Another of Trump’s lawyers has pleaded guilty to charges as part of a cooperation agreement with the Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney’s office.
Jenna Ellis crocodile tears are just that. Right up till yesterday she was spouting "stop the steal" bullshit. Go look at her FB page. Her tears are because she got caught. She doesn't have the moral capability of confessing anything with integrity. She never knew the meaning of the word. None of these people are "flipping" because they have seen the light. They have seen that they don't like the idea of spending any time in a Georgia jail. They are all worthless pieces of shit and thinking otherwise of them is an act of stupidity.
I third that emotion!! That is exactly the way i feel about this whole thing. Someone should have told that Jenna Ellis to, ''Cry me a damn river'' That is what these people get for being taken in by that blob of Orange protoplasm. I hope there is more to come. I don't feel a bit sorry for these greedy, narcissistic, corrupt asshats.
I fourth it!I wonder how many more with have their” Come to Jesus “ moment in the coming days? And yet TFG is still the puppeteer pulling those strings everyday for a good part of the whole crooked Repuke party.SMH
"Come to Jesus"? Trump's cronies in crime don't know a thing about Jesus or his teachings. My understanding of Christianity, and the words and actions of those who claim to be Christians to placate Trump, are totally different. It makes me SICK to hear them claim to be Christians. They are just selfish, holier-than-thou, judgemental and
Immoral. (Although they think otherwise.) I don't think Jesus would have admired or condoned their false claims.
I think there should be a TV show- "Guess the Christian."
Linda ! .... JESUS !, is Soon ! To RETURN ! , AND !, When HE DOES !, ' THE LION !' HE ! , WILL BE !,,,,,,,,,," The LAMB !, of GOD !,, Has DONE !, HIS ROLE ! NOW ! , "THE LION !!, Steps In !!
PumpkinMan writing Power of a Trump Endorsement with capital letters tells us all we need to know about his fitness for office and the zombies who worship him. IMHO, Blob of Orange Protoplasm should be capitalized too. No brain matter there.
I agree with all of you. I have seen other insincere "apologies", but Ms. Ellis' was right up there in the top ten. Her risible "apology" was a tear-soaked pottage of commonplace Republican excusesand casting blame elsewhere for her own moral failures. Such a crock. She should be fined another $5,000 just for describing herself as a "sincere Christian".
Still out? "The jury" returned a verdict of Not Guilty on Rittenhouse because, Facts, and his Mom had nothing to do with any of it. That horse is dead, so quit kicking it, you're scuffing up your shoes.
Did she somehow think that saying she is a Christian would give her more credibility? Wrong! No one who is actually following the teachings of Jesus would do the things that she did or allow themselves to be taken in by the big orange guy. I still can't understand why so many evangelical "Christians" follow Trump. He only worships himself.
Her comment about having failed to do her due diligence rings just as hollow as her claime to be a Christian of any kind. Is she trying to make us think she's a first-year associate at a giant, white-shoe firm in which such an associate would not think of questioning the senior partner's description of the facts? Seriously? Unless she's really that stupid, to have been sucked into the Big Lie in the first place, and that's some sort of reason - a reason, perhaps, but never an excuse. Either way, a treatment is DISBARMENT.
Christine...mea culpa, mea maxima culpa...this show of tears and proclaiming her "Christianity" is an old trope to tell us how hypocritical she and all those others are. And gosh, only 39 and so naive that she is duped by someone like Rudy.
Just give me good decent compassionate people, no matter what they believe or don't believe. We had a parochial high school adjacent to the public one where I worked. They had our kids convinced that they weren't as good somehow. I am always reminded of the little bomb project between one of theirs and one of ours.....where do you think they set it off....right down the hallway from me and the library. Or when we kept getting bomb threat and the kid went to the parochial school.
If she was such a good Christian, how could she ever stomach a lying SOB, and a man who liked raping women and cheating on his wives. She was an opportunist like all the rest of them.
And at $400 or more per hour, thats 2 traffic ticket cases to pau it off. Considering successful lawyers, which all these crooks apparently are, blow down 500k and more yearly, their fines should hurt, at least a little. They, unlike their mental mentor, might even pay the fine.
I totally agree and just read that Sydney Powell is still spieling that the election was stolen on her social media page...she should lose her sweet plea deal!
The judge and prosecutors may be hopeful that those that have pleaded guilty will be gagged until TFFG goes down, but their history says otherwise. I will be shocked if all of those that pleaded guilty 1) quit echoing the big lie and 2) testify against TFFG and Guiliani in a court room.
TFFG will never plead guilty, so this is going to get very interesting very soon. TFFG has got to be sweating bullets the way these bad actors are singing like little canaries.
Hopefully the prosecutor puts an end to this get out of jail guilty plea soon as they promised they would.
Gary we have two (2) very active Prosecutors, Jack on the Fed's case & Fani on the GA RICO action in Fulton County. By the terms of the pleas, the Get-out-of-Jail-Free component can be revoked, then its Go-directly-to-Jail ... do not pass Mar-a-Lago.
Their sentences are pretty weak if you ask me. None of them will do jail time. If they were deemed felons none could practice law again. Why are their rights being preserved? They should Lose their rights. They didn’t commit mistakes. They committed crimes, knowingly!
My understanding is that in Georgia these are typical plea deals. Also, I think Willis wants the deals to look good to the bigger fish who will start implicating Trump directly. I'd like to see them all in jail,, but I'm sure they're sweating plenty right now.
Willis should not be hopeful and she probably is not. Sidney Powell is claiming that Willis has extorted her into pleading guilty. Ellis and Powell are two peas on one pod.
The bottom line is that until Trump is silenced and gone, our country will be a mess. It is unbelievable how such a vile person accumulated so much power, but he did and he has.
I'd like to think it's unbelievable, but actually it's not. In Chapter 11 of Heather's book, Democracy Awakening, she describes the creation of Trump's show, The Apprentice, and its initial success. As ratings dropped, "Trump took his show to a new stage...a lobby full of paid extras."
And here's the sentence that explained to me how Trump's "show" played right into what GOP had been trying to do for decades. "Trump was a brilliant salesman who grasped what 35 years of Republican rhetoric and voting distortion had MADE THE PARTY'S BASE VOTERS WANT (caps mine) far more accurately than the politicians in the Republican establishment who had created those voters. "
Establishment Republicans who "wanted an end to government regulation of business and taxes had courted racists, sexists and religious zealots to stay in power but had no plans actually to give in to extremist demands which would turn off mainstream voters. Trump stripped the cover off this sleight of hand, offering to give the extremist base a hierarchical world in which they dominated women as well as their Black and Brown neighbors." (p 84) And that's how he did and he has.
And that's why we have to do whatever grassroots things we can to rally the majority of our voters who do not want this authoritarian, racist, sexist form of government.
And the court is not giving them jail time to really show them what the rule of law means. Hell, people get longer community service sentences for littering or jaywalking. If you or I had committed a crime this serious, our social calendar would be blank for quite some time but we'd be pros at making license plates.
No kidding! This has been my rave since the beginning. Can you imagine if we got caught stealing anything from the white house, not to mention classified docs! We would be sentenced to life imprisonment at Guantanamo!
Just watched a video of her statement. Nauseating in its insincerity and deflection of responsibility. She sounded like an 8 year old who got caught stealing a candy bar and blamed her friends.
I agree with your sentiment, still, I can't help but feel sorry for her. Jenna Ellis is just another whose life has been wrecked by loyalty to Donald Trump. How stupid and naïve of them. Their loyalty to Trump has nothing to do with their Christianity but rather to their KKK-like support of a government that embraces white Protestant supremacy now, white Protestant supremacy forever. It's racist to the core, though they'll never admit it and may not even be aware of it. The defendants all want to avoid prison, as does Trump and his attorneys. I have no doubt that Trump's attorneys are working furiously to cut a deal that he, too, can plead guilty to in order to avoid wearing that orange jumpsuit. Trump is a dead man walking, but not before he helped to destroy the Grand Old Party.
"Jenna Ellis is just another whose life has been wrecked by loyalty to Donald Trump. How stupid and naïve of them."
Anyone who is "loyal" to Donald Trump, at this point in his history, is just a moron. Everyone who is/was loyal to him, throughout his life, has been burned in his entire life.
Donald Trump cares about exactly one person: Himself. Only. Ever.
I can't subscribe to the "moron" theory because I believe it's more a matter of psyops and being sucked into a conspiracy vortex fed by the likes of Bannon, Flynn and Tucker Carlson. It's hard to break out of something like that when the barrage of bs is pushed at you constantly.
Which makes it e en more dangerous than if they really were all morons.
Richard, Jenna Ellis said in court yesterday "If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post-election challenges." Well, the fact is she did know back then. Over 60 legal challenges were made and lost in contesting this election. She was trained as an attorney to critically examine evidence, but there remains no evidence that the election was stolen. She can't blame elder attorneys who promised massive troves of data to support their claims but never did. She's a sad grifter, like all the rest, and I have no sympathy for her.
Doug, I understand your point and your position. It's just sad to me to see a professional life destroyed in the prime of one's life, even when one is not without fault. Sadder still is that it was wasted on such a pile of filth such as Trump. Ms. Ellis clearly deserves what she got and may even have been let off lightly. But, the real goal is to bring Trump to his just desserts. He needs to be destroyed politically. Fani Willis can do it and perhaps save our democracy. Isn't it ironic that members of the last group to get the franchise to vote (Black females) are the ones leading the charge to save our democracy (Judge Chutkan, AG Leticia James, Stacey
Abrams, DA Fani Willis, and more?) It is poetic justice and a lesson for us all.
Imagine where we could have been if all women had had the same opportunities as males from the get-go. My wife was valedictorian of her class of 660 in St. Petersburg, FL, a National Merit Scholarship winner, Phi Beta Kappa in chemistry at Emory, one of five graduate students admitted to the Harvard Ph.D. program in chemistry in 1971, applied to and was accepted at six medical schools, choosing Stanford. In short, she's brilliant. She took over the Democratic Party in Polk County as chair and made amazing advancements and changes, all lost when new leadership stepped in after her 2-year stint. And then, there was my mom and four sisters, all brighter than me, my mom and three sisters being school teachers, but I'm the one who ended up with the Ph.D. and J.D. from Harvard. I will never discount the fact that I am a white male, on the one hand, and incredibly lucky, on the other hand. Still, I grieve for what my sisters missed. Early on (6 years of age) my mom forged me into a "woman's libber." It was my suggestion that my wife leave chemistry and pursue medicine, and in that profession as an Ob-Gyn she was masterful.
I truly, truly hope that black women of all ages are inspired by these women to register and VOTE. Sadly, before I retired, it seemed that most of the black women that I worked with were--with good reason--entirely focused on basic survival for their children and themselves.
One of Heather’s main points in her book is that repeatedly, it has been women and people of color (especially women of color) who have come to our rescue as a nation, forcing us to move ever closer to the notion that we are truly all created equal. As an old white guy who can do little more than vote and contribute to causes, I’m hoping that they (you) as well as youth step up to the plate as a massive unstoppable movement—to save our democracy and our planet.
It is a sad commentary, isn't it, that their focus was basic survival for themselves and their children, not being able to dream really big dreams? We Democrats are on the path to change that and we're running into opposition from the MAGA/KKK forces, which are reactionary and atavistic. It really is the dialectic at work. We are on the right side of humanity and history.
They thought they would win. And if they had, those people would have been set for life. Instead, they played stupid games and are now winning stupid prizes. Thankfully. But it might not have turned out this way - I think we came awfully close to losing our democracy, and it’s still at risk. I have no sympathy for any of these people who sold us all out. They all knew better, and didn’t care.
And he will probably run the clock out with delays until his reelection. Biden is losing all the Muslim American votes now and the Progressives are done with him. The longer the house screws around the better it is for tfg.
Until the outrageous acts of Hamas I was scared witless. Now I am just filled with an underlying sadness.
Richard - shes 39 years old - old enough! Certainly not naive anymore.
And if she & Powell (whose far more than 39) are turning around after pleading guilty and spouting off the same lies? In my mind they both deserve much worse than probation & community service. I doubt either of them will be out by the side of the road cleaning up trash as ordinary folks would.
Maggie, I understand your anger and resentment. She and Powell deserve their punishments. What they attempted was nefarious. In part I suppose that it's my old age (83) that hates to see a life wasted. I don't know for sure. Still, it saddens me. Of course, had they been successful in bringing down our democracy, as many MAGA Republicans are still trying to do, it would be a different matter. This is far from being over.
It is a shame - all these lives wasted but thinking of what they intended for the rest of us? I've got 2 years on you. And you're right - far from over.
I can't feel sorry for an adult who willingly eats from the Trump buffet. She knew what he was about, filled her plate anyway to reap money and power, and when she got caught, went the Cry and Whine route. A stint in jail would have helped her grow up, but it's not to be.
You have much more faith in their loyalty to one another than I do. Look at what is happening in Congress right now over the fight to select a Speaker. There is no honor among thieves.
This is going to happen all the way up the guilt chain without public descriptions and self-acknowledgments of their crimes; they will keep calling themselves political prisoners.
Anyone with experience of humans can read her tearful apology for exactly what it was - a cynical attempt to dodge responsibility and deflect attention from her years of work against the country. Boo hoo hoo, poor me. I was a pawn. Uh huh. Not.
“If only we could elect a president that would pardon my crimes because I did it for fealty, I wouldn’t have to debase myself in front of this mockery of justice”---- overheard by DFN Cub Reporter Dave
Sidney Powell is claiming that Willis has extorted her into pleading guilty. Ellis and Powell are two peas on one pod. So, TC, you are correct. They are playing a clever game against Willis. Pleading guilty while third parties claim their innocence and that they are being extorted.
It is a clever play that some folks attribute to Steve Bannon. I looked for where I read that Bannon is behind the play, it is not my idea, but, I cannot find the reference now.
Of course Powell's plea deal was extorted. All plea deals are extorted, duh. The defendant is threatened with a worse fate if he or she refuses to take the deal.
It’s not extortion, because the prosecutor didn’t have to offer it in order to convict. It was a gift to get their testimony- more like a quid-pro-quo.
Of course it's extortion. The offer of a plea deal is always accompanied by the threat of something worse to follow if it isn't accepted—though admittedly a conviction on such a trivial charge isn't really much of a threat. Whatever happened to the big bad RICO case...?
Yes, but the something worse can happen without ever offering the deal. And if it wasn’t such a threat, why would they even bother taking a deal?
The payoff comes when they have to sit in the witness box at trial and tell the truth. If telling the truth is part of an extortion, your values suck.
We all watched it - Guilliani and company saying dead people voted; Ted Cruz trying to decertify PA’s election; Trump asking Raffensperger to fix the GA election for him; everybody bitching that Trump was cheated out when down-ballot Republicans won. There’s NOTHING NEW! The only thing, THE ONLY THING LEFT, is for them to say in a court of law, that it was all a scheme to defraud American voters. AND they’re getting quite a break for speaking. No, that isn’t extortion.
I hope no judge will think otherwise, may they be pariahs for the sane majority as well as the MAGAts. No jail, but Slink back under your rocks, vermin.
Wow! She is allegedly having a dark money funded site publish references to articles from yet another site that says she was "extorted" into the plea deal. Let's muddy the waters and plant doubts in the minds of the jury pool (it only takes one) and give Trump talking points while sheltering her several layers deep from a gag order. Sounds like a Steve Bannon play.
I'm with you Georgia. She must throw Guiliani and TFFG under the bus big time in her deposition and it must be as believable as Cassie Hutchinson was during the hearings.
I’ll just fit this in right here. Correct me if I m wrong, but it’s my understanding that if Syd reneges on her plea agreement, or any of them for that matter, it’s back to pre-agreement of full sentencing. 5-20 in the Georgia state penitentiary with no early parole. Fines, disbarred, felonies. I would think that would be quite a discouragement from try to play the prosecution.
I haven’t read the article, but listened to an earlier podcast where Powell pretty much spills the beans on how she got involved in all this. I also would hope she under a gag order?
"She" hasn't said anything directly. So the play here is that "she" has done nothing to violate her plea agreement. "She" is not responsible for what others attribute to her without her knowledge. This is straight out of the Bannon playbook.
As I understand it, the value of both Cheese and Kraken is not their testimony in court, but the hard evidence they've provided in terms of detailed contemporaneous notes and records.
The problem with "witnesses" like Cheese and Kraken is that they are already known to be liars: if they believed their conspiracy theories, they are lying now to take the deal, while if they didn't believe them, the were lying then. There is no particular reason to offer them any kind of deal in exchange for unverifiable future testimony. What they've given up is hard evidence, and my understanding is that the prosecution would not have offered the deal without seeing and evaluating the evidence: they wouldn't buy a bag of magic beans.
Good way to lose a cushy plea deal and end up in a Georgia jail. You don't get to play these games when you plead guilty in exchange for dropped charges.
The sentence for crime is coercion. No one really wants to go to jail for years, and do it only because they are forced to.
A plea deal is a negotiated offer, and either side is completely free to decline the offer. If Kraken didn't like the offer, but was stupid enough to take it anyway, that's on her.
Today's Letter is about uncovering the truth by seeing through Donald J. Trump, along with alleged co-conspirators, to overthrow our government with lies. This is crucial work for the survival of our experiment with Democracy and for the American people.
On another crucial subject, one concerning life and death, I would like to harken to the words of CNN’s Jake Tapper mentioned in HCR's Letter, “I'm covering life and death issues, serious tragedies, serious momentous occurrences here in Israel and of course in Gaza,” he said today. " With that, I received the following from WORLD CENTRAL KITICHEN:
'WCK and partners provide urgent aid in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon'
'First arriving in the region two weeks ago, WCK is supporting families in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon who are impacted by the extreme escalation of violence and accompanying humanitarian crisis. At the same time, we have prepositioned a team in Egypt and are working with local authorities to see how WCK-provided meals and other forms of support can enter Gaza as more aid makes its way into the territory.'
'While we wait on additional outside humanitarian assistance to be allowed into Gaza, we are working with Anera—our longtime partner on the ground—who has tapped into their network across the territory to locally source supplies to cook hot meals and assemble food kits. Anera is supporting families in Gaza City, which is under constant bombardment, and further south in Khan Younis, where many people have fled seeking safety.'
'In total, including hot meals and food kits with several days' worth of meals, WCK and Anera have distributed more than one million meals to Palestinians, and anyone else in Gaza affectedd by the conflict. There is also an urgent need for potable water and, with WCK’s support, Anera has located and purchased an entire warehouse of bottled water inside Gaza that will be distributed to people in need.'
If you can, LFAAers, please consider donating to WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN:
WCK is a GREAT organization that goes into war torn areas and also into areas that have experienced natural disasters. They always get my support. José Andrés (a Spanish chef) started this organization when he saw a need. They are all humanitarians. Thank you Fern for highlighting the difficult work they do.
Isn't it time for more newscasters and the media to speak out as CNN's Jake Tapper did? Isn't it time for a march on D.C. of dems and repubs alike to speak out against these racist, lying individuals who appear to be purposely holding up the functioning of our government? Maybe I'm naive but I'm sick and tired of these brats!!
I debated which one to support. The sea life won that round (although I am the proud owner of t-shirts supporting Maui from Teddy the Dog (for animals, naturally) and Crazy Shirts (for people).
Lynell, devastation, starvation, lack of fuel and water, injuries and deaths in Gaza are CATASTROPIC.
'Southern Gaza in Israel's sights as world leaders seek pause in fighting' (Reuters, excerpts)
'GAZA/JERUSALEM, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Israel's military intensified its bombing of southern Gaza overnight after one of the deadliest days for Palestinians since the conflict began, amid international calls for a pause in fighting to let aid into the enclave and prevent many more deaths.'
'Health officials in Gaza said on Wednesday that dozens more people had been killed in the south, where hundreds of thousands fled after Israel warned them it would attack the north in its bid to wipe out Hamas militants who mounted a killing spree in Israel on Oct. 7.'
'One strike brought down several apartment buildings in Khan Younis. "This is something not normal, we have not heard something like this before," resident Khader Abu Odah said.'
'Palestinian anger over the killings has been increased by a sense of betrayal as many of those who obeyed the order to move south are also being killed. The Israeli military says that Hamas, which rules Gaza, has entrenched itself among the civilian population everywhere.'
'CALLS FOR HUMANITARIAN PAUSE'
'The United States and Russia are leading international calls for a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas to allow aid into Gaza, where living conditions are harrowing.'
'Limited deliveries of food, medicine and water from Egypt restarted on Saturday through Rafah, the only crossing not controlled by Israel, which announced it had sealed off the coastal enclave for good after this month's attack from Hamas.'
'Another 20 trucks crossed late on Tuesday after delays, but U.N. agencies said more than 20 times as much were needed for the narrow coastal strip's 2.3 million people, who depend heavily on aid even in peacetime.'
'Israel launched the strikes on Gaza after Hamas militants attacked southern Israeli towns on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people, most of them civilians, and taking more than 200 people hostage.'
'A total of 704 Palestinians, including 305 children, were killed on Tuesday, the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it was the highest reported single-day death toll of the conflict.' (Reuters) See link below.
'Gaza hospitals and clinics are operating with fewer than a third of their prewar medical staff, Ashraf al-Qudra, the spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry, said Wednesday. Israeli strikes are keeping medical workers pinned down, he said. A spokesperson for al-Aqsa hospital in Gaza, Mohamed al-Haj, said that between dawn and 3:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday, 40 people died there and more than 85 were injured. Since the war began, he said, 1,481 people have died at the hospital or arrived already deceased.'
'Medical workers have had to flee their homes and fear moving around because of Israeli bombardments, thereby limiting the availability of front-line workers, he said.'
'The doctors and nurses on hand are working nearly 24-hour shifts and many have not returned home for days or weeks, staffers told The Washington Post. Hospitals have had to ration care and place patients on floors or discharge those without life-threatening conditions to free up beds, they said. Surgeries are conducted without anesthesia.'
'On top of facing the surge in patients requiring treatment, still-open hospitals have also effectively become camps for displaced people. Thousands to tens of thousands of Gazans have taken shelter in medical compounds, putting a further strain on dwindling water, food, electricity and sanitation services.'
'On Tuesday, Qudra also warned that hospitals and health clinics were seeing an influx in communicable infectious diseases, such as diarrhea, food poisoning, skin diseases and smallpox. (WAPO)
I am 90, lived in the Middle East for years and, as a Foreign Service Officer, worked in/on Congo 1960-1966.
There absolutely is a ‘double standard’ when American media (and the US government) looks at lives globally. I recall, many years ago, hearing how the American media ‘ranked’ deaths: one American=10 Europeans=500-1,000 in the Arab world, Asia, and Africa.
In the Israel/Palestinian interminable imbroglio, Americans have been far more focused on Israeli deaths than death and draconian living conditions in Gaza and the West Bank.
The recent Hamas slaughter and hostage taking was horrendous. The fact that Israel, in retaliation, had cut off water, food, and fuel to 2,000,000 Palestinians in Gaza is equally unconscionable.
Even now the focus is on the horrors experience by Israelis, since there is virtually no reporting from inside northern and southern Gaza.
With countless air strikes, so far Israel has killed at least 6,000 Palestinians and at least triple more wounded. The Israeli Defense Force is poised to invade Gaza, with the potential for massive Palestinian casualties (including some Hamas terrorists), the lives of many hostages, and, perhaps, some hundreds of dead Israeli military.
The world is right to see this as a ‘double standard.’
If the United States wishes to appear ‘moral’ to a large majority of the world’s population, it must forthrightly oppose Israel’s prospective humongous killing of many more Palestinian civilians.
To much of the world, the slaughter of countless Palestinian civilians is as inhumane as Putin’s continued slaughter of Ukrainian civilians.
"The recent Hamas slaughter and hostage taking was horrendous. The fact that Israel, in retaliation, had cut off water, food, and fuel to 2,000,000 Palestinians in Gaza is equally unconscionable."
Thank you Keith. It is way, way past time for folks who have access and credibility within the USA start saying what is actually true about how Palestinians in Gaza are treated by Israel.
There is no justification for what Hamas did in Israel to innocent people. However, we cannot expect that a people who have been so trodden upon as the Palestinians for so long will always stand by and smile and "take it".
Eventually, someone will take on the local bully and hurt him. Then, of course, with him being in the hospital all beat up, he can make himself look like a victim.
There absolutely is a ‘double standard’ when American media (and the US government) looks at lives globally. I recall, many years ago, hearing how the American media ‘ranked’ deaths: one American=10 Europeans=500-1,000 in the Arab world, Asia, and Africa.
In the Israel/Palestinian interminable imbroglio, Americans have been far more focused on Israeli deaths than death and draconian living conditions in Gaza and the West Bank.
1400 deaths and more since in Israel is equal to more than 50,000 deaths in America. Israel has a population of 9.1 million people. The US has over 330 million. Two hundred fifty were young people attending a musical festival that were murdered in cold blood, not to mention babies that were beheaded. I'd like to see the US ignore that if something similar happened here. Be careful who you blame for these atrocities as we found out in the hospital massacre that killed innocent Gaza's. The hospital was never hit. The parking lot was. Five hundred didn't die. Revised figures have said fifty dead by a failed Hamas rocket launch. The truth will be revealed, but revving up all the Palestinian supporters on this newsletter is no way to do this. As you advised me in the past, it's a complex issue and we see things through different lenses to paraphrase your comment.
Eadie I agree that different people see complex situations differently. These discussions should be fact based.
We have detailed information on American military casualties in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. My recollection is that there were less than 100,000 dead. I am unaware of the number of deaths and wounded Koreans, Vietnamese, and Iraqis. I have read that there were more than 1,000,000 Korean casualties, over 2,000,000 Vietnamese casualties, and countless thousands of Iraqi casualties.
Keith, I believe what you're trying to say in your reply was that the country that holds the military might wins. Unfortunately, that is true. Innocent people throughout the ages have died because they were caught in the crossfire. However, one has to see whether the war against the enemy was a just fight i.e. our fight against Japan or Nazi Germany or Vietnam. In order, to do that one must study carefully the history and the ideals and goals of the respective leaders that ruled their countries. No country goes to war for the fun of it! In our war with Vietnam and Iraq, it was a tragic failure on U.S. leaders at the time. However, IMO Biden is backing the right horse.
Keith, what is your point? You said there was a double standard in favor of the Israelis. I was simply stating that more than 1400 deaths is equal to 50,000 Americans. When you put that number in perspective, I believe the statistics show the double standard favors Gaza's Palestinians.
I agree with Keith in the sense the figures are not near as important as the acts of inhumanity that taking sides create.
Not separating terrorist groups from the Muslim Religion was gross error by the Bush/ Cheney Junta and is repeated in the Israel /US alliance on Hamas.
The blatant emotional response to the Hamas invasion could have been tamped down in favor of a structured humanitarian development by a broader coalition of Governments.
We must halt the marrying of anonymous terrorist group catechisms to human populations under their control.
I too sympathize with the Palestinians but take offense at blaming Israel for its airstrikes. I blame Hamas and its funders and enablers. They knew- they planned this attack for years- And they knew full well how Israel had to react. Are you arguing that Israel should just accept mass slaughter, torture, kidnapping of its citizens in the most brutal way imaginable. While Hamas and the Muslim world publicly rejoices in this “victory”. Blame Hamas. They planned this attack for years but didn’t take any steps to protect the Palestinian people? Why aren’t they seeking refuge in shelters or tunnels? Hamas has done this to the Palestinians and I am offended that you place the blame on Israel. Israel has been attacked in several wars by its Arab neighbors and won every time 1948, 1967, 197?. Then it suffered terror attacks by the PLO for about 30 years then Hamas for 30 years.
I know you think the Jews should just accept all these attacks. I know you want them to just lie down and die. But that is sick and twisted and wrong. Israel seeks peace only. There is nobody who seeks peace on behalf of Palestine.
Paula You must be clairvoyant to know what I think. I was deeply involved in the foreign hostage Congo crisis in 1964 when Congolese rebels threatened to kill the hostages. I put my life on the line and then co-authored the Action Memo that Secretary Rusk hand carried to President Johnson.
I considered the Israeli extraordinary 1976 Rescue at Entebbe but the best (and most dangerous) hostage rescue initiative of which I am aware.
I have been associated with the Palestine issue since 1953, when I visited the Palestine refugees in Gaza, where Egypt was holding them in tents. I lunched with David Ben-Gurion in 1954 and, in 1960, was invited to spend a month at the Israeli War College .
After my ‘rambunctious’ experiences. In Congo, I twice rejected our Saigon ambassador’s ‘invitation’ to join him. I saw no light at the end of the tunnel where we were fighting against well-entrenched nationalism.
I doubt that you ‘know’ what I think, except from my brief and factual commentary.
Keith. I apologize for my flippant remarks about what you think. From what you say you are a very brave person who knows far more than I about Israel and Palestine. Still I don’t know why you blame Israel and the United States for the plight of the Palestinians when all of the suffering this October is the fault of Hamas and its supporters who, knowing Israel would fire rockets into Gaza, took no steps to protect the Palestinian people especially the children and certainly with their funding they could have. I didn’t literally mean that you, personally, want Jews to die. That was my way of saying what on earth is Israel supposed to do? Do you know? Because nobody else seems to know. Israel has defended itself in war, given back land, engaged in peace agreements, tolerated decades of terror attacks and suicide bombings and are surrounded by enemies who seek their extermination. And the Jewish people have suffered so much for so long I am naturally sympathetic to their plight. I agree the Palestinians should have food and water and medicine and a means of protection or escape. I deplore the humanitarian crisis and loss of life caused by the bombing. But I bristle at pointing the finger of blame at Israel and particularly against Joe Biden who, it seems to me is doing everything in his power to prevent making a horrible situation even worse. He is simultaneously supporting Israel and forcing humanitarian aid, negotiating for hostages from the US, Israel and other countries and trying to deter additional attacks by meeting with Arab leaders and whatever he isn’t doing, Blinkin is. He has cautioned Israel but Netanyahu isn’t the easiest person to manage. Meanwhile the Arab leaders have twice called for a day of rage. Not Israel who suffered a brutal massacre that deliberately targeted civilians. And who is out on the streets celebrating the massacre and sharing videos so proudly? Hamas. So again I wish people could see clearly and assign blame to Hamas and its terrorist sponsors. If I am wrong please enlighten me.
No, Paula you are not wrong. Tehran and Russia are pulling the strings. Both have an interest in polarizing American debate. They are waging a propaganda war and they are winning.
“The emphasis is on damage, not accuracy,” declared the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). “Gaza will eventually turn into a city of tents,” said one IDF official, adding, “There will be no buildings.” Israel’s economy minister, Nir Barkat, told ABC News that hostages and civilian casualties will be secondary to destroying Hamas, “even if takes a year”.
Thank you, Keith. I had never seen the “numbers,” but understand them perfectly. As we fall apart, please continue to write. More than anyone else you go straight to the heart of this long disaster. The most hopeful statement I’ve heard coming out of Israel, was someone saying that Netanyahu must go. That is only a tiny beginning, however. Do you think we can ever get to “all men (!) are created equal”? Funny, I’ve always felt that “men” was everybody!
Still carrying my cane, thinking of your two (but mine has four feet and definitely looks weaponly).
Virginia At 90 I have personally experienced and witnessed lots of gory and some glory. I shall continue to speak out forcefully, since I am profoundly concerned about the country and world that my 5 grandchildren will inherit. I might also take a few whacks with my cane and run over some folks with my walker.
You have been in the places “where it happened.” I know much of it secondhand. But living through WWII with Life Magazine, newsreels, and radio, plus the hour sing of the whole school every week led by a sixth grade teacher who taught her patriotism with music as we were taught geography as part of patriotism, compared to what has happened to schools and to US since, I have lived at second hand what you have lived. If we do not continue to do what we can….After yesterday (House election, massacre) all we can do may be more important, or less, than before.
Bryan As a Foreign Service Officer, I dealt with a broad range in intelligence from excellent to false. Relying solely on I have read in the newspapers, I am inclined to consider the Israeli and American DOD version highly credible.
The Israelis showed some photos and claimed they had tracked the fallen Hamas missile. They also reported several intercepted Hamas communications. Also, the explosion occurred in the parking lot. I also read the DOD comment as highly supportive [They would also have access to COMINT, which would not be encrypted in intercepted phone calls.
I doubt that DOD would not state accurately their findings. Its reputation for integrity is overriding, especially after Trump trashed formal US intelligence assessments.
In brief, were I an operating Foreign Service Officer, I would accept the Israeli/DOD version. Hamas has not provided a credible refutation. The initial casualty report seemed significantly overstated.
As for Palestinian dead and wounded, I tend to accept the magnitude figures provided by the Gaza Health Department. It’s a fluid situation and more info will be coming it. However, on magnitude I would tend to accept what is being reported (which are not Hamas figures). Given the massive air raids, the casualties would seem massive. Also, the ‘safe haven’ of southern Gaza is not safe, as air strikes are hitting there.
Indeed, my instinct is that Palestinian casualties may be considerably higher than the daily reports. I don’t believe that Israel has any basis for reporting Palestinian casualties, except in the West Bank, where they are on the ground.
Mike In the intelligence business there is a phrase ‘bodyguard of lies.’ [Remember Vietnam when the government continually lied publicly, though some insiders knew this was opening. Also, Colin Powell at the UN in February 2003he was set up by the CIA Director who should have been aware that his ‘smoking pistol’ evidence was from an Iraqi defector who German intelligence said was a psychopathic liar].
Without access to the underlying documentation, I can’t sort of who is telling the truth. Clearly the Israelis have a strong reason to deny that an Israeli plane hit the Gaza hospital. They presented ‘evidence’ that seemed plausible. Biden supported this Israel ‘evidence.’ As for DOD, I don’t recall if they said their evidence was conclusive or seemingly likely.
As for the NYT, what precisely is their evidence and where did it come from? Is it plausible that someone in DOD, in the event of some cover up, leaked this evidence to the NYT. It seems unlikely that it was leaked by an Israeli.
We may never have a public unraveling of this. Something is fishy, but what? Though it was a big deal for a moment, now with over 6,000 Palestinians dead and perhaps 20,000 wounded—and the attacks continue, this hospital incident seems of lesser and lesser importance.
Keith, the Ministry of Health is an arm of Hamas. I'm surprised Keith that you believe their figures. You know how much I respect your opinion. Clue me in. Many of the figures they quote include their own terrorists,1500 of which were killed by the IDF when they were found in the Kibbutzm. Many more died in Gaza, sometimes by their own failed launch attacks, numbering in the hundreds. In addition they were killed by the explosives they planted under Gaza's apartment complexes.
Eadie I have read assessments of how the Ministry of Health collects data from hospitals and mortuaries. They seem rather professional under extraordinary circumstances. Would you care to estimate the Palestinian casualties from thousands of air raids in minuscule area with 2,000,000 Palestinians?
Do you think that the MOH figures are too low or two high? What’s your guesstimate?
Keith, I don't question your estimate. Of course, they are too high. One death is too high. However, you seem to have a blind spot when it comes to Israel. How would you have them respond to constant rockets being launched at the US. Hundreds of them have killed their own people and themselves. It's a living hell to live in a country where you have to go to a safe house to find shelter whether you're at a party, at work, at the beach or a member of your family is killed at a wedding or a delivery boy is stabbed on his bicycle, or a bunch of kids are terrorized on a bus. It's not the numbers that count and you appear to be fixated on, it's life under threat on a continual basis. The barbaric assault on young people enjoying a music festival surpasses anything I was consciously aware any human being could commit. Please spare me the justification for Hamas, Iran's proxy. Israel isn't at war with the Palestinian people as shown by their actions. They are at war with Hamas, Iran's proxy. Jewish restaurants in the U.S. are sending food to the Palestinians, because their Arab neighbors refuse to give them a safe corridor to reside in. It took an act of G-D to get them to agree to allow food and water into Gaza. It's been documented that Palestinians trying to flee have been killed by Hamas. Israel has the video. They use them as human shields and kill them if they rebel. Many of the 2 million you quote have been killed by these terrorists. How many Jews live in Gaza, Jordan, Saudi Arabia? 20% of the Israeli population are Arab and are represented in the Knesset. by the Raam party.I'm not saying their life has been a bowl of cherries in Israel, but certainly it's a hundred times better than their brothers and sisters living in Gaza. Doctors, lawyers, educators, scientists are included in Israel's life. Your 2 million bears closer scrutiny, mainly by you who has the ability to do that. This is a Russia Tehran propaganda war, in order to distract from Ukraine and give Iran what they want more than anything else, the elimination of Israel by any means necessary.
Earlie Perhaps it’s time to reflect on the history since the UN partition plan in 1947. How did Israel/ArabsPalestinians get to today’s imbroglio? Do you see any shards of hope once current military attacks/invasions subside?
If not, we should anticipate further killing fields. Assigning blame doesn’t make these human beings less dead, whether Israel or Palestinian. 70 years ago I visited Palestinian refugees housed in Gaza in Egyptian-provided tents. In retrospect, that was considerably better than today. The 1967 war was a profound change—and things since have gone down hill. I don’t appreciate any significant improvement in my lifetime.
Tom Emmer lasted four hours as “Speaker Designee” until Trump stepped in, after saying he opposed Emmer two days ago, then saying he was staying out of the Speaker race, and then weighing in after Emmer’s election in the negative.(1) What can I say other than Trump is consistently inconsistent with his acolytes, and they don’t seem to mind. I wonder if you can get internally decapitated from whiplash.
Lori Rampani of NBC News reported the following(2)
Former President Donald Trump said today that his comments about Emmer “absolutely must have had an impact” on his decision to pull out of the speakership race.
“I wasn’t treated particularly well by him as you’ve heard. He wasn’t MAGA,” Trump told reporters in New York.
“I haven’t made a determination on anyone else, but we have some really great people,” Trump added.
Asked if he would support Rep. Byron Donalds for speaker, Trump said that he likes the Florida Republican “very much.”
Tom Emmer could not get 217 votes within the FRP (Former Republican Party) for Speaker.
Could he have gotten 217 in a floor vote of the whole House? At this point, since he was the only Republican with leadership experience and a certifier of the electoral college vote, probably. Democrats need a functioning House. They know how to hold their nose while they make the sausage.
Would Emmer have lasted 24 hours in that role without a call to vacate the chair? Probably not. That rule has to go before a new Speaker who can actually perform the function is chosen. But nobody seems to be mentioning that.
So the runner-up, Mike Johnson, is for now the SD (“Speaker Designee”—it is getting too tiresome to keep having to type it out), otherwise AKA the 5th holder of the hot potato, and there is an idea floating in the cosmos for a joint Speakership with McCarthy and Jordan sharing power. (3)
The next act starts at noon on Wednesday.
Now, it’s time to put aside the dark humor and look at the implications.
Putin and Xi have just been given enormous gifts—the best evidence you could want— that democracy is corrosive and leads to complete dysfunction.
Putin gets another gift in that FRP support for aid to Ukraine is going to wither in the House. Trump has already planted the seeds and it is clear that his acolytes have heard the call. Ukraine is more likely to lose the needed arms support and NATO will have to make up the shortfall. The NATO allies get to re-think the reliability of the US as a partner and the leader of the alliance if Trump can hold this much sway as a 92-count indicted, twice impeached former president. Biden’s major foreign policy successes in rebuilding the alliance are tarnished.
The chaos caucus chalks up another win for minority rule of the FRP. They have achieved paralysis of the government and laid the groundwork for another campaign of “Only Trump can save you from the deep state, no wait, crazy incompetence of sleepy Joe, no wait,…”
Trump gets to demonstrate his power over the FRP and rev up his base. He needs the news cycle to move away from the bad news about Powell, Chesebro, and Ellis, and possibly Meadows testifying against him.
The government shutdown after November 17 is closer to certainty, along with all the pain that will bring to ordinary Americans.
McCarthy and Jordan are getting a little more time in the limelight with the bizarre two-for-one play.
The implications are less clear for the grievance caucus and their oligarch supporters who have crafted Project 2025.(4) Will the House dysfunction be the last straw with independent voters so that the Republicans are soundly defeated in 2024 and Democrats get back the House, Senate, and Presidency?
Don’t forget that oligarchs are the people who fund FRP politics and the right-wing media, and that funding is the only possible leash on the attack dogs. The question is whether the pack can be controlled sufficiently to ensure a Republican sweep by balancing the chaos caucus anarchy to rev up the base against the highly controlled needs of the grievance caucus to dismantle the executive branch, put in new tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, cut the social safety net, reduce the power of unions, reduce government regulation of businesses, eliminate affirmative action, restrict voting rights, reduce the rights of women and transgender people of autonomy over their bodies, and discriminate against immigrants and people of color.
As a non-theist, I have had it with each and every potential Republican Speaker that says in their very first sentence, "As a Christian." And when their voting records reveal they vote to take away foreign aid to Ukraine and other countries that desperately need help and refuse to provide support and tax breaks for underprivileged Americans it is hypocrisy to the Nth degree. They also support taking away the rights of women and people of color.
These people are CINOs (Christians in Name Only).
American values and laws are based on Christian principles, whereas today's Republicanism is based on hate, cruelty, lies, misogyny and xenophobia. Enough of this, "I'm a Christian" BS. We all know it's more important to get TFFG's endorsement than to say you're a Christian, so let's dispense with the hypocrisy.
Yes, Gary, CINO (Christian in Name Only) should be the label for people who claim to be Christian but act diametrically opposed to how Christ would have. That term needs to be how they are identified.
And one more thought. There is nothing in the House Rules that prevents Patrick McHenry from calling a floor vote on Speaker. There is NOTHING that requires that the FRP has to coalesce on a candidate who would win a floor vote before a floor vote.
I.8.(3) (A) In the case of a vacancy in the Office of Speaker, the next Member on the list described in subdivision (B) shall act as Speaker pro tempore until the election of a Speaker or a Speaker pro tempore. Pending such election the member acting as Speaker pro tempore may exercise such authorities of the Office of Speaker as may be necessary and appropriate to that end.
Democrats should be pounding on that point. The rules of the House going back to Jefferson's Manual assumed that people of integrity would hold these offices.
"here is NOTHING that requires that the FRP has to coalesce on a candidate who would win a floor vote before a floor vote."
Georgia, there is one thing needed for that: Courage.
Something no House Republican has. The only person in the Republican Party with the gall to do (anything) is Donald Trump. And, he does anything he wants with impunity and has his entire life.
If ever there was proof that God does not exist, it is Donald J. Trump.
Methinks the Rs lost its founding principles that often inspire and model a line of succession. The fact that they are struggling to find a speaker replacement indicates the entire house is in shambles and leadership vacuum is evident.
The repercussions? Trump shadow still lingers and every decision made by the party is pegged on him, yet his principles are a complete opposite of the sustainance of the party. The party is tilting to the extreme right wing and the more the Rs get lost amongst themselves, the more they are disorganised. A simple social post from DT shakes the whole establishment and candidates often withdraw from the race to the speakership.
Solution? Though they fear to dislodge themselves from the MAGA and their desire to shut down the government, there isn't no other option apart from bending their extreme rules and accepting bipartisan approach to get a new speaker. It is better to lose extremists and rearrange the party for good. But I know they aren't ready for that move.
So the Democrats should let them wallow in their own destructive bed to score their own goals. In this approach, Ds will gain politically and get prepared for elections as early as possible.
Here's the short answer to why-can't-they-elect-a-speaker: look at who's standing in the wings with the music-hall hook at the ready. "Representative Troy Nehls (R-TX) suggested nominating Trump himself for the job." To mix metaphors wildly, he's bound to the railroad tracks and the locomotive is getting closer... but wait, someone's running towards him with scissors to cut the ropes and ROLL him out of harm's way!
If only it were just a movie. A silent one, at that. The danger is real, immediate, and sickening.
I am going to ask you to do something today if your Representative is a Republican. Below is the text of an email I sent to Common Cause. Please substitute your representative’s name for mine and enter it into the form on the page at Common Cause at the link below.
"I would like Common Cause to represent me in an emergency petition before SCOTUS. I am a constituent of Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (NJ-7). I believe that he is not faithfully fulfilling his oath to the Constitution to act as my representative in the House. He has a duty to demand that a floor vote be taken so that a Speaker may be elected for the Chamber and the House can undertake its constitutionally mandated duties.
The Republican Conference's actions show them to be unwilling to bring the Speakership to a vote unless they are sure they will be able to install a Republican. I believe this, and the “motion to vacate” rule, are leading to minority rule in the House in contradistinction to the democratic principles of the Constitution.
I believe Patrick McHenry, as Speaker pro tempore, is also acting in violation of his oath to the constitution by not calling for a floor vote on Speaker and should be a party in the petition.
It is my belief that the Republican Party is no longer a true party but rather an unstable coalition of three parts with differing incompatible agendas."
I am started to appreciate the brilliance of Fani Willis more and more. By insisting on trying them all together no one gets to see her hand until it it played. However, the 2 who insisted on their rights to speedy trials, are not getting any trials because they have already copped pleas. Which means no trial and no showing of her hand. Of course, she has given the evidence to Trumps team, but still, they have tried their tired tropes of he is allowed to do anything he wants as president, and he took his lawyers advice, and these are not working for him. So, there is no greater justice that I can see than TRUMP spending time in a GEORGIA prison where he gets to be among a lot of people who did not vote for him and gets to hear what they have to say. Will his snake oil work there too? His dementia seems to be more clear, even though no one is actually saying this. If Biden mixed up Turkey and Hungary the press would be all over it, same with if Biden said Democrats eat their young, but Trump says this stuff and I am not reading any questioning of his mental fitness to be president let alone to anoint someone to be Speaker of the House. Let us hope Hakeem Jeffries prevails.
Would it cost more for the Secret Service to guard him while he was in jail or would it be cheaper to keep him in house arrest at Mar-A-Lago, where he would not be allowed to have any guests?
I understand, but since we have not had this situation before perhaps that needs to be revisited. It can be qualified that they only get the protection if they do not commit treason.
While I have considered that is how treason has been handled in the past, one thing that differentiates me from TFFG is that I do not believe in the death penalty. I think that life in hell (Georgia Prisons) can be a worse penalty. Clearly Putin thinks that is true for Navalny too. https://theappeal.org/georgia-prisons-crisis-doj-federal-investigation/ Note they say,
“Fear among prisoners is at an all-time high,” BT said. “Conditions are primed for mass rioting.” Trump should be comfortable with this, since he believes he can control anyone, and that everyone loves him. Of course, Trump's biggest defense at this point in time would be that he is not mentally fit to stand trial. Perhaps that is the purpose of all of these crazy rantings of his in speeches, like saying that "Republicans eat their young." or that he referred to Viktor Orbán as the leader of Turkey.
These statements could leave one to believe that he is suffering from hallucinations or dementia. That would be an escape clause for him I presume. However, what would be the solution to that? Being put on a ward for people who have dementia in a Senior facility? Being put in a mental institution for the criminally insane?
Hey, Linda. This is so frustrating. Yes, the SS is bound to protect a living ex-president with no thought to change that rule. Yet, I am sure if it were a Democratic ex-president who was sent to jail, the rule would change in a heartbeat.
I agree. I am hoping that if we do our jobs in 2024 and get the vote out, we might be able to turn things around. I am hoping for this. It is something to strive for. The Biden Administration should put Taylor Swift in charge of getting the youth to register and vote.
I've wondered about the secret service if Trump is jailed, especially for an extensive sentence. Arguably, being in state custody, he would already be under guard, so SS protection would be superfluous. Also arguably, the SS protection is a customary privilege, not a Constitutional provision. Protection of presidents started in 1901 after the assassination of William McKinley. Protection of former presidents started in 1965, and can be declined by the former president. So I think a pretty strong argument could be made that a disgraced former President serving time in prison could be denied Secret Service protections while he is in jail.
Grammatically, it should be 'pled' in a legal context. 'Pleaded' is for intimate, personal interactions. 'He pled guilty to Mueller's charges, then pleaded with his wife to forgive him. '”Mar 7, 2019
This "pleaded" vs. "plead" issue has bugged me and my wife for a long time. Thank you for clarifying, but the MSM will still say "pleaded" even though it is incorrect.
This is from the Century online dictionary-
pled /plĕd/
noun
An occasional (less correct) preterit and past participle of plead.
The theater of the absurd that is today's republican party has me gapemouthed. I suppose we should be inured to their traitorous nonsense, but we must never let that ever come to pass. This travesty won't abate until the Cheeto in chief is gone from the picture. Barring a premature departure from this mortal coil, I don't see him slowing his roll nor lessening his ability to fleece his flock to line his own pockets. Jail time may do so, should we be so lucky.
Cheato is malignant, but so too is the conscience-free manipulations of the Republican Party for over 40 years. Trump is the problem that he has become because powerful people (and his clueless flock) uncritically enabled him. What rough beast would have filled the role (or may yet do so) were there no Trump?
Meanwhile, we wait yet another day for the inadequate, ill-equipped, obnoxious, self-centered, sedition lovers to waste time and our tax dollars by doing nothing to solve this. We, The People, should be demanding that the House Repubs not get a paycheck until their asses either make a compromise or elect a decent (there isn’t one) speaker.
My worthless rep, Tim Burchett, has promised he won’t take his salary if the government shuts down. Meantime, Santos of the superseding indictments, gets to continue to collect HIS salary while awaiting jail time.
“...self-described Christian and staunch Trump supporter”....The former once meant being a kind, thoughtful, loving person of faith; the latter means nothing of the sort.
Wikipedia defines Christianity as "Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth."
I am a non-theist (thanks to Ally House for clarifying this) but as do most non-theists our ethics and values are based on Jesus's teachings and actions in the Bible.
I cannot call the followers of TFFG Christian's when their every action is contrary to what Jesus taught in the Bible.
Agreed, Gary, and thanks for the hat tip. I came to that definition after several long and thoughtful conversations with some dear friends who are what I would call "actual Christians". One of them said that "for a non-believer, you are the most Christian person I know". I took that as a compliment.
I told my wife about your "non-theist" descriptor and she liked it as do I. She will likely refer to herself as a non-theist as will I. My two sisters are both what I would call "actual Christians"--they are the ones that turned me on to HCR's newsletter. They raised their kids in the church but only 2 of the 7 believe in God. But they all share Christian values like love, charity, integrity and service to their communities. Atheists have long been considered to be "bad people" unfit to be politicians and even scientists as Sir Isaac Newton could attest. At 68 years old, I no longer give a damn what people think of my beliefs.
And I agree with you that their assessment of you should be taken as a compliment.
I don't see why "love, charity, integrity and service to their communities" should be considered particularly "Christian values" Gary, - they should be just "values".
Something particularly Christian would be... perhaps, surrendering individual thought... or relinquishing any sense of responsibility for the consequences of your actions... those are particularly Christian traits.
It sounds to me, Gary, like the majority of your nephews and nieces have just seen through the BS.
Having spent every Sunday in a Southern Baptist Church in rural East Texas growing up there, I can say: The Southern Baptist Church has never prioritized kindness and forgiveness. Not a bit.
What the Southern Baptist Church, preachers and all, prioritize is: Hypocrisy.
THAT, hypocrisy is what underpins the Southern Baptist Church and its attendees and preachers.
Continuous, constant hypocrisy was on display every Sunday and in every Southern Baptist church member.
Why? Well, the list of things that will result in one going to hell includes all of the normal things people do. So, the ONLY possible way to be Southern Baptist and also "go to heaven" is to offer hypocrisy on a daily basis.
It is the dumbest religion on earth. A religion that can only exist through the dynamic of hypocrisy.
I feel the same way about Catholicism. I was raised in the Lutheran church so their is the basic antipathy towards Catholics, but from the Pope on down they have always treated women as chattel who are the property of one or more men. The current USSC is run by the tenets of the Catholic Church.
Even if they would allow priests to marry or women to be priests they would still be a severely flawed religion. As Martin Luther pointed out in 1517 in his 96 theses, the Catholic Church needs to be reformed. Still waiting......
Thank you Heather. Unless enough Republicans in the House work across the aisle the only people who “win” are those seeking to destroy the entire system by any means necessary. This would be a huge win for Putin, for Trump, and for corrupt authoritarian governments around the world.
It is a complete slap in the face for those who sacrificed, suffered, or gave their life for our what America could have been, a foundation of representative democracy with aspiration toward equity and justice.
Her comments are so disingenuous. I’m surprised the judge didn’t chastise her for them. If she had known, she relied on older more experienced lawyers. Please, she was 36 at a minimum when she began her lies. That’s old enough to know that she should be doing her due diligence. My apologies to people of faith, but what does being a Christian have to do with this? Is she suggesting that non-Christians aren’t as moral or ethical as Christians?
Regarding the republican clown show in the House. Besides the obvious MAGA obedience to trump requirement, could this be their attempt to run out the clock on the 45 day CR? We know that trump and his MAGA wing want the US to default on the debt.
I think you've hit the nail on the head. It's been slowly dawning on me that Trump wanted a government shut-down and this is how he's going to get it. I also believe that he and all his henchmen believe he will be president again and will grant them all pardons, whether they plead guilty or are found guilty by juries.
The problem is if he doesn't win he's just going to keep doing what he's doing now: claiming it was "rigged and stollen". At age 70 I fear this will persist through most of my "golden years." Ugh.
Well, certainly Trump wants the government to shut down because he thinks that will shut down the courts and he will be spared his trials. (because everything is all about him, of course).
I support an organization called Christians Against Christian Nationalism. It grieves me to see how Jesus is being portrayed as a symbol of hatred and vengeance. This in no way resembles the Christ I know.
True followers of Jesus try to live their lives by his teachings; the most powerful of which are the Golden Rule and the Sermon on the Mount. The greedy, hateful people I see in Congress and other elected offices who claim to be Christians wouldn’t have anything to do with a poor, homeless Jew if he was to cross their path.
Jenna Ellis crocodile tears are just that. Right up till yesterday she was spouting "stop the steal" bullshit. Go look at her FB page. Her tears are because she got caught. She doesn't have the moral capability of confessing anything with integrity. She never knew the meaning of the word. None of these people are "flipping" because they have seen the light. They have seen that they don't like the idea of spending any time in a Georgia jail. They are all worthless pieces of shit and thinking otherwise of them is an act of stupidity.
I third that emotion!! That is exactly the way i feel about this whole thing. Someone should have told that Jenna Ellis to, ''Cry me a damn river'' That is what these people get for being taken in by that blob of Orange protoplasm. I hope there is more to come. I don't feel a bit sorry for these greedy, narcissistic, corrupt asshats.
I fourth it!I wonder how many more with have their” Come to Jesus “ moment in the coming days? And yet TFG is still the puppeteer pulling those strings everyday for a good part of the whole crooked Repuke party.SMH
And he is desperate for a govt shutdown that will kill the investigations. Mobsters always were good at blackmail.
Which could likely be why it’s taking so long to select a speaker.
My take on it
Mine also, Jeri. They could have a speaker in a nanosecond if they would work with Ds.
What about investigations?
"Come to Jesus"? Trump's cronies in crime don't know a thing about Jesus or his teachings. My understanding of Christianity, and the words and actions of those who claim to be Christians to placate Trump, are totally different. It makes me SICK to hear them claim to be Christians. They are just selfish, holier-than-thou, judgemental and
Immoral. (Although they think otherwise.) I don't think Jesus would have admired or condoned their false claims.
I think there should be a TV show- "Guess the Christian."
Sad that it's come to that- guessing.
Pam, Jesus would have kicked them out of the Temple and accused them not only of being moneychangers, but also loudly praying there as hypocrites.
Written in 2008, the satirical novel "American Savior" by Roland Merullo, seems so, so, so current!!
A good read.
Thanks for the heads up. Never heard of this one.
My feelings exactly!
We need Jesus in there flipping over the tables of the scammers!
Linda ! .... JESUS !, is Soon ! To RETURN ! , AND !, When HE DOES !, ' THE LION !' HE ! , WILL BE !,,,,,,,,,," The LAMB !, of GOD !,, Has DONE !, HIS ROLE ! NOW ! , "THE LION !!, Steps In !!
I know...Good Lord, I wish Yamface would just STFU.
T L Mills. Thank you for my first laugh of the am....Yamface.
You are most welcome!
Completely agree. I’m hoping even with a plea deal they will spend some time in prison.
PumpkinMan writing Power of a Trump Endorsement with capital letters tells us all we need to know about his fitness for office and the zombies who worship him. IMHO, Blob of Orange Protoplasm should be capitalized too. No brain matter there.
One a day isn't bad...
I agree with all of you. I have seen other insincere "apologies", but Ms. Ellis' was right up there in the top ten. Her risible "apology" was a tear-soaked pottage of commonplace Republican excusesand casting blame elsewhere for her own moral failures. Such a crock. She should be fined another $5,000 just for describing herself as a "sincere Christian".
She appeared to have taken crying lessons from Brett Kavanaugh.
Kyle Rittenhouse is the standard.
And the jury is still out on why the Wisconsin AG failed to indict Rittenhouse and the Civil Rights Division didn’t charge both, mother and son…
Still out? "The jury" returned a verdict of Not Guilty on Rittenhouse because, Facts, and his Mom had nothing to do with any of it. That horse is dead, so quit kicking it, you're scuffing up your shoes.
🤣
Just what does being a good Christian mean? Why did she feel it necessary to say that?
Did she somehow think that saying she is a Christian would give her more credibility? Wrong! No one who is actually following the teachings of Jesus would do the things that she did or allow themselves to be taken in by the big orange guy. I still can't understand why so many evangelical "Christians" follow Trump. He only worships himself.
The abortion issue! they cannot see that the cons love the fetus but hate the child and mother.
Her comment about having failed to do her due diligence rings just as hollow as her claime to be a Christian of any kind. Is she trying to make us think she's a first-year associate at a giant, white-shoe firm in which such an associate would not think of questioning the senior partner's description of the facts? Seriously? Unless she's really that stupid, to have been sucked into the Big Lie in the first place, and that's some sort of reason - a reason, perhaps, but never an excuse. Either way, a treatment is DISBARMENT.
Christine...mea culpa, mea maxima culpa...this show of tears and proclaiming her "Christianity" is an old trope to tell us how hypocritical she and all those others are. And gosh, only 39 and so naive that she is duped by someone like Rudy.
Exactly. Are they better than everyone else? It's meaningless, and who cares.
Just give me good decent compassionate people, no matter what they believe or don't believe. We had a parochial high school adjacent to the public one where I worked. They had our kids convinced that they weren't as good somehow. I am always reminded of the little bomb project between one of theirs and one of ours.....where do you think they set it off....right down the hallway from me and the library. Or when we kept getting bomb threat and the kid went to the parochial school.
All MAGAts say that. It rolls off their tongues like "thoughts and prayers" whenever a gunman kills school age kids.
If she was such a good Christian, how could she ever stomach a lying SOB, and a man who liked raping women and cheating on his wives. She was an opportunist like all the rest of them.
Sucking up to the judge.
And at $400 or more per hour, thats 2 traffic ticket cases to pau it off. Considering successful lawyers, which all these crooks apparently are, blow down 500k and more yearly, their fines should hurt, at least a little. They, unlike their mental mentor, might even pay the fine.
I agree with you there...yes, the fines should be a bit more painful.
And the 100 hours of community service will probably be pro bono work for January 6 insurrectionists!
She needs to be disbarred!
I totally agree and just read that Sydney Powell is still spieling that the election was stolen on her social media page...she should lose her sweet plea deal!
That should be enough to violate her plea agreement and send her to jail.
I hope so...and lose her law license too!
But who would ever read Sydney Powell ‘s social media page ? She is certifiable.
To answer your question, all the MAGAts.
She’s a “Kraken” all right.
I second that emotion!!👏🏼
The judge and prosecutors may be hopeful that those that have pleaded guilty will be gagged until TFFG goes down, but their history says otherwise. I will be shocked if all of those that pleaded guilty 1) quit echoing the big lie and 2) testify against TFFG and Guiliani in a court room.
TFFG will never plead guilty, so this is going to get very interesting very soon. TFFG has got to be sweating bullets the way these bad actors are singing like little canaries.
Hopefully the prosecutor puts an end to this get out of jail guilty plea soon as they promised they would.
Gary we have two (2) very active Prosecutors, Jack on the Fed's case & Fani on the GA RICO action in Fulton County. By the terms of the pleas, the Get-out-of-Jail-Free component can be revoked, then its Go-directly-to-Jail ... do not pass Mar-a-Lago.
Their sentences are pretty weak if you ask me. None of them will do jail time. If they were deemed felons none could practice law again. Why are their rights being preserved? They should Lose their rights. They didn’t commit mistakes. They committed crimes, knowingly!
My understanding is that in Georgia these are typical plea deals. Also, I think Willis wants the deals to look good to the bigger fish who will start implicating Trump directly. I'd like to see them all in jail,, but I'm sure they're sweating plenty right now.
If they renege, they should be LOCKED UP the next day
Gary,
Willis should not be hopeful and she probably is not. Sidney Powell is claiming that Willis has extorted her into pleading guilty. Ellis and Powell are two peas on one pod.
https://www.businessinsider.com/sidney-powell-doubt-election-results-attack-prosecutors-after-guilty-plea-2023-10
Wow, Mike! It makes me crazy that all of them are still out there, damaging the fabric of our nation.
Unbelievable. Will their be any consequences for her actions do you think?
Gary. No.
Jeebus.
The bottom line is that until Trump is silenced and gone, our country will be a mess. It is unbelievable how such a vile person accumulated so much power, but he did and he has.
I'd like to think it's unbelievable, but actually it's not. In Chapter 11 of Heather's book, Democracy Awakening, she describes the creation of Trump's show, The Apprentice, and its initial success. As ratings dropped, "Trump took his show to a new stage...a lobby full of paid extras."
And here's the sentence that explained to me how Trump's "show" played right into what GOP had been trying to do for decades. "Trump was a brilliant salesman who grasped what 35 years of Republican rhetoric and voting distortion had MADE THE PARTY'S BASE VOTERS WANT (caps mine) far more accurately than the politicians in the Republican establishment who had created those voters. "
Establishment Republicans who "wanted an end to government regulation of business and taxes had courted racists, sexists and religious zealots to stay in power but had no plans actually to give in to extremist demands which would turn off mainstream voters. Trump stripped the cover off this sleight of hand, offering to give the extremist base a hierarchical world in which they dominated women as well as their Black and Brown neighbors." (p 84) And that's how he did and he has.
And that's why we have to do whatever grassroots things we can to rally the majority of our voters who do not want this authoritarian, racist, sexist form of government.
Heather's book is excellent. Everyone should get it.
The punishment for the next violation of his gag order should be home confinement no internet access.
Fake gold on reality tv. Easy peasy
And the court is not giving them jail time to really show them what the rule of law means. Hell, people get longer community service sentences for littering or jaywalking. If you or I had committed a crime this serious, our social calendar would be blank for quite some time but we'd be pros at making license plates.
No kidding! This has been my rave since the beginning. Can you imagine if we got caught stealing anything from the white house, not to mention classified docs! We would be sentenced to life imprisonment at Guantanamo!
Just watched a video of her statement. Nauseating in its insincerity and deflection of responsibility. She sounded like an 8 year old who got caught stealing a candy bar and blamed her friends.
I agree with your sentiment, still, I can't help but feel sorry for her. Jenna Ellis is just another whose life has been wrecked by loyalty to Donald Trump. How stupid and naïve of them. Their loyalty to Trump has nothing to do with their Christianity but rather to their KKK-like support of a government that embraces white Protestant supremacy now, white Protestant supremacy forever. It's racist to the core, though they'll never admit it and may not even be aware of it. The defendants all want to avoid prison, as does Trump and his attorneys. I have no doubt that Trump's attorneys are working furiously to cut a deal that he, too, can plead guilty to in order to avoid wearing that orange jumpsuit. Trump is a dead man walking, but not before he helped to destroy the Grand Old Party.
"Jenna Ellis is just another whose life has been wrecked by loyalty to Donald Trump. How stupid and naïve of them."
Anyone who is "loyal" to Donald Trump, at this point in his history, is just a moron. Everyone who is/was loyal to him, throughout his life, has been burned in his entire life.
Donald Trump cares about exactly one person: Himself. Only. Ever.
I can't subscribe to the "moron" theory because I believe it's more a matter of psyops and being sucked into a conspiracy vortex fed by the likes of Bannon, Flynn and Tucker Carlson. It's hard to break out of something like that when the barrage of bs is pushed at you constantly.
Which makes it e en more dangerous than if they really were all morons.
I see your point. No doubt.
However, as a long time motorcyclist I subscribe to the sign up in motorcycle shops.
“Stupid Hurts”.
And. Rich.
From my POV, the cult of tffg is the result of worshiping False Gods
Richard, Jenna Ellis said in court yesterday "If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post-election challenges." Well, the fact is she did know back then. Over 60 legal challenges were made and lost in contesting this election. She was trained as an attorney to critically examine evidence, but there remains no evidence that the election was stolen. She can't blame elder attorneys who promised massive troves of data to support their claims but never did. She's a sad grifter, like all the rest, and I have no sympathy for her.
Doug, I understand your point and your position. It's just sad to me to see a professional life destroyed in the prime of one's life, even when one is not without fault. Sadder still is that it was wasted on such a pile of filth such as Trump. Ms. Ellis clearly deserves what she got and may even have been let off lightly. But, the real goal is to bring Trump to his just desserts. He needs to be destroyed politically. Fani Willis can do it and perhaps save our democracy. Isn't it ironic that members of the last group to get the franchise to vote (Black females) are the ones leading the charge to save our democracy (Judge Chutkan, AG Leticia James, Stacey
Abrams, DA Fani Willis, and more?) It is poetic justice and a lesson for us all.
I've been happy to notice that ironic twist for a while now.
As a 70+ white woman raised in segregated Oklahoma, I've got one piece of advice for these low lifes: underestimate Black women at your peril!!
Imagine where we could have been if all women had had the same opportunities as males from the get-go. My wife was valedictorian of her class of 660 in St. Petersburg, FL, a National Merit Scholarship winner, Phi Beta Kappa in chemistry at Emory, one of five graduate students admitted to the Harvard Ph.D. program in chemistry in 1971, applied to and was accepted at six medical schools, choosing Stanford. In short, she's brilliant. She took over the Democratic Party in Polk County as chair and made amazing advancements and changes, all lost when new leadership stepped in after her 2-year stint. And then, there was my mom and four sisters, all brighter than me, my mom and three sisters being school teachers, but I'm the one who ended up with the Ph.D. and J.D. from Harvard. I will never discount the fact that I am a white male, on the one hand, and incredibly lucky, on the other hand. Still, I grieve for what my sisters missed. Early on (6 years of age) my mom forged me into a "woman's libber." It was my suggestion that my wife leave chemistry and pursue medicine, and in that profession as an Ob-Gyn she was masterful.
I truly, truly hope that black women of all ages are inspired by these women to register and VOTE. Sadly, before I retired, it seemed that most of the black women that I worked with were--with good reason--entirely focused on basic survival for their children and themselves.
One of Heather’s main points in her book is that repeatedly, it has been women and people of color (especially women of color) who have come to our rescue as a nation, forcing us to move ever closer to the notion that we are truly all created equal. As an old white guy who can do little more than vote and contribute to causes, I’m hoping that they (you) as well as youth step up to the plate as a massive unstoppable movement—to save our democracy and our planet.
It is a sad commentary, isn't it, that their focus was basic survival for themselves and their children, not being able to dream really big dreams? We Democrats are on the path to change that and we're running into opposition from the MAGA/KKK forces, which are reactionary and atavistic. It really is the dialectic at work. We are on the right side of humanity and history.
Richard, in the words of Rick Wilson, Everything Trump Touches, Dies. Ellis is just one of many taken in and by this conman, as we all know.
They thought they would win. And if they had, those people would have been set for life. Instead, they played stupid games and are now winning stupid prizes. Thankfully. But it might not have turned out this way - I think we came awfully close to losing our democracy, and it’s still at risk. I have no sympathy for any of these people who sold us all out. They all knew better, and didn’t care.
Excellent points, and we still are at risk.
And he will probably run the clock out with delays until his reelection. Biden is losing all the Muslim American votes now and the Progressives are done with him. The longer the house screws around the better it is for tfg.
Until the outrageous acts of Hamas I was scared witless. Now I am just filled with an underlying sadness.
Richard - shes 39 years old - old enough! Certainly not naive anymore.
And if she & Powell (whose far more than 39) are turning around after pleading guilty and spouting off the same lies? In my mind they both deserve much worse than probation & community service. I doubt either of them will be out by the side of the road cleaning up trash as ordinary folks would.
Maggie, I understand your anger and resentment. She and Powell deserve their punishments. What they attempted was nefarious. In part I suppose that it's my old age (83) that hates to see a life wasted. I don't know for sure. Still, it saddens me. Of course, had they been successful in bringing down our democracy, as many MAGA Republicans are still trying to do, it would be a different matter. This is far from being over.
It is a shame - all these lives wasted but thinking of what they intended for the rest of us? I've got 2 years on you. And you're right - far from over.
I can't feel sorry for an adult who willingly eats from the Trump buffet. She knew what he was about, filled her plate anyway to reap money and power, and when she got caught, went the Cry and Whine route. A stint in jail would have helped her grow up, but it's not to be.
Her life is not wrecked. The whole right wing ecosystem will continue to embrace her attention seeking.
You have much more faith in their loyalty to one another than I do. Look at what is happening in Congress right now over the fight to select a Speaker. There is no honor among thieves.
Well they managed to stick together to elect a thief. Christian Dominionism and insurrectionists win the day.
Crocodile tears have proved to be a crock for a number of MAGA:
https://apnews.com/article/jan6-capitol-riot-participants-change-tune-after-apologies-f0f37e1409da9366d2d3cc3de65502d9
This is going to happen all the way up the guilt chain without public descriptions and self-acknowledgments of their crimes; they will keep calling themselves political prisoners.
Anyone with experience of humans can read her tearful apology for exactly what it was - a cynical attempt to dodge responsibility and deflect attention from her years of work against the country. Boo hoo hoo, poor me. I was a pawn. Uh huh. Not.
“If only we could elect a president that would pardon my crimes because I did it for fealty, I wouldn’t have to debase myself in front of this mockery of justice”---- overheard by DFN Cub Reporter Dave
Dave - Is that a true quote by Jenna Ellis as overheard by a reporter??
DFN = Dave Fake News
Cub Reporter Dave overheard his own head making it up, but its so close to believable, isn’t it?
Jimmy Olsen approves
Mr White, maybe…..
Sidney Powell is claiming that Willis has extorted her into pleading guilty. Ellis and Powell are two peas on one pod. So, TC, you are correct. They are playing a clever game against Willis. Pleading guilty while third parties claim their innocence and that they are being extorted.
It is a clever play that some folks attribute to Steve Bannon. I looked for where I read that Bannon is behind the play, it is not my idea, but, I cannot find the reference now.
https://www.businessinsider.com/sidney-powell-doubt-election-results-attack-prosecutors-after-guilty-plea-2023-10
Of course Powell's plea deal was extorted. All plea deals are extorted, duh. The defendant is threatened with a worse fate if he or she refuses to take the deal.
Great point!!
It’s not extortion, because the prosecutor didn’t have to offer it in order to convict. It was a gift to get their testimony- more like a quid-pro-quo.
Of course it's extortion. The offer of a plea deal is always accompanied by the threat of something worse to follow if it isn't accepted—though admittedly a conviction on such a trivial charge isn't really much of a threat. Whatever happened to the big bad RICO case...?
Yes, but the something worse can happen without ever offering the deal. And if it wasn’t such a threat, why would they even bother taking a deal?
The payoff comes when they have to sit in the witness box at trial and tell the truth. If telling the truth is part of an extortion, your values suck.
We all watched it - Guilliani and company saying dead people voted; Ted Cruz trying to decertify PA’s election; Trump asking Raffensperger to fix the GA election for him; everybody bitching that Trump was cheated out when down-ballot Republicans won. There’s NOTHING NEW! The only thing, THE ONLY THING LEFT, is for them to say in a court of law, that it was all a scheme to defraud American voters. AND they’re getting quite a break for speaking. No, that isn’t extortion.
After October 7, I’d stack up my values against those of any progressive, anywhere, with absolute confidence.
Is it not some form of special hypocrisy to plead guilty while summoning up Jesus Christ as part of your motivation?
Does this rush of religious fervor occur only at the acts of lament?
Was she so isolated from society that she was unaware of alternate narratives of the sedition?
Crocodile tears don’t wash away the sins of false Gods.
Republicans see white supremacy as very Christian.
Well said.
I hope no judge will think otherwise, may they be pariahs for the sane majority as well as the MAGAts. No jail, but Slink back under your rocks, vermin.
Typical with sociopaths. They only respond to consequences.
And now, Sidney Powell is allegedly claiming she was extorted to take a guilty plea. There is no bottom on this barrel.
Wow! She is allegedly having a dark money funded site publish references to articles from yet another site that says she was "extorted" into the plea deal. Let's muddy the waters and plant doubts in the minds of the jury pool (it only takes one) and give Trump talking points while sheltering her several layers deep from a gag order. Sounds like a Steve Bannon play.
https://www.businessinsider.com/sidney-powell-doubt-election-results-attack-prosecutors-after-guilty-plea-2023-10
I'm with you Georgia. She must throw Guiliani and TFFG under the bus big time in her deposition and it must be as believable as Cassie Hutchinson was during the hearings.
Otherwise, she should be doing some serious time.
I’ll just fit this in right here. Correct me if I m wrong, but it’s my understanding that if Syd reneges on her plea agreement, or any of them for that matter, it’s back to pre-agreement of full sentencing. 5-20 in the Georgia state penitentiary with no early parole. Fines, disbarred, felonies. I would think that would be quite a discouragement from try to play the prosecution.
I haven’t read the article, but listened to an earlier podcast where Powell pretty much spills the beans on how she got involved in all this. I also would hope she under a gag order?
Read the article. It’s eye opening. And short.
That seems right, but I'm not a lawyer so my opinion is just that.
Lawyers: how will this affect her cooperation agreement with Willis? She’s undermining Willis, so how can she be a useful witness?
"She" hasn't said anything directly. So the play here is that "she" has done nothing to violate her plea agreement. "She" is not responsible for what others attribute to her without her knowledge. This is straight out of the Bannon playbook.
Aha. Good point. I hadn’t realized she herself had remained quiet.
It only takes one, and this is a slimy bunch of eels.
He could likely be advising her.
Gag her ass!
Surprise surprise! (not)
Sidney Powell is a very disturbed and unstable individual.
She's looking at all her options. She's a turd.
Well duh! She is a Republican so turd is a given
The cracken has settled.
The DA should withdraw the deal and prosecute Powell.
Especially now that a much more valuable witness (Chesebro) has also taken a plea.
looks like she chooses jail...Fulton County would be a good start
As I understand it, the value of both Cheese and Kraken is not their testimony in court, but the hard evidence they've provided in terms of detailed contemporaneous notes and records.
The problem with "witnesses" like Cheese and Kraken is that they are already known to be liars: if they believed their conspiracy theories, they are lying now to take the deal, while if they didn't believe them, the were lying then. There is no particular reason to offer them any kind of deal in exchange for unverifiable future testimony. What they've given up is hard evidence, and my understanding is that the prosecution would not have offered the deal without seeing and evaluating the evidence: they wouldn't buy a bag of magic beans.
Good way to lose a cushy plea deal and end up in a Georgia jail. You don't get to play these games when you plead guilty in exchange for dropped charges.
🤣🤣🤣 More likely, it was on the advice of her own lawyer.
I mean, isn't every plea deal technically coerced?
Nope. That's an inside-out way of looking at it.
The sentence for crime is coercion. No one really wants to go to jail for years, and do it only because they are forced to.
A plea deal is a negotiated offer, and either side is completely free to decline the offer. If Kraken didn't like the offer, but was stupid enough to take it anyway, that's on her.
I loathe her too!
Today's Letter is about uncovering the truth by seeing through Donald J. Trump, along with alleged co-conspirators, to overthrow our government with lies. This is crucial work for the survival of our experiment with Democracy and for the American people.
On another crucial subject, one concerning life and death, I would like to harken to the words of CNN’s Jake Tapper mentioned in HCR's Letter, “I'm covering life and death issues, serious tragedies, serious momentous occurrences here in Israel and of course in Gaza,” he said today. " With that, I received the following from WORLD CENTRAL KITICHEN:
'WCK and partners provide urgent aid in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon'
'First arriving in the region two weeks ago, WCK is supporting families in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon who are impacted by the extreme escalation of violence and accompanying humanitarian crisis. At the same time, we have prepositioned a team in Egypt and are working with local authorities to see how WCK-provided meals and other forms of support can enter Gaza as more aid makes its way into the territory.'
'While we wait on additional outside humanitarian assistance to be allowed into Gaza, we are working with Anera—our longtime partner on the ground—who has tapped into their network across the territory to locally source supplies to cook hot meals and assemble food kits. Anera is supporting families in Gaza City, which is under constant bombardment, and further south in Khan Younis, where many people have fled seeking safety.'
'In total, including hot meals and food kits with several days' worth of meals, WCK and Anera have distributed more than one million meals to Palestinians, and anyone else in Gaza affectedd by the conflict. There is also an urgent need for potable water and, with WCK’s support, Anera has located and purchased an entire warehouse of bottled water inside Gaza that will be distributed to people in need.'
If you can, LFAAers, please consider donating to WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN:
https://wck.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=06ac91679649ec3adc1c73cc3&id=72e771b5b2&e=8c2d0f0321
THANK YOU!
WCK is a GREAT organization that goes into war torn areas and also into areas that have experienced natural disasters. They always get my support. José Andrés (a Spanish chef) started this organization when he saw a need. They are all humanitarians. Thank you Fern for highlighting the difficult work they do.
Isn't it time for more newscasters and the media to speak out as CNN's Jake Tapper did? Isn't it time for a march on D.C. of dems and repubs alike to speak out against these racist, lying individuals who appear to be purposely holding up the functioning of our government? Maybe I'm naive but I'm sick and tired of these brats!!
I support them in both the Middle East and in Ukraine. Fabulous work that they do.
Also, in the U.S., remembering Hawaii just a few months ago. Morning, Ally!
Morning, Lynell! My Hawaii donation went to the Pacific Whale Foundation for their work in restoring the marine habitat.
Morning, Ally!! To tell you the truth, I don't think I donated to WCK specifically for Maui, but remember they were there helping.
I debated which one to support. The sea life won that round (although I am the proud owner of t-shirts supporting Maui from Teddy the Dog (for animals, naturally) and Crazy Shirts (for people).
Sea life, dogs and all animals are the best to support. If we were oligarchs, together we could support them all!
Thank you, Fern. Donated a few days ago!
Lynell, devastation, starvation, lack of fuel and water, injuries and deaths in Gaza are CATASTROPIC.
'Southern Gaza in Israel's sights as world leaders seek pause in fighting' (Reuters, excerpts)
'GAZA/JERUSALEM, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Israel's military intensified its bombing of southern Gaza overnight after one of the deadliest days for Palestinians since the conflict began, amid international calls for a pause in fighting to let aid into the enclave and prevent many more deaths.'
'Health officials in Gaza said on Wednesday that dozens more people had been killed in the south, where hundreds of thousands fled after Israel warned them it would attack the north in its bid to wipe out Hamas militants who mounted a killing spree in Israel on Oct. 7.'
'One strike brought down several apartment buildings in Khan Younis. "This is something not normal, we have not heard something like this before," resident Khader Abu Odah said.'
'Palestinian anger over the killings has been increased by a sense of betrayal as many of those who obeyed the order to move south are also being killed. The Israeli military says that Hamas, which rules Gaza, has entrenched itself among the civilian population everywhere.'
'CALLS FOR HUMANITARIAN PAUSE'
'The United States and Russia are leading international calls for a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas to allow aid into Gaza, where living conditions are harrowing.'
'Limited deliveries of food, medicine and water from Egypt restarted on Saturday through Rafah, the only crossing not controlled by Israel, which announced it had sealed off the coastal enclave for good after this month's attack from Hamas.'
'Another 20 trucks crossed late on Tuesday after delays, but U.N. agencies said more than 20 times as much were needed for the narrow coastal strip's 2.3 million people, who depend heavily on aid even in peacetime.'
'Israel launched the strikes on Gaza after Hamas militants attacked southern Israeli towns on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people, most of them civilians, and taking more than 200 people hostage.'
'A total of 704 Palestinians, including 305 children, were killed on Tuesday, the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it was the highest reported single-day death toll of the conflict.' (Reuters) See link below.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/world-leaders-seek-suspend-israel-hamas-fighting-gaza-aid-2023-10-24/
Love the good work WCK does all around the world. Have been donating to them for a few years now. Will make another donation today! Thank you, Fern!
My hand is on my heart with thank you, Kerry!
'Gaza hospitals in crisis'
'Gaza hospitals and clinics are operating with fewer than a third of their prewar medical staff, Ashraf al-Qudra, the spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry, said Wednesday. Israeli strikes are keeping medical workers pinned down, he said. A spokesperson for al-Aqsa hospital in Gaza, Mohamed al-Haj, said that between dawn and 3:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday, 40 people died there and more than 85 were injured. Since the war began, he said, 1,481 people have died at the hospital or arrived already deceased.'
'Medical workers have had to flee their homes and fear moving around because of Israeli bombardments, thereby limiting the availability of front-line workers, he said.'
'The doctors and nurses on hand are working nearly 24-hour shifts and many have not returned home for days or weeks, staffers told The Washington Post. Hospitals have had to ration care and place patients on floors or discharge those without life-threatening conditions to free up beds, they said. Surgeries are conducted without anesthesia.'
'On top of facing the surge in patients requiring treatment, still-open hospitals have also effectively become camps for displaced people. Thousands to tens of thousands of Gazans have taken shelter in medical compounds, putting a further strain on dwindling water, food, electricity and sanitation services.'
'On Tuesday, Qudra also warned that hospitals and health clinics were seeing an influx in communicable infectious diseases, such as diarrhea, food poisoning, skin diseases and smallpox. (WAPO)
I am 90, lived in the Middle East for years and, as a Foreign Service Officer, worked in/on Congo 1960-1966.
There absolutely is a ‘double standard’ when American media (and the US government) looks at lives globally. I recall, many years ago, hearing how the American media ‘ranked’ deaths: one American=10 Europeans=500-1,000 in the Arab world, Asia, and Africa.
In the Israel/Palestinian interminable imbroglio, Americans have been far more focused on Israeli deaths than death and draconian living conditions in Gaza and the West Bank.
The recent Hamas slaughter and hostage taking was horrendous. The fact that Israel, in retaliation, had cut off water, food, and fuel to 2,000,000 Palestinians in Gaza is equally unconscionable.
Even now the focus is on the horrors experience by Israelis, since there is virtually no reporting from inside northern and southern Gaza.
With countless air strikes, so far Israel has killed at least 6,000 Palestinians and at least triple more wounded. The Israeli Defense Force is poised to invade Gaza, with the potential for massive Palestinian casualties (including some Hamas terrorists), the lives of many hostages, and, perhaps, some hundreds of dead Israeli military.
The world is right to see this as a ‘double standard.’
If the United States wishes to appear ‘moral’ to a large majority of the world’s population, it must forthrightly oppose Israel’s prospective humongous killing of many more Palestinian civilians.
To much of the world, the slaughter of countless Palestinian civilians is as inhumane as Putin’s continued slaughter of Ukrainian civilians.
"The recent Hamas slaughter and hostage taking was horrendous. The fact that Israel, in retaliation, had cut off water, food, and fuel to 2,000,000 Palestinians in Gaza is equally unconscionable."
Thank you Keith. It is way, way past time for folks who have access and credibility within the USA start saying what is actually true about how Palestinians in Gaza are treated by Israel.
There is no justification for what Hamas did in Israel to innocent people. However, we cannot expect that a people who have been so trodden upon as the Palestinians for so long will always stand by and smile and "take it".
Eventually, someone will take on the local bully and hurt him. Then, of course, with him being in the hospital all beat up, he can make himself look like a victim.
But, the Bully, in fact, caused his own pain.
There absolutely is a ‘double standard’ when American media (and the US government) looks at lives globally. I recall, many years ago, hearing how the American media ‘ranked’ deaths: one American=10 Europeans=500-1,000 in the Arab world, Asia, and Africa.
In the Israel/Palestinian interminable imbroglio, Americans have been far more focused on Israeli deaths than death and draconian living conditions in Gaza and the West Bank.
1400 deaths and more since in Israel is equal to more than 50,000 deaths in America. Israel has a population of 9.1 million people. The US has over 330 million. Two hundred fifty were young people attending a musical festival that were murdered in cold blood, not to mention babies that were beheaded. I'd like to see the US ignore that if something similar happened here. Be careful who you blame for these atrocities as we found out in the hospital massacre that killed innocent Gaza's. The hospital was never hit. The parking lot was. Five hundred didn't die. Revised figures have said fifty dead by a failed Hamas rocket launch. The truth will be revealed, but revving up all the Palestinian supporters on this newsletter is no way to do this. As you advised me in the past, it's a complex issue and we see things through different lenses to paraphrase your comment.
Eadie I agree that different people see complex situations differently. These discussions should be fact based.
We have detailed information on American military casualties in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. My recollection is that there were less than 100,000 dead. I am unaware of the number of deaths and wounded Koreans, Vietnamese, and Iraqis. I have read that there were more than 1,000,000 Korean casualties, over 2,000,000 Vietnamese casualties, and countless thousands of Iraqi casualties.
Will we ever know (or care)?
Keith, I believe what you're trying to say in your reply was that the country that holds the military might wins. Unfortunately, that is true. Innocent people throughout the ages have died because they were caught in the crossfire. However, one has to see whether the war against the enemy was a just fight i.e. our fight against Japan or Nazi Germany or Vietnam. In order, to do that one must study carefully the history and the ideals and goals of the respective leaders that ruled their countries. No country goes to war for the fun of it! In our war with Vietnam and Iraq, it was a tragic failure on U.S. leaders at the time. However, IMO Biden is backing the right horse.
Keith, what is your point? You said there was a double standard in favor of the Israelis. I was simply stating that more than 1400 deaths is equal to 50,000 Americans. When you put that number in perspective, I believe the statistics show the double standard favors Gaza's Palestinians.
I agree with Keith in the sense the figures are not near as important as the acts of inhumanity that taking sides create.
Not separating terrorist groups from the Muslim Religion was gross error by the Bush/ Cheney Junta and is repeated in the Israel /US alliance on Hamas.
The blatant emotional response to the Hamas invasion could have been tamped down in favor of a structured humanitarian development by a broader coalition of Governments.
We must halt the marrying of anonymous terrorist group catechisms to human populations under their control.
This is such a tough one (complex issue) for many people. It breaks my heart.
Words don't express my feelings for the loss of needless lives by Palestinians and Israelis
I too sympathize with the Palestinians but take offense at blaming Israel for its airstrikes. I blame Hamas and its funders and enablers. They knew- they planned this attack for years- And they knew full well how Israel had to react. Are you arguing that Israel should just accept mass slaughter, torture, kidnapping of its citizens in the most brutal way imaginable. While Hamas and the Muslim world publicly rejoices in this “victory”. Blame Hamas. They planned this attack for years but didn’t take any steps to protect the Palestinian people? Why aren’t they seeking refuge in shelters or tunnels? Hamas has done this to the Palestinians and I am offended that you place the blame on Israel. Israel has been attacked in several wars by its Arab neighbors and won every time 1948, 1967, 197?. Then it suffered terror attacks by the PLO for about 30 years then Hamas for 30 years.
I know you think the Jews should just accept all these attacks. I know you want them to just lie down and die. But that is sick and twisted and wrong. Israel seeks peace only. There is nobody who seeks peace on behalf of Palestine.
Paula You must be clairvoyant to know what I think. I was deeply involved in the foreign hostage Congo crisis in 1964 when Congolese rebels threatened to kill the hostages. I put my life on the line and then co-authored the Action Memo that Secretary Rusk hand carried to President Johnson.
I considered the Israeli extraordinary 1976 Rescue at Entebbe but the best (and most dangerous) hostage rescue initiative of which I am aware.
I have been associated with the Palestine issue since 1953, when I visited the Palestine refugees in Gaza, where Egypt was holding them in tents. I lunched with David Ben-Gurion in 1954 and, in 1960, was invited to spend a month at the Israeli War College .
After my ‘rambunctious’ experiences. In Congo, I twice rejected our Saigon ambassador’s ‘invitation’ to join him. I saw no light at the end of the tunnel where we were fighting against well-entrenched nationalism.
I doubt that you ‘know’ what I think, except from my brief and factual commentary.
Keith. I apologize for my flippant remarks about what you think. From what you say you are a very brave person who knows far more than I about Israel and Palestine. Still I don’t know why you blame Israel and the United States for the plight of the Palestinians when all of the suffering this October is the fault of Hamas and its supporters who, knowing Israel would fire rockets into Gaza, took no steps to protect the Palestinian people especially the children and certainly with their funding they could have. I didn’t literally mean that you, personally, want Jews to die. That was my way of saying what on earth is Israel supposed to do? Do you know? Because nobody else seems to know. Israel has defended itself in war, given back land, engaged in peace agreements, tolerated decades of terror attacks and suicide bombings and are surrounded by enemies who seek their extermination. And the Jewish people have suffered so much for so long I am naturally sympathetic to their plight. I agree the Palestinians should have food and water and medicine and a means of protection or escape. I deplore the humanitarian crisis and loss of life caused by the bombing. But I bristle at pointing the finger of blame at Israel and particularly against Joe Biden who, it seems to me is doing everything in his power to prevent making a horrible situation even worse. He is simultaneously supporting Israel and forcing humanitarian aid, negotiating for hostages from the US, Israel and other countries and trying to deter additional attacks by meeting with Arab leaders and whatever he isn’t doing, Blinkin is. He has cautioned Israel but Netanyahu isn’t the easiest person to manage. Meanwhile the Arab leaders have twice called for a day of rage. Not Israel who suffered a brutal massacre that deliberately targeted civilians. And who is out on the streets celebrating the massacre and sharing videos so proudly? Hamas. So again I wish people could see clearly and assign blame to Hamas and its terrorist sponsors. If I am wrong please enlighten me.
No, Paula you are not wrong. Tehran and Russia are pulling the strings. Both have an interest in polarizing American debate. They are waging a propaganda war and they are winning.
Paula, excellent expression of how many Jews feel and believe. Couldn't have said it better.
From https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/24/ by Owen Jones. Israel is Clear about its intentions . . .
“The emphasis is on damage, not accuracy,” declared the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). “Gaza will eventually turn into a city of tents,” said one IDF official, adding, “There will be no buildings.” Israel’s economy minister, Nir Barkat, told ABC News that hostages and civilian casualties will be secondary to destroying Hamas, “even if takes a year”.
Thank you, Keith. I had never seen the “numbers,” but understand them perfectly. As we fall apart, please continue to write. More than anyone else you go straight to the heart of this long disaster. The most hopeful statement I’ve heard coming out of Israel, was someone saying that Netanyahu must go. That is only a tiny beginning, however. Do you think we can ever get to “all men (!) are created equal”? Funny, I’ve always felt that “men” was everybody!
Still carrying my cane, thinking of your two (but mine has four feet and definitely looks weaponly).
Virginia At 90 I have personally experienced and witnessed lots of gory and some glory. I shall continue to speak out forcefully, since I am profoundly concerned about the country and world that my 5 grandchildren will inherit. I might also take a few whacks with my cane and run over some folks with my walker.
You have been in the places “where it happened.” I know much of it secondhand. But living through WWII with Life Magazine, newsreels, and radio, plus the hour sing of the whole school every week led by a sixth grade teacher who taught her patriotism with music as we were taught geography as part of patriotism, compared to what has happened to schools and to US since, I have lived at second hand what you have lived. If we do not continue to do what we can….After yesterday (House election, massacre) all we can do may be more important, or less, than before.
Yes! Likewise and likewise. Yesterday means we must speak out more than ever. Thank you.
Keith with your adroit analytical abilities, did you check out the NYT visual investigaton of the Hospital attack taken from open sources?
The source data included broad spectrum CCTV, Israel Chanel 13vfootage & 1 other source I cannot recall.
But, the NYT visual analysis included smart graphics & real time video loops embedded all on 1 graphic page.
Your thoughts if you care to educate ... Take your time.
Bryan As a Foreign Service Officer, I dealt with a broad range in intelligence from excellent to false. Relying solely on I have read in the newspapers, I am inclined to consider the Israeli and American DOD version highly credible.
The Israelis showed some photos and claimed they had tracked the fallen Hamas missile. They also reported several intercepted Hamas communications. Also, the explosion occurred in the parking lot. I also read the DOD comment as highly supportive [They would also have access to COMINT, which would not be encrypted in intercepted phone calls.
I doubt that DOD would not state accurately their findings. Its reputation for integrity is overriding, especially after Trump trashed formal US intelligence assessments.
In brief, were I an operating Foreign Service Officer, I would accept the Israeli/DOD version. Hamas has not provided a credible refutation. The initial casualty report seemed significantly overstated.
As for Palestinian dead and wounded, I tend to accept the magnitude figures provided by the Gaza Health Department. It’s a fluid situation and more info will be coming it. However, on magnitude I would tend to accept what is being reported (which are not Hamas figures). Given the massive air raids, the casualties would seem massive. Also, the ‘safe haven’ of southern Gaza is not safe, as air strikes are hitting there.
Indeed, my instinct is that Palestinian casualties may be considerably higher than the daily reports. I don’t believe that Israel has any basis for reporting Palestinian casualties, except in the West Bank, where they are on the ground.
NY Times, today, says the missile that Israel says came from Hamas actually emanated from Israel. No joke.
Mike In the intelligence business there is a phrase ‘bodyguard of lies.’ [Remember Vietnam when the government continually lied publicly, though some insiders knew this was opening. Also, Colin Powell at the UN in February 2003he was set up by the CIA Director who should have been aware that his ‘smoking pistol’ evidence was from an Iraqi defector who German intelligence said was a psychopathic liar].
Without access to the underlying documentation, I can’t sort of who is telling the truth. Clearly the Israelis have a strong reason to deny that an Israeli plane hit the Gaza hospital. They presented ‘evidence’ that seemed plausible. Biden supported this Israel ‘evidence.’ As for DOD, I don’t recall if they said their evidence was conclusive or seemingly likely.
As for the NYT, what precisely is their evidence and where did it come from? Is it plausible that someone in DOD, in the event of some cover up, leaked this evidence to the NYT. It seems unlikely that it was leaked by an Israeli.
We may never have a public unraveling of this. Something is fishy, but what? Though it was a big deal for a moment, now with over 6,000 Palestinians dead and perhaps 20,000 wounded—and the attacks continue, this hospital incident seems of lesser and lesser importance.
Keith, the Ministry of Health is an arm of Hamas. I'm surprised Keith that you believe their figures. You know how much I respect your opinion. Clue me in. Many of the figures they quote include their own terrorists,1500 of which were killed by the IDF when they were found in the Kibbutzm. Many more died in Gaza, sometimes by their own failed launch attacks, numbering in the hundreds. In addition they were killed by the explosives they planted under Gaza's apartment complexes.
Eadie I have read assessments of how the Ministry of Health collects data from hospitals and mortuaries. They seem rather professional under extraordinary circumstances. Would you care to estimate the Palestinian casualties from thousands of air raids in minuscule area with 2,000,000 Palestinians?
Do you think that the MOH figures are too low or two high? What’s your guesstimate?
Keith, I don't question your estimate. Of course, they are too high. One death is too high. However, you seem to have a blind spot when it comes to Israel. How would you have them respond to constant rockets being launched at the US. Hundreds of them have killed their own people and themselves. It's a living hell to live in a country where you have to go to a safe house to find shelter whether you're at a party, at work, at the beach or a member of your family is killed at a wedding or a delivery boy is stabbed on his bicycle, or a bunch of kids are terrorized on a bus. It's not the numbers that count and you appear to be fixated on, it's life under threat on a continual basis. The barbaric assault on young people enjoying a music festival surpasses anything I was consciously aware any human being could commit. Please spare me the justification for Hamas, Iran's proxy. Israel isn't at war with the Palestinian people as shown by their actions. They are at war with Hamas, Iran's proxy. Jewish restaurants in the U.S. are sending food to the Palestinians, because their Arab neighbors refuse to give them a safe corridor to reside in. It took an act of G-D to get them to agree to allow food and water into Gaza. It's been documented that Palestinians trying to flee have been killed by Hamas. Israel has the video. They use them as human shields and kill them if they rebel. Many of the 2 million you quote have been killed by these terrorists. How many Jews live in Gaza, Jordan, Saudi Arabia? 20% of the Israeli population are Arab and are represented in the Knesset. by the Raam party.I'm not saying their life has been a bowl of cherries in Israel, but certainly it's a hundred times better than their brothers and sisters living in Gaza. Doctors, lawyers, educators, scientists are included in Israel's life. Your 2 million bears closer scrutiny, mainly by you who has the ability to do that. This is a Russia Tehran propaganda war, in order to distract from Ukraine and give Iran what they want more than anything else, the elimination of Israel by any means necessary.
Earlie Perhaps it’s time to reflect on the history since the UN partition plan in 1947. How did Israel/ArabsPalestinians get to today’s imbroglio? Do you see any shards of hope once current military attacks/invasions subside?
If not, we should anticipate further killing fields. Assigning blame doesn’t make these human beings less dead, whether Israel or Palestinian. 70 years ago I visited Palestinian refugees housed in Gaza in Egyptian-provided tents. In retrospect, that was considerably better than today. The 1967 war was a profound change—and things since have gone down hill. I don’t appreciate any significant improvement in my lifetime.
Well stated Keith, thank you.
THE 23rd DAY OF MAGAS HOLDING THE HOUSE HOSTAGE.
Tom Emmer lasted four hours as “Speaker Designee” until Trump stepped in, after saying he opposed Emmer two days ago, then saying he was staying out of the Speaker race, and then weighing in after Emmer’s election in the negative.(1) What can I say other than Trump is consistently inconsistent with his acolytes, and they don’t seem to mind. I wonder if you can get internally decapitated from whiplash.
Lori Rampani of NBC News reported the following(2)
Former President Donald Trump said today that his comments about Emmer “absolutely must have had an impact” on his decision to pull out of the speakership race.
“I wasn’t treated particularly well by him as you’ve heard. He wasn’t MAGA,” Trump told reporters in New York.
“I haven’t made a determination on anyone else, but we have some really great people,” Trump added.
Asked if he would support Rep. Byron Donalds for speaker, Trump said that he likes the Florida Republican “very much.”
Tom Emmer could not get 217 votes within the FRP (Former Republican Party) for Speaker.
Could he have gotten 217 in a floor vote of the whole House? At this point, since he was the only Republican with leadership experience and a certifier of the electoral college vote, probably. Democrats need a functioning House. They know how to hold their nose while they make the sausage.
Would Emmer have lasted 24 hours in that role without a call to vacate the chair? Probably not. That rule has to go before a new Speaker who can actually perform the function is chosen. But nobody seems to be mentioning that.
So the runner-up, Mike Johnson, is for now the SD (“Speaker Designee”—it is getting too tiresome to keep having to type it out), otherwise AKA the 5th holder of the hot potato, and there is an idea floating in the cosmos for a joint Speakership with McCarthy and Jordan sharing power. (3)
The next act starts at noon on Wednesday.
Now, it’s time to put aside the dark humor and look at the implications.
Putin and Xi have just been given enormous gifts—the best evidence you could want— that democracy is corrosive and leads to complete dysfunction.
Putin gets another gift in that FRP support for aid to Ukraine is going to wither in the House. Trump has already planted the seeds and it is clear that his acolytes have heard the call. Ukraine is more likely to lose the needed arms support and NATO will have to make up the shortfall. The NATO allies get to re-think the reliability of the US as a partner and the leader of the alliance if Trump can hold this much sway as a 92-count indicted, twice impeached former president. Biden’s major foreign policy successes in rebuilding the alliance are tarnished.
The chaos caucus chalks up another win for minority rule of the FRP. They have achieved paralysis of the government and laid the groundwork for another campaign of “Only Trump can save you from the deep state, no wait, crazy incompetence of sleepy Joe, no wait,…”
Trump gets to demonstrate his power over the FRP and rev up his base. He needs the news cycle to move away from the bad news about Powell, Chesebro, and Ellis, and possibly Meadows testifying against him.
The government shutdown after November 17 is closer to certainty, along with all the pain that will bring to ordinary Americans.
McCarthy and Jordan are getting a little more time in the limelight with the bizarre two-for-one play.
The implications are less clear for the grievance caucus and their oligarch supporters who have crafted Project 2025.(4) Will the House dysfunction be the last straw with independent voters so that the Republicans are soundly defeated in 2024 and Democrats get back the House, Senate, and Presidency?
Don’t forget that oligarchs are the people who fund FRP politics and the right-wing media, and that funding is the only possible leash on the attack dogs. The question is whether the pack can be controlled sufficiently to ensure a Republican sweep by balancing the chaos caucus anarchy to rev up the base against the highly controlled needs of the grievance caucus to dismantle the executive branch, put in new tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, cut the social safety net, reduce the power of unions, reduce government regulation of businesses, eliminate affirmative action, restrict voting rights, reduce the rights of women and transgender people of autonomy over their bodies, and discriminate against immigrants and people of color.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/emmer-drops-out-of-house-speaker-race/
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/live-blog/house-republicans-choose-new-speaker-nominee-live-updates-rcna121674/rcrd22873?canonicalCard=true
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/live-blog/house-republicans-choose-new-speaker-nominee-live-updates-rcna121674#rcrd22879
https://www.project2025.org/policy/
As a non-theist, I have had it with each and every potential Republican Speaker that says in their very first sentence, "As a Christian." And when their voting records reveal they vote to take away foreign aid to Ukraine and other countries that desperately need help and refuse to provide support and tax breaks for underprivileged Americans it is hypocrisy to the Nth degree. They also support taking away the rights of women and people of color.
These people are CINOs (Christians in Name Only).
American values and laws are based on Christian principles, whereas today's Republicanism is based on hate, cruelty, lies, misogyny and xenophobia. Enough of this, "I'm a Christian" BS. We all know it's more important to get TFFG's endorsement than to say you're a Christian, so let's dispense with the hypocrisy.
I have had it with each and every potential Republican Speaker that says in their very first sentence, "As a Christian."
Giving Christianity and God a bad name is definitely one of the Republican Party's strengths. Definitely.
Mike There is no ‘Christ’ in a Republican ‘Christian.’ In the vernacular—‘Jesus wept.’
Why I quit them in 2004 when Karl Rove made Christian churches arms of the Repub party. Pharisees all…
Republican Christianity lacks the Jesus values.
Yes, Gary, CINO (Christian in Name Only) should be the label for people who claim to be Christian but act diametrically opposed to how Christ would have. That term needs to be how they are identified.
Maybe it should be pronounced "sin-o" instead of "seen-o" as well.
Now we call them either evangelical Christians or Christian Nationalists. That's way too nice for who they are.
And one more thought. There is nothing in the House Rules that prevents Patrick McHenry from calling a floor vote on Speaker. There is NOTHING that requires that the FRP has to coalesce on a candidate who would win a floor vote before a floor vote.
I.8.(3) (A) In the case of a vacancy in the Office of Speaker, the next Member on the list described in subdivision (B) shall act as Speaker pro tempore until the election of a Speaker or a Speaker pro tempore. Pending such election the member acting as Speaker pro tempore may exercise such authorities of the Office of Speaker as may be necessary and appropriate to that end.
Democrats should be pounding on that point. The rules of the House going back to Jefferson's Manual assumed that people of integrity would hold these offices.
https://cha.house.gov/_cache/files/5/3/5361f9f8-24bc-4fbc-ac97-3d79fd689602/1F09ADA16E45C9E7B67F147DCF176D95.118-rules-01102023.pdf
"here is NOTHING that requires that the FRP has to coalesce on a candidate who would win a floor vote before a floor vote."
Georgia, there is one thing needed for that: Courage.
Something no House Republican has. The only person in the Republican Party with the gall to do (anything) is Donald Trump. And, he does anything he wants with impunity and has his entire life.
If ever there was proof that God does not exist, it is Donald J. Trump.
Methinks the Rs lost its founding principles that often inspire and model a line of succession. The fact that they are struggling to find a speaker replacement indicates the entire house is in shambles and leadership vacuum is evident.
The repercussions? Trump shadow still lingers and every decision made by the party is pegged on him, yet his principles are a complete opposite of the sustainance of the party. The party is tilting to the extreme right wing and the more the Rs get lost amongst themselves, the more they are disorganised. A simple social post from DT shakes the whole establishment and candidates often withdraw from the race to the speakership.
Solution? Though they fear to dislodge themselves from the MAGA and their desire to shut down the government, there isn't no other option apart from bending their extreme rules and accepting bipartisan approach to get a new speaker. It is better to lose extremists and rearrange the party for good. But I know they aren't ready for that move.
So the Democrats should let them wallow in their own destructive bed to score their own goals. In this approach, Ds will gain politically and get prepared for elections as early as possible.
Trump is nothing more than a puppet of Citizens United. Get money out of politics and maybe we can save democracy.
Govt shutdown til 11-2024??
I just emailed my Congressman.
Thanks
Fay
I just emailed my former Congressman in regards to the new Speaker. My current Congressman is a Democrat and voted against every one of the MAGAts.
Thanks Gary, the more that hear from us the better our chance of success.
You're welcome. This is a good group for rattling some cages.
Thank you Georgia for this information. I'll email my Congressman on his
Thank you, Georgia, for your always reasoned analysis.
What's FRP? Thanks!
Former Republican Party
Of course! Thanks.
Here's the short answer to why-can't-they-elect-a-speaker: look at who's standing in the wings with the music-hall hook at the ready. "Representative Troy Nehls (R-TX) suggested nominating Trump himself for the job." To mix metaphors wildly, he's bound to the railroad tracks and the locomotive is getting closer... but wait, someone's running towards him with scissors to cut the ropes and ROLL him out of harm's way!
If only it were just a movie. A silent one, at that. The danger is real, immediate, and sickening.
Wouldn’t it be a hoot if he couldn’t get 217, but then repubs would have to find a few backbones.
🤢🤮🤮🤮
I am going to ask you to do something today if your Representative is a Republican. Below is the text of an email I sent to Common Cause. Please substitute your representative’s name for mine and enter it into the form on the page at Common Cause at the link below.
"I would like Common Cause to represent me in an emergency petition before SCOTUS. I am a constituent of Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (NJ-7). I believe that he is not faithfully fulfilling his oath to the Constitution to act as my representative in the House. He has a duty to demand that a floor vote be taken so that a Speaker may be elected for the Chamber and the House can undertake its constitutionally mandated duties.
The Republican Conference's actions show them to be unwilling to bring the Speakership to a vote unless they are sure they will be able to install a Republican. I believe this, and the “motion to vacate” rule, are leading to minority rule in the House in contradistinction to the democratic principles of the Constitution.
I believe Patrick McHenry, as Speaker pro tempore, is also acting in violation of his oath to the constitution by not calling for a floor vote on Speaker and should be a party in the petition.
It is my belief that the Republican Party is no longer a true party but rather an unstable coalition of three parts with differing incompatible agendas."
https://www.commoncause.org/contact/
Great letter, Georgia. As luck would have it, my rep is a Democrat; otherwise, I would surely sign on with Common Cause.
Chump is already ruling from his NY trial site, guess he can from jail too. How insane are we. Putin knows and is betting on chump
And the do-nothing actions of Congress perpetuate these Republican values for the rich.
Particularly outrageous was WaPo's editorial taking the Democrats to task for not saving the Republicans from themselves.
WaPo asking to be mistaken for the NY Post.
Wapo seeking to steal NYP’s gaggle of miscreant subscribers
I do digital for Jennifer Rubin, she nails it
I, however, could have accepted Tom Emmer as Speaker, and I suspect that my Democratic congressional rep might feel the same.
🤯🤬🤬
Insane indeed.
I am started to appreciate the brilliance of Fani Willis more and more. By insisting on trying them all together no one gets to see her hand until it it played. However, the 2 who insisted on their rights to speedy trials, are not getting any trials because they have already copped pleas. Which means no trial and no showing of her hand. Of course, she has given the evidence to Trumps team, but still, they have tried their tired tropes of he is allowed to do anything he wants as president, and he took his lawyers advice, and these are not working for him. So, there is no greater justice that I can see than TRUMP spending time in a GEORGIA prison where he gets to be among a lot of people who did not vote for him and gets to hear what they have to say. Will his snake oil work there too? His dementia seems to be more clear, even though no one is actually saying this. If Biden mixed up Turkey and Hungary the press would be all over it, same with if Biden said Democrats eat their young, but Trump says this stuff and I am not reading any questioning of his mental fitness to be president let alone to anoint someone to be Speaker of the House. Let us hope Hakeem Jeffries prevails.
The ignoring of his obvious mental degradation is eyebrow raising for sure.
JD Willis IS clever and smart and brave.
But, she is up against something new for her. Trump. His ability to dodge everything is a new experience for her.
Would it cost more for the Secret Service to guard him while he was in jail or would it be cheaper to keep him in house arrest at Mar-A-Lago, where he would not be allowed to have any guests?
I don't think we should have to pay for him to have extra security if he is convicted of treason. He should have to do time like everyone else.
The Secret Service is bound to protect any living ex-president, that's the problem. And their families.
I understand, but since we have not had this situation before perhaps that needs to be revisited. It can be qualified that they only get the protection if they do not commit treason.
As TFFG has said many times, the penalty for treason should be death. The SS doesn't guard the tombstones of dead Presidents.
Problem solved.
While I have considered that is how treason has been handled in the past, one thing that differentiates me from TFFG is that I do not believe in the death penalty. I think that life in hell (Georgia Prisons) can be a worse penalty. Clearly Putin thinks that is true for Navalny too. https://theappeal.org/georgia-prisons-crisis-doj-federal-investigation/ Note they say,
“Fear among prisoners is at an all-time high,” BT said. “Conditions are primed for mass rioting.” Trump should be comfortable with this, since he believes he can control anyone, and that everyone loves him. Of course, Trump's biggest defense at this point in time would be that he is not mentally fit to stand trial. Perhaps that is the purpose of all of these crazy rantings of his in speeches, like saying that "Republicans eat their young." or that he referred to Viktor Orbán as the leader of Turkey.
https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-confuses-turkish-and-hungarian-leaders-orban-erdogan/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CHe's%20probably%2C%20like%2C%20one,a%20%E2%80%9Cfront%E2%80%9D%20with%20Russia.
These statements could leave one to believe that he is suffering from hallucinations or dementia. That would be an escape clause for him I presume. However, what would be the solution to that? Being put on a ward for people who have dementia in a Senior facility? Being put in a mental institution for the criminally insane?
Hey, Linda. This is so frustrating. Yes, the SS is bound to protect a living ex-president with no thought to change that rule. Yet, I am sure if it were a Democratic ex-president who was sent to jail, the rule would change in a heartbeat.
I agree. I am hoping that if we do our jobs in 2024 and get the vote out, we might be able to turn things around. I am hoping for this. It is something to strive for. The Biden Administration should put Taylor Swift in charge of getting the youth to register and vote.
They used to be hung for treason. Problem solved.
Unless the SS officers say “I didn’t sign up to work in a prison” and quit.
I've wondered about the secret service if Trump is jailed, especially for an extensive sentence. Arguably, being in state custody, he would already be under guard, so SS protection would be superfluous. Also arguably, the SS protection is a customary privilege, not a Constitutional provision. Protection of presidents started in 1901 after the assassination of William McKinley. Protection of former presidents started in 1965, and can be declined by the former president. So I think a pretty strong argument could be made that a disgraced former President serving time in prison could be denied Secret Service protections while he is in jail.
Or contact with the outside world.
For Joyce vance's plea last nite, google
answers.....
Grammatically, it should be 'pled' in a legal context. 'Pleaded' is for intimate, personal interactions. 'He pled guilty to Mueller's charges, then pleaded with his wife to forgive him. '”Mar 7, 2019
Thank you, fellow member of the Grammar Police Department. To serve and correct.
This "pleaded" vs. "plead" issue has bugged me and my wife for a long time. Thank you for clarifying, but the MSM will still say "pleaded" even though it is incorrect.
This is from the Century online dictionary-
pled /plĕd/
noun
An occasional (less correct) preterit and past participle of plead.
verb
Simple past tense and past participle of plead.
Very good, Ken!
The theater of the absurd that is today's republican party has me gapemouthed. I suppose we should be inured to their traitorous nonsense, but we must never let that ever come to pass. This travesty won't abate until the Cheeto in chief is gone from the picture. Barring a premature departure from this mortal coil, I don't see him slowing his roll nor lessening his ability to fleece his flock to line his own pockets. Jail time may do so, should we be so lucky.
Cheato is malignant, but so too is the conscience-free manipulations of the Republican Party for over 40 years. Trump is the problem that he has become because powerful people (and his clueless flock) uncritically enabled him. What rough beast would have filled the role (or may yet do so) were there no Trump?
" Cheeto in chief " Too nice.
Personally, I prefer "overgrown orange wart".
I prefer, '' a large blob of orange excrement''.
The Gilded Toadstool®️ works for me.
Meanwhile, we wait yet another day for the inadequate, ill-equipped, obnoxious, self-centered, sedition lovers to waste time and our tax dollars by doing nothing to solve this. We, The People, should be demanding that the House Repubs not get a paycheck until their asses either make a compromise or elect a decent (there isn’t one) speaker.
My worthless rep, Tim Burchett, has promised he won’t take his salary if the government shuts down. Meantime, Santos of the superseding indictments, gets to continue to collect HIS salary while awaiting jail time.
It’s infuriating that there are so many criminals in what used to known as yhe Repub Party. He/she is a prime example of a liar and a grifter.
How does that get done?
“...self-described Christian and staunch Trump supporter”....The former once meant being a kind, thoughtful, loving person of faith; the latter means nothing of the sort.
The Trump base hard core are Christian white supremacist neo-fascists.
Where is the surprise Marg?
Wikipedia defines Christianity as "Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth."
I am a non-theist (thanks to Ally House for clarifying this) but as do most non-theists our ethics and values are based on Jesus's teachings and actions in the Bible.
I cannot call the followers of TFFG Christian's when their every action is contrary to what Jesus taught in the Bible.
Agreed, Gary, and thanks for the hat tip. I came to that definition after several long and thoughtful conversations with some dear friends who are what I would call "actual Christians". One of them said that "for a non-believer, you are the most Christian person I know". I took that as a compliment.
I told my wife about your "non-theist" descriptor and she liked it as do I. She will likely refer to herself as a non-theist as will I. My two sisters are both what I would call "actual Christians"--they are the ones that turned me on to HCR's newsletter. They raised their kids in the church but only 2 of the 7 believe in God. But they all share Christian values like love, charity, integrity and service to their communities. Atheists have long been considered to be "bad people" unfit to be politicians and even scientists as Sir Isaac Newton could attest. At 68 years old, I no longer give a damn what people think of my beliefs.
And I agree with you that their assessment of you should be taken as a compliment.
I don't see why "love, charity, integrity and service to their communities" should be considered particularly "Christian values" Gary, - they should be just "values".
Something particularly Christian would be... perhaps, surrendering individual thought... or relinquishing any sense of responsibility for the consequences of your actions... those are particularly Christian traits.
It sounds to me, Gary, like the majority of your nephews and nieces have just seen through the BS.
Good on them
👍👍
Not surprised, just acknowledging the extreme contradictions that exist in the magaverse.
Having spent every Sunday in a Southern Baptist Church in rural East Texas growing up there, I can say: The Southern Baptist Church has never prioritized kindness and forgiveness. Not a bit.
What the Southern Baptist Church, preachers and all, prioritize is: Hypocrisy.
THAT, hypocrisy is what underpins the Southern Baptist Church and its attendees and preachers.
Continuous, constant hypocrisy was on display every Sunday and in every Southern Baptist church member.
Why? Well, the list of things that will result in one going to hell includes all of the normal things people do. So, the ONLY possible way to be Southern Baptist and also "go to heaven" is to offer hypocrisy on a daily basis.
It is the dumbest religion on earth. A religion that can only exist through the dynamic of hypocrisy.
I feel the same way about Catholicism. I was raised in the Lutheran church so their is the basic antipathy towards Catholics, but from the Pope on down they have always treated women as chattel who are the property of one or more men. The current USSC is run by the tenets of the Catholic Church.
Even if they would allow priests to marry or women to be priests they would still be a severely flawed religion. As Martin Luther pointed out in 1517 in his 96 theses, the Catholic Church needs to be reformed. Still waiting......
Gary.
It is not Ok to marry a woman and be a Catholic priest BUT it is Ok for priests to chase little boys around the alter.
That picture? Is the crux of a failed religion.
Thank you Heather. Unless enough Republicans in the House work across the aisle the only people who “win” are those seeking to destroy the entire system by any means necessary. This would be a huge win for Putin, for Trump, and for corrupt authoritarian governments around the world.
It is a complete slap in the face for those who sacrificed, suffered, or gave their life for our what America could have been, a foundation of representative democracy with aspiration toward equity and justice.
Her comments are so disingenuous. I’m surprised the judge didn’t chastise her for them. If she had known, she relied on older more experienced lawyers. Please, she was 36 at a minimum when she began her lies. That’s old enough to know that she should be doing her due diligence. My apologies to people of faith, but what does being a Christian have to do with this? Is she suggesting that non-Christians aren’t as moral or ethical as Christians?
Regarding the republican clown show in the House. Besides the obvious MAGA obedience to trump requirement, could this be their attempt to run out the clock on the 45 day CR? We know that trump and his MAGA wing want the US to default on the debt.
I think you've hit the nail on the head. It's been slowly dawning on me that Trump wanted a government shut-down and this is how he's going to get it. I also believe that he and all his henchmen believe he will be president again and will grant them all pardons, whether they plead guilty or are found guilty by juries.
I think you raised a good point also. We know Jordan asked him for one. Won’t they be shocked when he doesn’t win.
The problem is if he doesn't win he's just going to keep doing what he's doing now: claiming it was "rigged and stollen". At age 70 I fear this will persist through most of my "golden years." Ugh.
Exactly, and the cheating prep has been going on for three years, plus they had a rehearsal
😱
Exactly, Mike.
Also, how can anyone cloak themselves in "Christianity ' and support Trump simultaneously?!
God, Mammon,, etc.
They are a deluded cult. We’ve seen them before.
Well, certainly Trump wants the government to shut down because he thinks that will shut down the courts and he will be spared his trials. (because everything is all about him, of course).
That is true. You have to ask yourself, if he truly believes he is innocent, why is he afraid of being tried and clearing his name?
And they are getting their way, by obstruction. Whatever works
I support an organization called Christians Against Christian Nationalism. It grieves me to see how Jesus is being portrayed as a symbol of hatred and vengeance. This in no way resembles the Christ I know.
True followers of Jesus try to live their lives by his teachings; the most powerful of which are the Golden Rule and the Sermon on the Mount. The greedy, hateful people I see in Congress and other elected offices who claim to be Christians wouldn’t have anything to do with a poor, homeless Jew if he was to cross their path.
Mike Johnson. Another old white guy election denier.
Rinse repeat.
I admit I am math-challenged, but I'm trying to figure out what portion of a Scaramucci did Emmer survive as The Chosen One?
IIRC, a Scaramucci was something like 11 days, so would Emmer's four hours compute that he was the candidate for 0.0151515 Scaramuccis?
Lol
Thank you as always Heather !