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babylonsister's JournalDemocrats Have Just About Had It With Kevin McCarthy Caving to the Right...
Congress
Democrats Have Just About Had It With Kevin McCarthy Caving to the Right: “They’re on a Fast Track to a Shutdown”
Amid funding battles, acrimony is spiking on Capitol Hill as the Republican Party’s right flank continues to push an extreme agenda at every turn. “They need to keep their bans off our budget and leave the culture wars to Fox News,” said one Democrat.
By Abigail Tracy
July 27, 2023
Frustration on Capitol Hill reached a fever pitch as the House scrambled to pass a handful of critical funding bills in the final days before Congress’s annual August recess. Democrats, for their part, have dispensed with diplomacy in negotiating with Republicans who appear more focused on culture-war crusades and doing Donald Trump’s bidding than anything resembling actual governance. “[Republicans] have been extreme since the beginning of this Congress; they continue to become more and more extreme,” Democrat Suzan DelBene told Vanity Fair this week. “They’re on a fast track to a shutdown.”
Much of the blame is squarely at Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s feet. McCarthy, Democrats charge, is beholden to the right-wing fringe of his caucus ever since the California lawmaker cut a series of deals to win the Speakership. “Kevin McCarthy has provided zero leadership and he lets the craziest tail of the dog wag it,” Democrat Mark Pocan told me.
While a full accounting of McCarthy’s concessions to win the Speaker’s gavel has yet to be public, the consequences of some of his promises have come into sharp focus as he struggles to maintain control of his party’s far-right contingent. Perhaps most notably, his pledge to put members of the House Freedom Caucus and its allies on powerful committees, including Rules and Appropriations. Over the past few weeks, the historically staid and relatively bipartisan House Appropriations Committee, in particular, has devolved into a breeding ground for MAGA obsessions.
“People go, ‘How can you handle it out in Washington with all those crazy people?’ And I [used to] say, ‘I’m spoiled by Appropriations,’” Pocan said. With the onus on the committee to draft must-pass funding bills, nasty partisanship squabbles typically took a back seat to the work needed to get done, he explained. But that changed “when Kevin McCarthy, in his desperation to be the Speaker, put a lot of the folks that have a very different view of how the Appropriations Committee should work on the committee.” These members, Pocan said, seem to “just fight for the sake of fighting.”
Minnesota Democrat Betty McCollum agreed. “It is a small number of people continuing to drive the agenda for the Republican conference. And now it’s spilled over into Appropriations,” she said. Democrats are particularly upset with Republicans inserting controversial riders into must-pass funding bills that they argue have nothing to do with keeping the government’s lights on and everything to do with the GOP’s extremist agenda. As McCollum put it, her Republican colleagues have shifted from being “chaotic to being cruel to our fellow human beings.”
more...
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/07/democrats-kevin-mccarthy-house-funding-bills-shutdown
DeSantis rocked by Black Republican revolt over slavery comments
FTR, I live in Florida and I approve of none of DeSantis' proclamations. He's such a nasty piece of work.
DeSantis rocked by Black Republican revolt over slavery comments
By Brakkton Booker
07/28/2023 02:40 PM EDT
The bitter fight between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Rep. Byron Donalds over a line about slavery in the state’s revised African American history standards is infuriating several prominent Black conservatives.
snip//
At issue are the new education standards for how Black history is taught in Florida schools that DeSantis signed into law last year. The revised guidelines, released this month, require educators to instruct middle schoolers that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”
Donalds, who largely praised the guidelines as “good, robust and accurate,” took issue with the idea of “personal benefit” and said that part is “wrong and needs to be adjusted.” Donalds supported DeSantis for governor but has backed Trump in the presidential primary.
That prompted an onslaught from the DeSantis camp. Christina Pushaw, the director of rapid response for the DeSantis presidential campaign, mused, “Did Kamala Harris write this tweet?” referencing the vice president’s recent trip to Florida, in which she denounced the new standards.
DeSantis dug in, disparaging his fellow Republican with one of the worst insults one can lob: comparing him to a Democrat. “Are you going to side with Kamala Harris and liberal media outlets or are you going to side with the state of Florida?”
more...
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/28/disgusting-black-republicans-livid-over-desantis-slavery-attack-00108776
Kari Lake Says Trump Is Outsmarting Jack Smith
https://politicalwire.com/2023/07/28/kari-lake-says-trump-is-outsmarting-jack-smith/
Kari Lake Says Trump Is Outsmarting Jack Smith
July 28, 2023 at 6:14 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard
Said Lake: “You can’t bring down a giant like Donald J. Trump. I think he would welcome that indictment. Welcome a trial. They’re playing checkers, and Trump is playing chess at the highest level. They don’t want to pick a fight with him.”
Trump's former intel director: 'There are people in prison' for taking classified docs home
Trump’s former intel director: ‘There are people in prison’ for taking classified docs home
by Julia Shapero - 07/28/23 8:18 AM ET
Dan Coats, who served as director of national intelligence under former President Trump, emphasized Thursday that “there are people in prison” for taking classified documents home, after the Justice Department brought new charges against his former boss over his handling of classified materials.
“We put millions of dollars in technology for gathering intelligence, and if that’s breached because somebody gets a classified document floating around or knows about it, we lose that information that we are grabbing,” he added.
“So, it’s more than just a bunch of papers and what big deal is this and so forth. Lives can be lost. Money can be misspent.”
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https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4124582-trumps-former-intel-director-there-are-people-in-prison-for-taking-classified-docs-home/
Jason Aldean's Music Video Sneakily Reedited After Controversy
Jason Aldean’s Music Video Sneakily Reedited After Controversy
The country music star has been defending his video for “Try That in a Small Town” by saying it has nothing to do with race.
Elyse Wanshel
Jul 26, 2023, 03:22 PM EDT
Jason Aldean’s controversial music video for his song “Try That in a Small Town” has received a mysterious edit.
The Washington Post reports that the video is now six minutes shorter than it was when it was when originally uploaded to YouTube on July 14, and it no longer includes news clips from Fox 5 Atlanta that depicted violent confrontations during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020.
It’s unclear when the edit happened, but the Post notes that “numerous changes appear to have been made since last week” when the video received widespread backlash for its politically-charged messaging.
Aldean’s publicist confirmed to HuffPost that the video has been re-edited: “A representative for BBR Music Group has confirmed that the video footage was edited due to third-party copyright clearance issues.”
“Try That In A Small Town” came out in May but gained wider attention when its accompanying music video was released earlier this month. The video includes shots of Aldean performing on the steps of a Tennessee courthouse that was the site of a historic lynching, interspersed with images of someone lighting a Molotov cocktail, setting an American flag ablaze and news footage of violent protests. The video — pulled from CMT early last week due to its troubling images — still features a good amount of this imagery.
more...
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jason-aldean-music-video-edited-after-controversy_n_64c135a6e4b09a929694e855
Trump Pleads With Congress to Save Him From Mounting Legal Woes
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-pleads-with-congress-to-save-him-from-mounting-legal-woes?ref=home
Trump Pleads With Congress to Save Him From Mounting Legal Woes
‘THEY CAN’T BEAT ME’
Matt Young
Night Editor
Published Jul. 25, 2023 7:27PM EDT
https://twitter.com/i/status/1683853365065777152
In Israel, a Glimpse of a Trumpian Future
Daily Comment
In Israel, a Glimpse of a Trumpian Future
Netanyahu is willing to undermine the rule of law in order to insure his own political survival. Sound familiar?
By David Remnick
July 24, 2023
See if this sounds familiar: A cynical and self-admiring politician finds himself confronting the legal consequences of his low deeds and corruption. He faces criminal investigation, multiple indictments, trials, even prison. To defend himself from the potential consequences of his acts, he does not merely hire lawyers; he tries to stay in power. And, to obtain power, he is willing to deepen and inflame the worst tribal conflicts in his country. He is willing to undermine the rule of law. He is willing to make common cause with the most hateful voices in his society and place them by his side. In the end, he is willing to erode the liberty of his people to insure his own.
The eagerness to put self before country, of course, is the common thread between two profoundly unprincipled politicians, Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. And, as such, the dispiriting turn in Jerusalem on Monday—the Knesset’s vote to diminish the powers of the Supreme Court and, therefore, enhance an imperilled Prime Minister’s ability to skirt justice—serves as a warning of what might take place in this country in the fall of 2024.
The decision in the Knesset could easily lead to even more illiberal measures, from the annexation of the West Bank to the suppression of critical press outlets. The weeks leading up to the vote saw unprecedented protest marches. Now, one friend from Tel Aviv told me, “The streets will burn.” Another friend sent a photograph of a mock military graveyard that demonstrators near the Knesset had erected. The gravestones provided only the names of the fallen and the single repeated epitaph: lashav, in vain. That is, they died in vain.
more...
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/in-israel-a-glimpse-of-a-trumpian-future
Jobs Boom at the State Level
https://politicalwire.com/2023/07/24/jobs-boom-at-the-state-level/
Jobs Boom at the State Level
July 24, 2023 at 4:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard
“That group includes New Hampshire and South Dakota. Both are tied for lowest unemployment rates in the nation at 1.8% in June, both ticking down from 1.9%.”
“The strong labor market conditions may be politically awkward for red-state politicians who are touting big job gains and have also criticized the state of the economy under the Biden administration.”
Inside the Canceled DeSantis Documentary
Shame on Showtime for cancelling this.
https://politicalwire.com/2023/07/23/inside-the-canceled-desantis-documentary/
Inside the Canceled DeSantis Documentary
July 23, 2023 at 7:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
“The Daily Beast has obtained a transcript of that unaired documentary, The Guantanamo Candidate, which was anchored by Seb Walker, a longtime correspondent for the Emmy-winning newsmagazine.”
“Among a number of insights into DeSantis’ past, the transcript features interviews with former prisoners and a former Naval staff sergeant-turned-Gitmo whistleblower who overlapped with DeSantis. All three allege inhumane treatment at the hands of the U.S. government, with the detainees directly implicating DeSantis—at the time, a junior-level military legal adviser—in approving and overseeing brutal measures.”
When They Tried That In A Small Town
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/22/2182738/-When-They-Tried-That-In-A-Small-TownWhen They Tried That In A Small Town
Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 8:46:56a EDT
Hugh Jim Bessell
Not just liberals; not just big cities.
Uvalde TX is a small town. Population 26k; 21 dead.
Newtown CT is a small town. Population 28k; 26 dead.
Ex-US attorney, who appeared on 'Survivor,' to face state senator in Washington AG race
Parkland FL is a small town. Population 35k; 17 dead.
Red Lake MN is a small town. Population 1500; 8 dead.
Santa Fe TX is a small town. Population 13k; 10 dead.
Littleton CO is a small town. Population 45k; 13 dead.
Oxford MI is a small town. Population 23k; 4 dead.
Jason Aldean like to imagine that small American towns are safe spaces, where “good old boys raised up right” won’t tolerate any cussing of cops or flag stomping. Where there are no liberals talking about rounding up guns.
Mr. Aldean is dog-whistling past the graveyard. School shooting are done by local actors, not marauding bands of BLM protesters. And 2/3 of all fatal shooting are rural older white males who turn their guns on themselves.
It is a lot harder to write a hit song about the problems of poverty, lack of health care, lack of economic opportunities, drug abuse/addiction, domestic violence, and way too many guns that impact ALL our American communities than it is to demonize a scapegoat. But Mr. Aldean has Nashville hit-making machinery on his side, and I am sure he could do it if he cared about small towns as he claims.
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