus butt-dialed a reporter from NBC and left a nice long 3-minute voicemail. And Rudy Giuliani's conversation mistakenly recorded wasn't some idiotic thing like plans for lunch. Rudy was heard discussing going to Bahrain and for needing "several hundred thousand dollars." It's not the first time he butt-dialed this reporter. The first time the accidental voicemail centered around dishing on -- you guessed it -- Hunter Biden. Read about – and listen to – the goings on in the Center ring here at NBC.com. Seriously, you can't make this stuff up!
Former Chief of Staff John Kelly said in an interview over the weekend that he had warned his boss about impeachment. “I said, whatever you do — and we were still in the process of trying to find someone to take my place — I said whatever you do, don’t hire a ‘yes man,’ someone who won’t tell you the truth — don’t do that. Because if you do, I believe you will be impeached,” Kelly said. Clearly, as he has done throughout the last three years, he ignored good advice.
Yesterday, SCROTUS attended a World Series game at Nationals Park. When he was announced, the cheers surrounding game time turned to boos, and then to chants of "Lock him up!" Poor Trumpty Drumpfty got hims feelings hurt (videos in link - you'll want to see his face). It's probably the first time that he's been in front of a crowd that wasn't filled with his sycophantic base. Poor baby.
There will be weekend testimony: Investigators are scheduled to talk tomorrow (Saturday) to Philip Reeker, the acting assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia.
Charles Kupperman, who served until last month as deputy national security adviser at the White House, is scheduled to sit for questioning on Monday. Mr. Kupperman worked closely with Mr. Bolton.
And Timothy Morrison, the senior director for Europe and Russia on the National Security Council and a Bolton loyalist, is scheduled to appear next Thursday. He would be the first current White House official to speak with investigators.
Regarding Charles Kupperman: he has asked a federal judge to rule on the admissibility of his testifying. Congress has issued a subpoena but his boss at the State Department has forbidden anyone from cooperating. He is asking the court for direction. EXACTLY the reason why our founding fathers created three co-equal branches of government. Let's hope the courts rule the right way.
As always, thanks for reading! I'll be back with more!
