Finds out. It’s been a noisy week in Lake A-ooo-ga! A-ooo-ga! Dive! Dive! Dive! And thick and fast they came at last, And more, and more, and more, And this was scarcely odd, because they found out every one. it is only the beginning of campaign season, with new ads, and paskudnyakery, but also with indictments, and pleas, and trials, and verdicts, and sentencing every day…
Are we having fun yet? I know I am.
Professional restraint is not a quality that I admire in reporting on these stories.
Lawrence O’Donnell
My buddy Mahakala turning the wheel of time, bringing karma to fruition
Or, as we say nowadays,
Time wounds all heels.
Tina Arena - Les moulins de mon cœur/The Windmills of Your Mind (Live)
Regular Good News
Debt Limit
Constitutional scholar Lawrence Tribe has thought long and hard, and has changed his mind about the 14th Amendment. President Biden was asked about this, and promises to take it very seriously.
The Amendment states, among other weighty matters,
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.
Take that! Wrong-Wing extortionists, trying to overthrow the government yet again.
Sources
We have a wonderful problem. There isn’t room for all of the Good News on offer.
Approval Polling is Still Bo-o-o-o-ogus!
Biden is in full campaign mode now, explaining about his accomplishments. One I had not heard until yesterday is 25,000 new projects, funded by recent legislation, in infrastructure, clean energy, and jobs.
Ukraine
Quick Explainer: UK assembling a coalition to provide mid-range cruise missiles to Ukraine
Slowly I turned…step by step, inch by inch...
Why Russia’s Wagner Group leader is ‘yelling mutiny’ in Ukraine war
But not abandoning the battlefield yesterday as he had been threatening.
Writers’ Strike
FDA
FDA advisers endorse over-the-counter birth control pill
Jim Croce - Time in a bottle - 1973
Repellent Rascals Rushing to Ruin
Now what are they going to screech about next, so we know to do it more?
The campaign ads just write themselves
Media Matters: Hitler-promoting antisemites will speak at Trump’s Miami hotel alongside Eric Trump, Lara Trump, and other Trump personalities
Trump Doral speaker Scott McKay, who has a streaming show on Rumble, has claimed that Jewish people orchestrated 9/11 and were responsible for the assassinations of Presidents Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and William McKinley. He has also said that Jewish people routinely torture children and eat their hearts.
He has praised Hitler for supposedly trying to take down a Jewish banking system and said, “Hitler was actually fighting the same people that we're trying to take down today.”
Trump Doral speaker Charlie Ward, who also streams a show on Rumble, has shared posts praising Hitler for supposedly “warning us” about Judaism; claiming that “VIRUSES are Man (JEW) made”; and attacking the alleged Jewish media for supposedly lying about the Holocaust.
The two are featured speakers in the “ReAwaken America” tour, which is set to stop at Trump’s Miami hotel on May 12 and 13. Scheduled to speak alongside McKay and Ward are numerous members of Trump’s orbit, including: Eric Trump, Lara Trump, former Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former senior Department of Defense official Kash Patel, former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes, and Trump ally Roger Stone.
So hate is a form of Wokeness they are down with, is it?
It’s a good thing we vastly outnumber these loonberders now and our lead is increasing steadily.
Trans Bans
Abortion
Citizens’ initiative is on to enshrine right to abortion in the Florida Constitution
An ‘Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion’
ACLU of Florida, Florida Rising, Women’s Voices of Southwest Florida, and Planned Parenthood organizations throughout Florida are supporting this project, which faces daunting obstacles, but is a matter of life and death, with a six week abortion ban likely coming soon.
Book and Play Bans
The Nazis burned tens of thousands of books. Our Wrong-Wing pikers have only burned Qur’ans and a few others, and banned fewer than a thousand so far, along with plays about LGBTQs and about historical racism. Whatever they ban, more of us should read or see, but it takes all of us to keep up with the Orwellians.
But we also have Good News. Of course.
DEI is the New CRT
Yes, the haters are bullying, discriminating, and harassing, and proud of it. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to them, is Great Replacement.
Gen Q
MSNBC: Gen Z is split. The vast majority are Democrats, and many of those are ardent activists. The Left-Behind cohort is doubling down on MAGAism, but not necessarily on Trump.
Fox News has much to say about this, which I will NOT inflict on you.
Sen. Tuberville (R-Racistan)
Do you believe they should allow white nationalists in the military?
Well, they call them that. I call them Americans.
Legal
In The Jailhouse Now | O Brother, Where Art Thou? | TUNE
Not Just a Trial, a Verdict!
But the jury did not find that Trump raped E. Jean, although they concluded, in only three hours of deliberation, that he sexually abused her, and all the rest that was put to them.
Trump will appeal, of course. That should be hilarious, too.
And hast thou snicked the Trumplerwock?
Come to our arms, our beamish Jean!
Oh frabjous day!
Calloo! Callay!
We chortle, we’re so mean.
🎩 Lewis, not just Jean.
Just before that, we heard,
New York jury will have wide latitude to decide claims against Trump in E. Jean Carroll lawsuit
Watch Donald Trump's rape trial deposition, where he mixes up accuser E. Jean Carroll with his ex-wife
And now,
#MeToo
takes on a new meaning. This clears the way for a multitude of other victims to sue.
George Santos Indicted
He was arraigned in court yesterday on Long Island, after the indictment was unsealed. He has pleaded Not Guilty to all charges. Anonymous benefactors put up his $500,000 bail.
- 7 counts of wire fraud
- 3 counts of money laundering
- 1 count of theft of public funds
- 2 counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives
Our side rightly says
What, is that all?
It’s OK, a superseding indictment with more charges is expected.
He says, and Ari Melber played the tape,
Witch hunt!!
I had to lie about graduating from college. Otherwise I couldn’t have gotten the nomination.
They say
When did lying to Congress become a crime?
Manhattan Indictments
NBC News: Trump prohibited from posting evidence in hush money case to social media, judge rules
At Bragg’s request.
He is allowed to review sensitive “Limited Dissemination Materials” from prosecutors only in the presence of his lawyers.
Murder Trial in Pittsburgh
WSJ: Tree of Life Synagogue Massacre Trial Begins in Pittsburgh
I just want to kill Jews.
Mr. Bowers, 50 years old, faces 63 counts, including 11 counts each of obstruction of the free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death and committing a hate crime resulting in death. He has pleaded not guilty. In court filings, his lawyers said that he had offered to plead guilty and serve multiple life sentences, if prosecutors would agree not to seek the death penalty.
The pursuit of the death penalty by federal prosecutors will make the trial longer and more complex, legal experts note. That begins with selecting jurors who say they can vote in favor of capital punishment if they believe it is warranted.
Mr. Bowers, a former truck driver who dropped out of high school, has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and epilepsy.
Arizona!
Sentencing in Buffalo
ICYMI—Buffalo News: Judge Eagan sentences racist Tops gunman to 11 life sentences
Feb 17, 2023 Updated Mar 10, 2023
Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan delivers a total of 11 life sentences without parole, one for each count of murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate, as well as an additional 90 years for the remaining counts in the indictment, to which defendant Payton Gendron has previously pleaded guilty, during Erie County Court on Feb. 15, 2023.
Gov. Kathy Hochul addresses Tops gunman's sentencing
Jan. 6 Sentences
NBC News: Federal judge imposes longest sentence yet for Jan. 6 defendant
Peter Schwartz was sentenced to 14 years and two months in prison. Prosecutors said he was the first to throw a folding chair at officers protecting the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace.
SCOTUS
Pence vows to stand behind ‘principled jurist’ Clarence Thomas amid scrutiny
The Mouse in His Castle
Disney expands lawsuit against DeSantis after governor signs bill to void land deals
Disney on Monday expanded its federal lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, accusing the Republican leader of doubling down on his “retribution campaign” against the company by signing legislation to void Disney’s development deals in Orlando.
Disney’s amended lawsuit also noted that Florida’s Republican-led Legislature passed legislation last week targeting Walt Disney World’s monorail system.
On Friday, the final day of the state’s 2023 legislative session, DeSantis signed a bill that included language effectively targeting Disney’s development contracts. It precludes an independent special district “from complying with the terms of any development agreement” that is struck within three months before a law “modifying the manner of selecting members” of that special district’s governing body.
Proud Boys
Are you proud of yourselves now that your leaders have been convicted?
Smith—Jack Smith
Smith has information from a MAL insider that has led to a subpoena for ALL of the video of that fateful storage room, and various other places.
DOJ finds ‘insider witness’ in Trump Mar-a-Lago documents probe: report
Willis
8 Fake Georgia Electors Flip
Kemp signs bill allowing removal of local prosecutors in Georgia
The law establish[es] several reasons for the [Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission (PACQ)] to remove or force the “involuntary retirement” of prosecutors. They include willful misconduct in office, mental or physical incapacity interfering with duties that is likely permanent, willful and persistent failure to carry out statutory duties and conviction of a crime involving “moral turpitude.”
District attorneys and solicitors general could also be removed for conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that lowers the reputation of the office and for knowingly allowing an assistant district attorney or assistant solicitor general to commit any of the listed acts.
The commission will launch on July 1 and can start accepting complaints about prosecutors on Oct. 1.
Will he now pull the trigger, to be hoist on his own petard?
Remember DA Willis has promised indictments in June or July.
NY AG James
Donald Trump seeks to move NY criminal case to federal court
“This effort is extremely unlikely to succeed,” said Rebecca Roiphe, a professor at New York Law School. “It’s not even clear that this would be a particularly effective delay tactic.”
NYT
Case dismissed, with prejudice, and pointing and laughing.
👇👇😂😂👇👇
Judge dismisses Trump's lawsuit against New York Times
- New York Supreme Court Justice Robert Reed said Trump's claims "fail as a matter of constitutional law."
- Courts have "long recognized that reporters are entitled to engage in legal and ordinary news gathering activities without fear of tort liability" due to First Amendment protections, Reed said.
- In dismissing the complaint against the NYT, Reed ordered Trump to pay all legal fees associated with their case.
What's next: The judge has yet to rule on the case against Mary Trump.
Ah, but then...
Dominion & Smartmatic
Sorry, I lost track. There are too many cases, actual and potential. I have no idea who will be up in court next. Not that there is any confusion about Smartmatic v Fox being the biggie.
Tuckums
BREAKING: Tucker Texts Reveal Hidden, Secret, Completely Unsuspected RACISM
Seismic news this week, as leaked texts suggest recently defenestrated telefascist Tucker Carlson may hold some, shall we say “problematic” views on race. To think, were it not for these texts, the poor, misled Murdoch family might ne’er have learned of the secret bigot in their midst.
Some people say. Or it was the obscene insults to Fox management. But definitely not the years of lies and hatred.
Axios: Tucker Carlson ready to torch Fox News
Tucker Carlson is preparing to unleash allies to attack Fox News in an effort to bully the network into letting him work for — or start — a right-wing rival, sources close to him tell Axios.
- Bryan Freedman, the high-powered Hollywood lawyer Carlson retained for the contract dispute, told Axios: "The idea that anyone is going to silence Tucker and prevent him from speaking to his audience is beyond preposterous."
Why it matters: Tucker vs. Fox could reshape the conservative news world. Fox, which has seen its ratings plunge in Carlson's slot since he was let go 13 days ago, wants to sideline him by paying him $20 million a year not to work.
The intrigue: Axios has learned Carlson is busy plotting a media empire of his own. But he needs Fox to let him out of his contract, which expires in January 2025 — after the presidential election.
- We're told Carlson has been contacted by outlets — including the right-wing Rumble and Newsmax — that offered to pay him more than his Fox contract.
I didn’t know about Rumble, but here they are.
The video-sharing platform Rumble, flush with cash after a $400 million investment, is pushing toward its goal of becoming the YouTube for American conservatives, even as it faces criticism for allowing misinformation and conspiracy theories to proliferate.
Its monthly active user base rose to 80 million at the end of December, more than double the year-earlier figure, the company said on Thursday.
Animals! Science! Weirdness!
Today, in dishonor of the usual suspects, screeching, screaming, roaring, howling, yowling, trumpeting, caterwauling…
Kiri Te Kanawa & Norma Burrows | Rossini's Cat Duet
Before that, the record-holder was SN 1997FF, at z=1.7, from about 10 billion years ago.
Fossil fuel smoke, petrochemicals, Social Darwinism for the poor…
Wait—Coffee! Gently roasted, please, not the usual burnt commercial stuff.
Coffee’s natural antioxidants reduce free radicals that can damage cells and cause aging. It’s also an anti-inflammatory that calms you down so you don’t overreact to stress.
Decreased risk of cancer—breast, colorectal, colon, endometrial, and prostatic cancers, among others, from 2-20% depending on the cancer type.
University of Catania, Italy, meta-analysis of 127 studies.
Elephant Mother Trumpets to Call Her Baby
If you aren’t paying very close attention, the disinformationists can grossly mislead you.
China is also the world’s biggest polluter with coal, but that seems to be a failure of electrical grid connectivity that their engineers are trying to explain to the Party planners, with some success.
Tiger roar vs Lion roar || ADTV
This works the opposite way around from pumped hydro energy storage. Gravity doesn’t care which way it runs.
Hear a male howler monkey roar
How does a laughing hyena sound? Real laughing hyenas beg for lunch!
Real carbon capture in trees and soils is wonderful. Greenwashing, Gaslighting carbon capture is the next big financial and environmental scam. Early projects have been emitting more CO2 than they sequester.
Listen to the Loudest Bird on Earth Scream at Potential Mates
Funny or Cry
Support your local cartoonists.
And the striking writers.
Mark Fiore
Front doors of houses
Cars
NRA Conventions
Sorry, boys, you’ll have to thank Badness Personified.
Well, after all of that, there is nothing for it but to play us out till next time.
Muppet Songs: Fozzie & Gonzo - Stopping by Hernando's Hideaway in the Woods on a Snowy Evening
That’s all, folks!
