babylonsister
babylonsister's JournalIrony Dies As Ted Cruz Claims: 'In A Time Of Crisis, Character Is Revealed'
https://crooksandliars.com/2021/12/ted-cruz-character-revealedIrony Dies As Ted Cruz Claims: 'In A Time Of Crisis, Character Is Revealed'
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Wednesday said that the character of Democrats had been "revealed" by a "time of crisis," but the lawmaker forgot to mention that he fled his own state last year when a winter storm crisis hit.
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By David December 15, 2021
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Wednesday said that the character of Democrats had been "revealed" by a "time of crisis," but the lawmaker forgot to mention that he fled his own state last year when a winter storm crisis hit.
During a 20-minute appearance on CBNC, Cruz repeatedly railed against vaccine mandates and downplayed the need to be vaccinated.
But less than a year ago, Cruz avoided a crisis in his home state by fleeing to Cancun, Mexico as millions of Texans were without power and heat. The senator eventually called the trip a "mistake."
Teachers Call BS on DeSantis' Bonkers Attempt to Outlaw Critical Race Theory
Teachers Call BS on DeSantis Bonkers Attempt to Outlaw Critical Race Theory
FAIL
The governors Stop W.O.K.E. Act will also allow parents to sue any schools that dabble in CRT, and will force students to take civics tests.
Brooke Leigh Howard
Reporter
Updated Dec. 15, 2021 4:59PM ET / Published Dec. 15, 2021 4:10PM ET
snip//
Without actually proving that critical race theory is taught in Florida schools, DeSantis said it will be banished from all public schools. In a novel tactic, parents will be able to sue schools suspected of teaching the ideology. He quipped that parents know whats best for their children and that educators lie about whether they teach critical race theory to students.
But Florida teacher Dr. Cindy Banyai, who ran as a Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives last year, said no K-12 schools in Florida even teach CRT.
Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar said in a statement that politicians shouldnt be trying to censor teachers ability to teach American history.
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/florida-teachers-shred-gov-ron-desantis-bonkers-attempt-to-outlaw-critical-race-theory-in-schools?ref=home
In the Shadows: The Orphans COVID Left Behind
CORONAVIRUS
In the Shadows: The Orphans COVID Left Behind
As the omicron variant begins to sweep the U.S., the country is still grappling with the devastation of waves pastincluding the upended lives of more than 140,000 children. Four Florida siblings who lost their single mom open up about their heartbreak, their day-to-day struggle, and their shared sense of resilience.
By Rita Omokha
December 15, 2021
snip//
Nelson and his 15 coauthors of the Global Reference Group on Children Affected by COVID-19 were the first to call attention to this new group and coined the term COVID orphans. Similar to when children became orphaned during the AIDS epidemic, the title is born out of the need to classify those dependents who lost one or both parents and suddenly find themselves without someone to provide the basics children need to thrive daily: security, food, shelter, and love. Florida, where Tré and his sisters have lived since they permanently migrated from the Bahamas in 2007, has nearly 8,000 children who have lost a primary caregiver to COVIDthe third-highest number nationally, behind California and Texas.
That number is now rising at a faster rate, Nelson says, while local and federal governments remain largely mum on the issue. Most of us, since March of 2020, have been obsessed with people getting sick and people dying, he says, but the hidden cost of the pandemic that no one was really thinking about is the sheer number of kids who have lost parents or grandparents or primary caregivers.
At one point Dawkins worked two jobs and lived paycheck to paycheck, and the family had bouts of being unhoused, but she always made the small things seem simple. Now, those small things have become daunting for her surviving children, from creating grocery lists and buying the right kind of milk to perfecting the morning routine and making dinners everyone enjoys. Then theres the matter of missed school assignments and keeping a roof over their heads. The federal government has flooded schools and communities with COVID emergency aid, but no one has created a clear road map or stimulus plan for this demographic, now or for a post-pandemic era.
While kids his age stress over dating apps or where to go for spring break, Tré sits at their marble kitchen island divvying up light bills, car notes, and grocery and gas expenses. Since their mothers death, its been a whirlwind of checklists in a rinse-and-repeat survival cycle. An informal network including friends, neighbors, church members, school staff, and some strangers have stepped up to help however they can.
This first week in November is no different: figuring out school drop-offs and pickups, adjusting to new jobs for the two eldest, getting permanent custody of the two youngest, figuring out how to get Social Security survivors benefits, looking into FEMAs COVID funeral assistance, and worrying about the Cigna bill for their moms hospital care in those final days. The siblings keep moving, mourning, one breath at a time, together.
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It hurts, like a physical pain in your chest, Tré says. This feels so wrong; it just doesnt feel like it should happen. Like, why, God, why does it have to be this way?
more...
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/12/in-the-shadows-the-orphans-covid-left-behind
Ana Navarro...
https://twitter.com/ananavarro/status/1471106903690428420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1471106903690428420%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Fananavarro2Fstatus2F1471106903690428420widget%3DTweet
David Corn: I Compared the New January 6 Texts to Mark Meadows' Book. It's Damning.
I Compared the New January 6 Texts to Mark Meadows Book. Its Damning.
Trumps last chief of staff is hiding what happened that awful day.
David Corn
snip//
This is not how Meadows depicts January 6 in his own account, which devotes only a few pages to that day. He describes the pre-attack speech Trump delivered across from the White Housein which he whipped up the crowd with the Big Lie that the election had been stolen from him and urged the mob to head to the Capitolas merely a final get-together between Trump and his supporters: [H]e wanted to make sure that all those people he had met over his four yearsthe ones who had shown up to every rally, listened to his speeches, and written him letters about their frustrations with the establishmentwould have one more chance to come together, make their voices heard, and encourage each other.
Meadows is lying. For weeks, Trump-allied groups had been promoting this event as a chance to save America and stop the steal, not a fond farewell. In tweets, Trump had been encouraging people to attend. On December 19, he had tweeted, Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild! Meadows forgets to mention this tweet.
snip//
What a dramatic afternoon. Meadows was being besieged by lawmakers, fellow Trump officials, the stars of Fox News, and the presidents eldest son. Why would he leave all this out of his book? Its gripping. Its suspenseful. And why not reveal to his readers how he reacted to these pleas and what he didor didnt doin response?
Meadows in the book presents no information to counter the impression Trump purposefully dawdled to see if the riot might work to his advantage and forestall the certification of Bidens win. He does not address the various reports that cast Trump in a dark light: that Trump was practically giddy as he watched the violence on television, that when House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy urged Trump to intervene to halt the rampaging, he replied, Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.
Meadows is hiding what happened in the White House on January 6. Its no wonder he does not want to testify. Trumps failure to act that dayto heed all those pleasis also Meadows failure.
This book is disinformation. Meadows peddles Trumps propaganda. I knew he didnt lose, Meadows declares of Trump and the 2020 election. How did he know this? The excitement of the people at Trumps campaign rallies had been palpable. He says he had spoken with dozens of peoples during those rallies and they were thrilled to be together. (They were also some of the kindest, most generous people I had ever met.)
more...
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/12/i-compared-the-new-january-6-texts-to-mark-meadows-book-its-damning/
emptywheel: Finally, Everyone Is Talking about Trump's Obstruction on January 6
https://www.emptywheel.net/2021/12/14/finally-everyone-is-talking-about-trumps-obstruction-on-january-6/Finally, Everyone Is Talking about Trumps Obstruction on January 6
December 14, 2021/101 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection /by emptywheel
snip//
But for the moment, it seems that all three branches of government prosecutors charging obstruction, judges affirming the viability of the application, and senior members of Congress invoking it as part of the January 6 investigation agree that the events of the day may amount to obstruction.
Back when I begged TV lawyers to start focusing on this application, I laid out the things that Trump had or may have done, that might be proof of obstruction.
Encouraging the Proud Boys to believe they are his army
Personally sowing the Big Lie about voter fraud to lead supporters to believe Trump has been robbed of his rightful election win
Asking subordinates and Republican politicians to lie about the vote to encourage supporters to feel they were robbed
Encouraging surrogates and campaign staffers to fund buses to make travel to DC easier
Using the January 6 rally to encourage as many people as possible to come to DC
Applauding violence in advance of January 6 and tacitly encouraging it on the day
Recruiting members of Congress to raise challenges to the vote count
Asking members of Congress to delay evacuation even as the rioters entered the building, heightening the chance of direct physical threat (and likely contributing to Ashli Babbitts death)
Asking Mike Pence to do something unconstitutional, then targeting him after he refused, virtually ensuring he would be personally threatened
Possibly muddling the line of command on which civilian agency would coordinate response, ensuring there would be none
Possibly taking steps to delay any Guard response at the Capitol
Possibly ignoring immediate requests from help from leaders of Congress
The January 6 Committee has already collected evidence demonstrating many of these issues, for example, the efforts to sow the Big Lie, including coordination with Congress, reveling in the collecting mobs, directing Guard deployment in ways that would support the insurrection, the unbelievable pressure on Mike Pence to violate his oath to the Constitution. In the interim four months, the press and Committee have identified other potential means of obstruction, such as ordering Alex Jones to bring his mob to the Capitol.
This is not a guarantee that Trump will be prosecuted. But all three branches of government now agree on the framework with which he might be held accountable.
Eric Boehlert: Chris Wallace picked the right week to quit Fox News
https://pressrun.media/p/chris-wallace-picked-a-good-weekChris Wallace picked the right week to quit Fox News
The Murdoch debacle
Eric Boehlert
1 hr ago
snip//
The Sunday news flash about Wallace was a punch in the gut for Fox, mostly because it robs the network of its ability to point to the morning host as supposedly a serious journalist when trying to knock down the obvious claim that the network is nothing more than a bigoted propaganda outlet.
The second, more serious newsflash about the text messages ripped away the Fox veneer thats been constructed since January 6, that the insurrection was no big deal (i.e. a bunch of grandparents marching around with placards), and that any investigation today represents a partisan witch hunt. Just last week, Kilmeade, who was privately beseeching for action on January 6, mocked news outlets for spending too much time reporting on the revelations that keep tumbling out about Trumps coup attempt last winter, and about the widespread obstruction of justice on display.
snip//
It was an awful 36 hours for Fox, and Wallace definitely picked a prime time to leave. I wonder if he knew the release of the Insurrection Day texts from his colleagues was imminent, and if that sped up what appeared to be his hasty exit from his TV home for 18 years. Either way, his move was a stinger for the network, for lots of reasons.
The exit, and how it was choreographed, came with an unmistakable scent of F.U. directed to Wallaces former bosses. According to reports, virtually nobody inside Foxs Washington D.C. bureau knew about the departure before Wallace announced it live on television. Worse, hes jumping straight to Fox News most hated rival CNN. Thats a poke in the eye for the right-wing network, which hates the fact that CNN doggedly details Foxs dishonest ways. Its unheard of for a high-profile Fox player like Wallace to pack their bags and head directly to CNN.
snip//
The lingering, pungent stench from episodes like this might be why Wallace walked away this week. His timing was impeccable.
January 6 texts from Fox hosts reveal the lie at the heart of the conservative movement
January 6 texts from Fox hosts reveal the lie at the heart of the conservative movement
The texts expose how the rich exploit culture wars to benefit themselves.
By Zack Beauchamp@zackbeauchampzack@vox.com Dec 14, 2021, 12:30pm EST
As the Capitol riot unfolded on January 6, Fox News hosts knew exactly how bad things were.
The texts, revealed during a Monday hearing of the House January 6 Commission, were at odds with the hosts on-air comments on the night of the attack. Ingraham suggested that antifa supporters may have been responsible for the violence. Kilmeade took a similar line: I do not know Trump supporters that have ever demonstrated violence that I know of in a big situation. Hannity, for his part, asserted that the majority of them were peaceful.
This is tangible proof that some of Foxs marquee personalities knowingly lied to their audience about January. The lying began basically immediately, in the direct aftermath of a national tragedy.
This isnt the only issue on which Foxs dishonesty has been exposed. On one of the fundamental policy topics of the day, the pandemic, the rights most influential news network is saying one thing to its audience and doing another in private.
more...
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/12/14/22834009/fox-texts-trump-meadows-ingraham-hannity-capitol-riot
House Panel To ID Republican Lawmakers Newly Linked To Capitol Riot Turmoil
House Panel To ID Republican Lawmakers Newly Linked To Capitol Riot Turmoil
Information from Mark Meadows "has been quite revealing about members of Congress involved in the activities of Jan. 6, said Rep. Bennie Thompson.
Mary Papenfuss
12/14/2021 12:01am EST | Updated 2 hours ago
The identities of Republican lawmakers and aides linked to the Capitol riot by documents provided by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows will soon be revealed by House investigators, a key congressman said Monday.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, told reporters that the documents were quite revealing.
He refused to immediately name the Republican legislators revealed in the information that we received from Mr. Meadows but said they would be identified in the future.
Information we have received has been quite revealing about members of Congress involved in the activities of Jan. 6 as well as staff, he said. Thompson spoke outside the House chambers after the committee voted in favor of a resolution recommending criminal charges against Meadows for failure to comply with a congressional subpoena to testify about the assault on the U.S. Capitol.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1470583493495119873
more...
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bennie-thompson-gop-lawmakers-capitol-riot-identities_n_61b80c03e4b0490e9bd76868
The GOP Now Leads America's Anti-Democratic Movement
https://politicalwire.com/2021/12/14/the-gop-now-leads-americas-anti-democratic-movement/The GOP Now Leads Americas Anti-Democratic Movement
December 14, 2021 at 6:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard
The movement has encountered surprisingly little opposition. Most leading Republican politicians have either looked the other way or supported the anti-democratic movement. In the House, Republicans ousted Liz Cheney from a leadership position because she called out Trumps lies.
The pushback within the Republican Party has been so weak that about 60 percent of Republican adults now tell pollsters that they believe the 2020 election was stolen a view thats simply wrong.
Edward-Isaac Dovere: Democratic governors are facing a messaging conundrum: they say American democracy may hinge on their elections in 2022, but theyre not sure they can get most voters to care.
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