DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus What Republicans Have Become Part....Aw who the hell can keep up?

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said that stuck Burning Man festivalgoers are 'probably being brainwashed' that climate change is 'the root of all evil'

On Sunday, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she thinks the thousands of festivalgoers stuck in the muddy desert terrain at Burning Man are likely being 'brainwashed' that their current predicament is the result of climate change.

The annual weeklong Burning Man festival, which is held in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, faced a series of challenges this year. The area was hit with torrential rain and flooding, leaving it incredibly muddy and preventing nearly every vehicle from entering or leaving. As of Monday morning, there were roughly 72,000 people still stranded at the festival despite it being scheduled to formally end the same day, according to CNN.

Appearing on Infowars alongside Alex Jones on Sunday, Greene said she believes the festivalgoers still at the Black Rock Desert are "probably being brainwashed that climate change is the cause of all of it, is the root of all evil, and is going to destroy the Earth."

The congresswoman from Georgia also implied the flooding may have been an act of God against concertgoers.

"God has a way of making sure everyone knows who God is, I'll say that about that," she told Jones.

Greene isn't the only member of Congress who's been outspoken recently against Burning Man. GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah took to Twitter on Monday to comment on an online article detailing "orgasm hypnosis" and more at the event.

"God's judgement is real," he wrote online before then openly wondering if any festivalgoers had been influenced into converting to Christianity due to this year's tumultuous Burning Man.

While there's currently a shelter-in-place order at the festival grounds, that hasn't stopped some of its attendees from fleeing by walking for hours in the mud, including Diplo, Chris Rock, and former US Solicitor General Neal Katyal, who documented his trek on Twitter.

A spokesperson for Greene didn't immediately return a request for comment.

https://www.businessinsider.com/mar...kMPdynIO5nEKOqsn4J3YGaSvIXr0EewueDR8a4AY

I wonder if they'll say stupid BS like that the next time a hurricane hits Florida? You know.....

"God has a way of making sure everyone knows who God is, I'll say that about that," she told Jones.

"God's judgement is real,"

What to know about Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial

The impeachment trial of Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general who faces accusations of repeatedly abusing his office to help a donor, is set to begin Tuesday in the state Senate.

Paxton, a firebrand conservative Republican who has aligned himself with former President Donald Trump and played a central role in steering the state rightward in recent years, has been suspended from his duties since the GOP-led House impeached him in May.

Since taking office in 2015, Paxton has been beset by a series of scandals. He remains under indictment on securities fraud charges and faces an additional federal investigation after former staffers accused him of accepting bribes and abusing his office.

It was his request for $3.3 million in state funds for a settlement with those whistleblowers that prompted the state House GOP to impeach Paxton on a 121-23 vote, with two members voting “present.”

The Republican-controlled state Senate, though, is friendlier ground for the embattled attorney general. He has a number of conservative allies there – including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who will preside over the trial. His wife, Angela Paxton, is a member of the Senate, though she has been barred from voting at the trial.

Here’s a look at who Paxton is, why he was impeached and how his trial will unfold:

Who is Ken Paxton?

Paxton is a longtime fixture in Texas politics, serving in the state House and Senate before his election as attorney general in 2014, and then reelection in 2018 and 2022.

Until his impeachment, he was best known for challenging Barack Obama’s executive orders and legislative achievements in court – including battles against Obamacare and the former president’s immigration orders.

In an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, he asked the US Supreme Court to invalidate the Electoral College votes of four swing states won by Joe Biden. The lawsuit was dismissed. Paxton then traveled to Washington to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, 2021, where the attorney general told the crowd, which included people who would soon riot at the Capitol, “We will not quit fighting.”

Paxton has faced scandal for years. He was indicted by a grand jury in 2015 on securities fraud charges following allegations that he misled investors about his financial ties to a technology company while selling shares of that company. That case has still not gone to trial and has been delayed by years of disputes over where the trial should take place.

What Paxton is accused of doing

In 2020, top Paxton aides published a letter accusing the attorney general of abuse of office, bribery and improper influence – complaints centered on Paxton’s ties to donor and friend Nate Paul.

Four of the former staffers later sued the attorney general’s office, claiming they were fired in violation of the state’s whistleblower law. In February, Paxton agreed to a settlement in which he did not admit fault and the whistleblowers would be paid $3.3 million. He asked state lawmakers to fund that settlement.

The House impeachment managers have already submitted nearly 4,000 pages of evidence, unveiling more details in the extraordinary accusations that Paxton pressured his top aides to take steps that would benefit Paul, a real estate investor.

Paxton is accused of accepting $20,000 in countertop materials from Paul through a contractor during a remodeling of his home.

Also included in the allegations is that Paxton had a mistress, whom Paul hired as a favor to the attorney general, and that Paxton would use an alias – “Dave P” – on Uber to meet up with the mistress, as well as Paul.

Paul was arrested in June on eight federal felony charges related to falsifying financial records, and his lawyer has repeatedly declined comment to CNN.

How the impeachment trial will work

The Texas Senate’s impeachment trial begins Tuesday and is expected to last two or three weeks. Patrick, the lieutenant governor and a Paxton ally, will preside, serving in a judge-like role.

Tuesday morning, the Senate clerk will read the state House’s 20 articles of impeachment one by one and ask Paxton or his lawyer to plead on each. Paxton can either appear in person or by counsel. He can plead guilty or not guilty.

After the reading of the articles and Paxton’s pleas, the House impeachment managers and their legal team will have 60 minutes to make their opening statement, followed by Paxton’s team, also with 60 minutes.

Then the House managers will start presenting their case. Each side gets 24 hours to present evidence and witnesses, which could stretch out over days. Paxton’s lawyers have said the attorney general will not testify, though it’s possible House managers could compel him to take the stand via subpoena.

Each side will also get 60 minutes for closing arguments. Paxton’s side will close first, followed by the House impeachment managers.

At the end, senators will deliberate behind closed doors and will submit a written vote for each article.

What it takes to remove Paxton

A conviction requires 21 of the 30 eligible state senators to vote against Paxton. Assuming all 12 Democrats vote to convict him, nine of the 18 voting Republicans would also have to convict Paxton.

There are 31 members of the Senate. However, Paxton’s state senator wife, Angela, will not be allowed to vote or sit in on the closed-door deliberations. She has, however, been permitted to sit in as a member of the court.

Initially, Angela Paxton said she would not recuse herself, but the new Senate rules then banned her from voting. Allowing her to sit in on the trial, however, essentially helps her husband because the conviction threshold is 21, rather than 20 had she been removed altogether from the trial.

At any point, a majority of the Senate could vote to dismiss the charges, which would end the proceedings.

If the Senate votes to convict Paxton, he would be removed from office. But the Senate would have to hold another vote to permanently bar him from holding office.

That’s what happened in 1917, when Texas Gov. James “Pa” Ferguson was removed from office on embezzlement charges and barred from holding future office. His wife, Miriam “Ma” Ferguson, ran for governor in 1924, under the pledge that Texas would get “get two governors for the price of one.” She won – becoming the state’s first female governor – but lost in a primary two years later. She won a second two-year term in 1932.

Who the lawyers are

The trial features some of the most legendary, big-personality trial lawyers from Houston.

The state House impeachment managers are represented by Rusty Hardin and Dick DeGuerin. Hardin has defended NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson against allegations of sexual misconduct, as well as Enron accounting firm Arthur Andersen and the deceased elderly husband of the late model Anna Nicole Smith. DeGuerin has also represented high-profile figures, including Tom DeLay, Robert Durst and David Koresh.

Paxton’s primary lawyer is Tony Buzbee, the attorney who represented the more than 20 women who had accused Watson of sexual misconduct. In 2021, Buzbee filed a lawsuit on behalf of more than 100 people who died or were injured during the Travis Scott concert at Astroworld. Buzbee ran for Houston mayor in 2021 and is a candidate for the city council this fall.

Paxton is also represented by Dan Cogdell. The high-profile defense lawyer has already worked with Paxton on the pending securities fraud case. He also represented executives in the Enron financial scandal.

How Paxton has responded

Paxton has described his impeachment as a “politically motivated sham” and has consistently denied wrongdoing.

The Texas Tribune reported that at a Collin County GOP picnic Saturday, Paxton criticized Texas House GOP leadership.

“Let’s clean house,” he said.

Paxton has long aligned himself with the most conservative, hard-line forces in the GOP – and many of those forces have backed him. Trump has supported him, lambasting the Republicans who impeached him as “RINOS,” or Republicans in name only, and calling his impeachment “election interference.”

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/04/politics/ken-paxton-impeachment-texas-attorney-general/index.html

Another topic MTG knows nothing about.
I just left the Burn. While it was a crazy situation it was an amazing community effort riding out the storm.
We burned our art on Thursday night. IT. WAS. AMAZING!!! We had tens of thousands of people gathered to watch. My biggest art show to date. Thankfully the weather held. Just as I was cleaning up our burn area the rains started spitting. What was supposed to be a 30 minute shower turned into 6 hours of nonstop rain.

We hunkered down at camp. Wore bags on our feet to keep from picking up too much mud. We laughed, celebrated, and looked after our campmates and neighbors. I assure you no brainwashing was occurring.

MTG doesn’t have a brain to wash.

I was wondering if you were there.

I was. My crew still is. They’re taking down camp and the remaining art today.

While it was not a typical burn it makes me want to go back all the more. My camp was filled with an incredible group of people. No one hung their head, no one whined or bitched or moaned. We fed each other. Those with RVs in our camp opened their ‘services’ to us when we couldn’t make the walk to the unserviced toilets. The moment the toilets could be serviced they were. The Burn took care of us, while we looked after each other.
Radical self reliance with community effort.
We were in a FEMA camp for about 36 hours… but FEMA couldn’t get to us to help.

We rallied.

All I can say is… I miss the dust.

One America News settles defamation lawsuit from a Dominion executive at the center of election conspiracy theories

The far-right media organization One America News Network has settled a defamation lawsuit brought against the company by Eric Coomer, a former executive of Dominion Voting Systems who went into hiding amid the proliferation of false conspiracy theories about him following Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 election.

In an August 30 filing in Denver County District Court in Colorado, Coomer and the defendants — OAN, its chief White House correspondent Chanel Rion, and parent company Herring Networks — said they jointly agreed to dismiss the case.

"Plaintiff Eric Coomer, Ph.D. and Defendants Herring Networks, Inc. dba One America News Network and Chanel Rion have fully and finally settled the disputes among them concerning Plaintiff's claims against Herring Networks, Inc. dba One America News Network and Chanel Rion only," the filing said.

Law360 first reported on the settlement. The terms were not disclosed in court filings.

Representatives for Coomer and OAN didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.

Coomer brought his defamation lawsuit in a state court in Colorado, where he lives, in early 2021. It was filed against OAN, as well as former President Trump's 2020 presidential campaign, attorneys Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, Newsmax, and a slew of other right-wing organizations and individuals he claimed pushed false claims about him. He has also sued, in a separate lawsuit, conspiracy theorist and pillow salesman Mike Lindell.

One false viral claim, which was perpetuated by OAN, alleged Coomer took part in an "Antifa conference call" to plan how to rig the 2020 presidential election results.

OAN published a number of stories accusing Dominion of rigging the election, some of which have been deleted from its website following lawsuits against the media organization. Rion also made a three-part video called "Dominion-izing the Vote" where she interviewed a conspiracy theorist who falsely claimed Coomer "was responsible for putting his finger on the scales of our election" and "could be tried for treason." Trump posted the video on Twitter, where it ricocheted through right-wing media.

"OANN and Rion took no efforts to verify or corroborate these false allegations before publishing them and disregarded reliable sources establishing the contrary," Coomer's lawyers wrote in his lawsuit. "They had no credible evidence of any 'Antifa conference call;' that Dr. Coomer was part of this purported call; or that Dr. Coomer committed election fraud. Instead, like other Defendants, OANN and Rion knowingly and recklessly published false statements about Dr. Coomer to support a preconceived conspiracy that the election was fraudulent."

Coomer still has ongoing lawsuits against election conspiracy theorists

The conspiracy theories, Coomer said in his lawsuit, led to "an onslaught of harassment and credible death threats issued against him." In December 2020, he went into hiding to protect himself against potential threats.

"All aspects of his life have been altered in response to Defendants' conduct, including things as basic as where
to live, how to go out in public, and when to see family and friends," his lawyers wrote in his suit. "The results of Defendants' ongoing conduct are foreseeable and obscene. This conduct is so outrageous in character and extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency. It should be regarded as atrocious and determined intolerable in a civilized community."

Coomer filed his lawsuit separately from Dominion, which has separate pending lawsuits against OAN, Newsmax, Giuliani, and Powell. Fox News paid a record $787.5 million to settle Dominion's defamation lawsuit against it in April.

OAN's rival, Newsmax, settled Coomer's claims against it in April 2021, issuing a public apology at the time. It was the first settlement from a news organization in a defamation lawsuit filed over 2020 election conspiracy theories.

"There are several facts that our viewers should be aware of. Newsmax has found no evidence that Dr. Coomer interfered with Dominion voting machines or voting software in any way, nor that Dr. Coomer ever claimed to have done so," Newsmax said in a statement at the time. "Nor has Newsmax found any evidence that Dr. Coomer ever participated in any conversation with members of 'Antifa,' nor that he was directly involved with any partisan political organization."

Newsmax has since removed the apology from its site.

Coomer's claims against the Trump campaign, Giuliani, Powell, and other defendants remain pending.

Several cable carriers have cut ties with OAN following the 2020 election, leading to financial struggles for the network.

https://www.businessinsider.com/oan...HLujJZFYalsskAorxk4PL8UCOclM8uzuUV1ekdh0

This is what it looks like when the bills start coming due.

Pretty sure Trump, Guilani, Powell and the various networks all thought they were going to get away with this. With many cases still pending, all those that ended have been one loss after another. But the fools out there still believe.

MTG is a trashy mouthed skank and that’s all she’ll ever be. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.

Republicans just can’t stop calling for civil war.

Ask a MAGA Republican what will happen if former President Donald Trump is convicted in any of his four criminal trials and the answer is almost always the same: civil war.
That answer holds true whether you speak to rank-and-file Republican voters, local elected officials or even former national GOP leaders. It’s also an indication that the right-wing politics of grievance is spiraling dangerously out of control.

In Georgia, state Sen. Colton Moore warned politico-turned-podcaster Steve Bannon that any prosecution of Trump would lead to a likely civil war. “I don’t want to have to draw my rifle,” Moore said. Concerningly, Moore also seemed to imply that Georgia state troopers would be willing participants in any effort to bust Trump out of jail. That last bit may be fantastical thinking on Moore’s part, but he’s hardly alone.
Former Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Kandiss Taylor also lent her voice to the chorus of war cries, describing Trump’s indictments as “treason” and “a hijacking of our country,” telling podcaster William Wallis, “This is war, and I hope and pray it gets resolves before we use guns…we’re at war right now, a war for our freedom.”
Moore and Taylor are admittedly fringe figures — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp unceremoniously rejected Moore’s call to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from office, while Taylor finished a distant last place in her party primary. But the right’s calls to violence aren’t just coming from local politicians in and around Atlanta. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who in 2008 served as the GOP’s vice presidential standard-bearer, assured Newsmax’s Eric Bolling that a civil war is “going to happen” if prosecutors don’t drop all charges against Trump.
“Those who are conducting this travesty and creating this two-tier system of justice […]we’re not going to keep putting up with this,” Palin told Bolling. “I like that you suggested that we need to get angry. We need to rise up and take our country back.”
It wouldn’t be hard to wave away the right’s growing calls for violence as more of the extremist political theater they’ve become so expert in producing. But Republicans are doing more than just daydreaming about revenge: Their increasingly specific urgings toward violence always include a clear call to arms for the MAGA movement. The message isn’t subtle: Have your guns ready, because the shooting could start at any moment.
As a nation, we would be foolish to ignore the threats both implicit and explicit in the right’s new civil war messaging. The fact is, violent and goading threats from our political leaders have a nasty habit of inciting action in those who take all of that hateful rhetoric as gospel. The District of Columbia’s court system is currently jammed full of them.


https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4187490-republicans-just-cant-stop-calling-for-civil-war/

And people wonder why I have been advocating that liberals arm themselves. Heavily if they can afford to.

I’m pretty sure the MAGA majority would turn tale and run when met with their own bloodshed.

I have no way of knowing that but when threats of violence and a civil war is being spoke of from one side the other side needs to be prepared to defend itself and their country from an attempt to undermine and destroy the very judicial system this nation is founded on to punish criminals. We can't sit idly by while extremists who cloak themselves in the flag use the lie that they are patriots while actively being anarchists.

Conservative activists are pushing ‘trafficking’ laws to prevent women from traveling for an abortion

Anti-abortion activists are looking to highways as a new battleground in their efforts to prevent people from accessing abortions.

A central Texas town attempted to make it illegal for people to travel on certain roads through their jurisdiction for the purpose of receiving an abortion, a novel strategy that may prove the future for anti-abortion activists, The Washington Post reported.

So-called “trafficking” laws are gaining ground in Texas and are a continuation of similar attempts to limit travel for abortion care elsewhere.

Llano, Texas, considered one such measure in late August, hoping to prevent people traveling west from Austin and Round Rock from using their highways en route to states where abortion is accessible, like New Mexico.

“This really is building a wall to stop abortion trafficking,” Mark Lee Dickson, the anti-abortion activist behind the effort, told the Post.

Local ordinances rely on private citizens to sue those who received abortion care — the same controversial mechanism as a statewide abortion care assistance ban passed in 2021.

A state judge ruled that the private citizen enforcement mechanism of the statewide abortion ban was unconstitutional in late 2021, but it did not implement an injunction to stop the law.

Llano Mayor Marion Bishop admitted to the Post the law would be difficult to enforce and is mostly symbolic.

“Is it absolutely necessary? No,” Bishop said. “Does it make a statement? Yes, it does.”

The Texas cities of Odessa and Lubbock are among the municipalities considering similar measures, the Post reported.

Abortion is almost completely banned in Texas after the state passed new restrictions following the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade last year.

Other states have also attempted to limit the activity of people attempting to go out of state to receive abortion care. On Wednesday, the Alabama attorney general defended his claim that people who assist others in receiving abortion care can be prosecuted under state law.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4183130-trafficking-laws-traveling-abortion/

How did we miss this?


trumpery
noun
trum·​pery ˈtrəm-p(ə-)rē
Synonyms of trumpery
1
a
: worthless nonsense
b
: trivial or useless articles : junk
a wagon loaded with household trumpery—
Washington Irving
2
archaic : tawdry finery
trumpery adjective

Trumpery derives from the Middle English trompery and ultimately from the Middle French tromper, meaning "to deceive." (You can see the meaning of this root reflected in the French phrase trompe-l'oeil-literally, "deceives the eye"-which in English refers to a style of painting with photographically realistic detail.) Trumpery first appeared in English in the mid-15th century with the meanings "deceit or fraud" (a sense that is now obsolete) and "worthless nonsense." Less than 100 years later, it was being applied to material objects of little or no value. The verb phrase trump up means "to concoct with the intent to deceive," but there is most likely no etymological connection between this phrase and trumpery.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trumpery

"When Fascism comes to America, it will come wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross. "

Can't wait to see these fools meet the National Guard and get the Kent State treatment.

Can't wait for people on the far right and far left to come to their senses.


Not to worry however, I'm not holding my breath.

Extremists will generally never come to their senses. The problem now seems to be anyone who doesn't walk the extremist line gets labeled as a bad thing by both sides.

That’s not happening. Maybe progressives and libertarians, sure.

Goper’s Pffft

In true EveDawg fashion for all the times I have seen libtard.

Republicans are turning into Republicons...

And there is a CON in CONservative.

This one is mainly directed toward Eve who is somehow convinced that the GOP has evidence that Joe Biden has taken bribes......

GOP Rep. Ken Buck calls Marjorie Taylor Greene's comments on timeline for Biden impeachment inquiry 'absurd'

“The time for impeachment is the time when there’s evidence linking President Biden — if there’s evidence linking President Biden to a high crime or misdemeanor. That doesn’t exist right now,” said Buck, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., a member of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus, dismissed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s comments on a timeline for an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden as "absurd" during an interview on “Inside with Jen Psaki” on Sunday.

In a video posted online last month, Greene said she won’t support any measure to fund the government before a Sept. 30 deadline until the House votes to formally begin an impeachment inquiry into the president. Greene, however, shifted her tone in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, last weekend: “Our country deserves for Congress to vote for an impeachment inquiry for very important reasons, not a rush impeachment vote.”

Asked by Psaki to respond to Greene's shift in the timeline on a vote to begin a Biden impeachment inquiry, Buck noted that the far-right lawmaker first filed impeachment articles on Biden just after he was sworn into office, adding that "the idea that that she is now the expert on impeachment or that she is someone who should set the timing on impeachment is absurd."

“The time for impeachment is the time when there’s evidence linking President Biden — if there’s evidence linking President Biden to a high crime or misdemeanor. That doesn’t exist right now,” he said. “And it is really something that we can say, well, in February, we’re going to do this. It’s based on the facts. You go where the facts take you.”

Buck then argued that Republicans should not prioritize impeachment, citing the multiple congressional committees that are investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings but have not found a “strong connection at this point” to the president.

Buck went on to discuss the “perfect storm” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces as he tries to pass a short-term spending bill and to move forward with a Biden impeachment vote. McCarthy’s right-wing members are rebelling against a stopgap bill to prevent a government shutdown and buy more time for negotiations with the Senate.

“On the one hand, we’ve got to pass a continuing resolution,” he said. “We also have the impeachment issue. And we also have members of the House, led by my good friend, Chip Roy, who are concerned about policy issues. They want riders in the appropriations bills, amendments in the appropriations bills that guarantee some type of security on our Southern border.”

“So you take those things put together, and Kevin McCarthy, the speaker, has made promises on each of those issues to different groups. And now it is all coming due at the same time,” he added, noting the difficulty in passing a continuing resolution with only Republican votes. "And so I think if he reaches across the aisle and gets Democrat votes that goes with a higher number than he has promised before, I think that that is the issue really that I think will cause him problems down the road."

Buck, however, predicted that McCarthy would ultimately hold onto his speakership, despite those challenges due to the lack of people willing to step up and take his job.

“I don’t see anybody else that really has risen up and is willing to take on this job,” he said. “Having a five vote majority — you wouldn’t wish that on your worst enemy in terms of being speaker of the U.S. House. And so it is very difficult for him to operate the House in a way that keeps everybody happy.”

“I think there will be challenges, but I don’t see anybody stepping up and say, I’ll take Kevin’s job,” he added. “So I think that’s really what saves Kevin is the lack of enthusiasm from anybody else to do the job.”

Buck’s comments come months after he confirmed that Greene had been booted from the House Freedom Caucus, citing her repeated “attacks” on GOP colleagues.

His remarks also come as the White House ramps up a war room to lead a response to a Republican impeachment inquiry into Biden, NBC News previously reported.

Biden’s aides and allies have said they are preparing to push back on an impeachment inquiry as a partisan hit job.

The White House’s preparations for impeachment began when Republicans took the House majority this year. But McCarthy has suggested that the House is moving closer toward an impeachment inquiry, calling it a “natural step forward."

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/jo...5JQ2KQFyQPQ6F7EFHNtDzcZxkKI-Y4dRQOrFSsQM

How long will it take for Eve and other MAGA's to say that Buck is a RINO and should be removed from his position?

GOP Rep. Michael McCaul slams Tommy Tuberville’s military blockade as a 'national security problem'

The Alabama Republican is "paralyzing the Department of Defense,” said McCaul, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Sunday condemned Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s ongoing hold on hundreds of military promotions, calling it a “paralyzing” move that amounts to a “national security problem.”

“The idea that one man in the Senate can hold this up for months — I understand maybe promotions, but nominations? — is paralyzing the Department of Defense,” Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I think that is a national security problem and a national security issue.”

Tuberville, R-Ala., who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has blocked hundreds of military promotions for months over his objection to a Defense Department policy that provides paid time off and reimburses travel costs for service members and dependents seeking abortions.

The Defense Department’s policy on abortion has drawn heated debate among congressional lawmakers and has become a major part of negotiations on the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual must-pass defense policy bill. The GOP-led House passed its version of the legislation after it added an amendment that would force the Pentagon to rescind the policy.

The Democratic-led Senate, however, passed its own version of the NDAA in July after it bypassed floor votes on amendments related to abortion access and transgender health care in the military.

McCaul said Sunday that he wishes Tuberville would reconsider the hold on military promotions, adding that the abortion issue is being worked out in the NDAA.

“But to hold up the top brass from being promoted — and lower brass — I think is paralyzing our Department of Defense,” he said.

Reached for comment, Steven Stafford, a spokesperson for Tuberville, said McCaul’s remarks are “inaccurate.”

“No one can stop [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer from holding votes on these nominations. He just doesn’t want to,” Stafford said in a statement. “It’s also inaccurate because acting officials are in all of these roles. In some cases these acting officials are the nominees for permanent roles. No jobs are open or going undone right now.”

Some of McCaul’s Republican colleagues are trying to deflect criticism over Tuberville’s military blockade by blaming Schumer, D-N.Y. They argue that Schumer should schedule individual votes for the hundreds of military promotions Tuberville is holding up.

President Joe Biden has sharply criticized Tuberville for continuing his hold on hundreds of military promotions as he announced plans for more military nominations.

“What Senator Tuberville is doing is not only wrong — it is dangerous,” Biden said in a statement in July. “In this moment of rapidly evolving security environments and intense competition, he is risking our ability to ensure that the United States Armed Forces remain the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.

“And his Republican colleagues in the Senate know it,” Biden added.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also decried Tuberville’s hold at a relinquishment ceremony for the chief of naval operations, Adm. Mike Gilday, at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, last month.

“Because of this blanket hold, starting today, for the first time in the history of the Department of Defense, three of our military services are operating without Senate-confirmed leaders,” Austin said at the event.

“This is unprecedented, it is unnecessary, and it is unsafe,” he added. “This sweeping hold is undermining America’s military readiness. It’s hindering our ability to retain our very best officers. And it’s upending the lives of far too many American military families.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/co...9x7w3BHY7Xs32wAbguayvnZWi9STygepgP3HAQK4

The party of a tough military and a strong police force just don’t want to pay the bills to achieve it.

A cornered McCarthy just gave a dog and pony show impeachment ‘inquiry’ speech about serious ‘allegations’… allegations from MAGA HEADS maybe. SMH, this is nothing but a smear campaign because Trump was RIGHTFULLY impeached twice. I can’t wait until these scummy ass MAGAts are gone like dust in the wind. MGT, Gymbo, Bimbo 2, Beavis, and a cast of other living cartoon villain caricatures. Shameful abuse of power, and McCarthy is an ass clown for allowing it.

Just more of the Trumpian weaponization of our justice system, laws and political rules. 100% DOA in the Senate, if it ever gets that far. But anything to protect dear leader or get revenge on his political opponents… What a joke GOPers are.

Lets get real here. The only reason they are going after Joe is because Dems went after Trump. There was CLEAR evidence showing we should go after Trump. I don't see it when you talk about Joe. Joes son has done some illegal things. That seems clear. But what they are doing is trying to drag Joe into that.

Also, you can bet they are doing this because Trump is demanding it. They'll do anything for that fool

I basically said the same thing.

MTG Says ‘States Should Consider Seceding’ on 9/11 Attacks Anniversary

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) observed the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on Monday by running the idea of states’ secession up the flagpole; something that, the last time it happened, triggered a Civil War. “If the Biden admin refuses to stop the invasion of cartel led human and drug trafficking into our country, states should consider seceding from the union,” Greene tweeted. “From Texas to New York City to every town in America, we are drowning from Biden’s traitorous America last border policies.” An hour earlier, she had tweeted in remembrance of 9/11’s victims, but seemingly couldn’t resist an opportunity to take another shot at Biden in the process. Her latest tweet marked the first outright use of the word “secede” by the Georgia congresswoman, who in February suggested that the country might be in dire need of what she euphemistically referred to as “a national divorce.” She added: “We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/marjo...AKWAkEiYcMgC-5idfqyc-msXoTwAUb5aWYsLFXuA

They have already been using the stars and bars as their flag at trump rallies and on Jan. 6th.

She may be the biggest whack-job in the entire swamp.

She certainly ranks in the top 5.

How do we get rid of them? They’re gerrymandered into perpetuity roles. JG has a seahorse shaped district in Ohio. Don’t know how he’d ever lose it.

Of course you did, I'm just better looking

You gotta stop believing everything you read in the funny papers.

Voters need to insist upon fair districts.
It's not just their constitutional right- it's also their constitutional responsibility to make it so.


In OH, we can still get voter-initiated referenda on the ballot.

Ohio's GOP agenda this past August was aimed at making it harder for voters to amend the state constitution (Issue 1 and only). If Issue 1 had passed, a new statewide threshold of 60% approval would have been installed, instead of the "50% +1" we've had for over a hundred years. They tried to be too cute by half, but their game was busted, and the pro- representative democracy folks got a jump-start on their jobs... quick, fast, and in a hurry. By May, Ohio TV's were being hit with ads that pointedly described the stakes of this special election. It was about much more than a November vote about reproductive rights. It was about thwarting a straight-up attempt by one political party to make it easier to implement government policy that Ohio's majority populace might not want- but would now have less legal means to stop.

Ohio Citizens beat that sneakazz crap into the turf.

Overwhelmingly.
In August, a dead month.
When we weren't supposed to have late-summer elections any more.
Because the GOP had just made nu r00lz to dump that stuff in the previous session... but are now ignoring, because the nu r00lz are currently inconvenient.

_______________________________________________________


Now, it will be incumbent upon everyday Ohio voters to demand the change:
an independent, non-partisan commission to re-draw voting districts.

If enough Ohio voters want to see an end to districts that look like Gym Jockstrap's, they still have a way to make that happen. They earned it, by stepping up to protect their own voices just one month ago. Now, it's time for them to live their democracy once again, by telling their elected officials: "You are the Hired Help. OUR hired help. Your job as elected officials is now, and has always been to execute the will of We, The People. We are now officially reclaiming that authority from you, and giving it someone else."

Democracy: It only works when everyday citizens remain engaged in The Process. Both parties' Talking Suits have relied upon our distracted complacency for decades... which has brought us to where we are. Democracy is every citizens' personal responsibility. It's the price we each must pay to continually create the society we choose to have.

________________________________


We elect the government we deserve. We can still elect/legislate/move them out. It just takes work. Hard work. By ordinary people.
Democracy is a working process, and also, a work in progress.

We can still control how we progress. If we care enough to try.


.02,
clem.

Every time she assaults my ears with some new inanity, I hear the words of boxing promoter Don King:

"Only in America!!!"

It doesn't seem to matter. Ohio just ignores the courts.

In blow to Ohio Republicans, U.S. Supreme Court rejects state legislators’ arguments in North Carolina redistricting case

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023...n-north-carolina-redistricting-case.html

Republicans ignore redistricting order from Ohio Supreme Court, signaling they intend to run out the clock

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022...ng-they-intend-to-run-out-the-clock.html

It seems rather odd that republicans who claim to be the party of law and order keep breaking the laws.

Politicians picking voters is just wrong. That is why we get gerrymandered districts.

Although it happens in some democratic controlled states, the GOP has turned it into an art form with polling science.

The GOP is fearful of demographics changes that affect the voting pool.

Independent commissions should be the standard practice.

Guess who has been behind the house going after impeaching Biden. Never would have seen this coming.

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-privately-encouraging-gop-lawmakers-122026494.html


Trump Has Been Privately Encouraging GOP Lawmakers to Impeach Biden
Jonathan Swan
Wed, September 13, 2023 at 8:20 AM EDT·5 min read
7.7k



On a sweeping patio overlooking the golf course at his private club in Bedminster, New Jersey, former President Donald Trump dined Sunday night with a close political ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

It was a chance for the former president to catch up with the hard-right Georgia congresswoman. But over halibut and Diet Cokes, Greene brought up an issue of considerable interest to Trump — the push by House Republicans to impeach his likely opponent in next year’s election.

“I did brief him on the strategy that I want to see laid out with impeachment,” Greene said in a brief phone interview.



Trump’s dinner with Greene came just two nights before House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced his decision Tuesday to order the opening of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, under intense pressure from his right flank.

Over the past several months, Trump has kept a close watch on House Republicans’ momentum toward impeaching Biden. Trump has talked regularly by phone with members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus and other congressional Republicans who pushed for impeachment, according to a person close to Trump who was not authorized to publicly discuss the conversations. Trump has encouraged the effort both privately and publicly.

Greene, who has introduced articles of impeachment against Biden, said she told Trump she wanted the impeachment inquiry to be “long and excruciatingly painful for Joe Biden.”

She would not say what Trump said in response, but she said her ultimate goal was to have a “long list of names” — people whom she claimed were co-conspirators involved in Biden family crimes. She said she was confident Trump would win back the White House in 2024 and that she wanted “to go after every single one of them and use the Department of Justice to prosecute them.”

While Biden’s son Hunter Biden was charged in June with two misdemeanor tax offenses and a felony firearm offense, Republicans have not shown that Joe Biden committed any crimes. House Republicans are proceeding with the impeachment inquiry without proof that Biden took official actions as vice president to benefit his son’s financial interests or that he directly profited from his son’s foreign deals.

Trump has also spoken weekly over the past month to Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, the third-ranking House Republican, according to a person familiar with the conversations who was not authorized to discuss them publicly. During those conversations, Stefanik also briefed Trump on the impeachment inquiry strategy, this person said.

The former president thanked Stefanik for publicly backing the impeachment inquiry in July, the person added. Stefanik, who talked to Trump again Tuesday after McCarthy ordered the impeachment inquiry, had been the first member of House Republican leadership to publicly call for taking the first step in the process of impeaching Biden.

A person familiar with Trump’s thinking said that despite his eagerness to see an inquiry move forward, the former president has not been twisting McCarthy’s arm. Trump has been far more aggressive in pushing several members to wipe his own impeachment record clean, the person said, potentially by getting Congress to take the unprecedented step of expunging his two impeachments from the House record.

Trump has not been expressing concern about the possibility that the McCarthy impeachment effort might backfire and benefit Biden, according to two people with direct knowledge of his private statements over several months. Instead, he wondered to an ally why there had been no movement on impeaching Biden once he learned that the House was back in session.

A spokesperson for McCarthy did not respond to a question about his interactions with the former president regarding impeachment.

When asked for comment, Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, pointed to Trump’s public statements about impeaching Biden.

The former president’s public commentary on the possibility of a Biden impeachment has escalated from wistful musings about the Justice Department’s supposed inaction to explicit demands.

“They persecuted us and yet Joe Biden is a stone-cold criminal, caught dead to right, and nothing happens to him. Forget the family. Nothing happens to him,” the former president said at a rally in March.

In a June town hall with the Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump lamented what happened after authorities found boxes of classified documents in both his Mar-a-Lago estate and the Bidens’ Delaware residence.

“It is a dual system of government,” Trump said. “You talk about law and order. You can’t have law and order in a country where you have such corruption.”

That same month, after Trump was arraigned on charges that he had improperly retained sensitive national security documents and obstructed investigators, he declared that if reelected he would appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” Biden and his family.

By July, Trump had begun suggesting that Republicans should impeach the president, and as the summer wore on, he conveyed his desire with greater urgency.

“So, they impeach me over a ‘perfect’ phone call, and they don’t impeach Biden for being the most corrupt president in the history of the United States???” Trump wrote in all caps on his social media platform, Truth Social.

In yet another nearly all-cap Truth Social post in late August, the former president wrote, referring to congressional Republicans: “Either impeach the bum, or fade into oblivion. They did it to us!”

Maybe he's using the same tactic he used against Raffensperger in his "perfectly fine phone call" and told them if they didn't do it, it would be a criminal offense. There's nothing that will motivate a person more than telling them that if you get elected you will use the justice system to attack them. While they accuse the other side of that with zero evidence to support it.

Lauren Boebert Was Kicked Out of the ‘Beetlejuice’ Musical for ‘Vaping and Singing,’ Theater Says

The U.S. representative’s campaign manager claims she’s only guilty of supporting the arts.

Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert was kicked out of a performance of the musical “Beetlejuice” musical and accused of vaping, singing, recording, and “causing a disturbance” by officials at the Buell Theater in Denver.

“I plead guilty to laughing and singing too loud!” Boebert confirmed on X, formerly Twitter. Her campaign manager Drew Sexton denied that she was vaping during the show on Sunday evening, saying Boebert is simply “a supporter of the performing arts” who “enthusiastically enjoyed” the show.

Denver Arts & Venues officials shared a report with the Denver Post detailing the incident, writing that they received three complaints from patrons about two attendees’ behavior during the first act. They did not officially name Boebert in the report.

The pair was given a warning during intermission, the report read, but five minutes into the second act, security received yet another complaint that the two were “being loud” and recording the performance, which is prohibited. Sexton told the Post that Boebert admitted to taking photos, but that she didn’t know she wasn’t allowed to take photos or videos during shows.

“I told them that they need to leave the theater and if they do not, they will be trespassing,” an usher quoted in the report said. “I told them I would [be] going to get Denver Police. They said ‘go get them.’”

The report also accuses the pair of saying “stuff like ‘do you know who I am,’ ‘I am on the board’ [and] ‘I will be contacting the mayor.’”

The police were called and stayed in the lobby until Boebert left, according to the report.

Security camera footage shows Boebert taking selfies while being escorted out of the theater and repeatedly turning back to exchange words with the security official, although the footage doesn’t include audio.

Surveillance footage outside the theater also shows Boebert doing a twirl as she leaves the premises.

Along with being a “supporter” of the arts, the far-right Colorado Republican has been known to use her time spreading racist conspiracy theories, fighting with fellow Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and dog whistling to the QAnon movement.

A recent poll saw her trailing her Democratic opponent ahead of the 2024 election, which prompted her to send out a campaign email blast, saying she was in a “dire” situation.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgw..._hXH4TEVU9YncXIkA-ff5zUP3pdTLr3svUkF0B30