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December 21, 2022
How Sam Bankman-Fried's dark-money political donations fueled his massive fraud
Citizens United has fueled any number of sleazy dark-money political bargains. At least Bankman-Fried got caught
By LISA GILBERT
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 21, 2022 5:45AM (EST)
(Salon) FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was recently indicted for violating campaign finance laws following his recent arrest in the Bahamas for wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. He was also charged with defrauding equity investors by the Securities and Exchange Commission, with SEC Chair Gary Gensler saying in a statement, "Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto."
The campaign finance scandal being exposed is enormous, and the unabashed influence peddling that Bankman-Fried and his executives engaged in as they attempted to influence policy over the cryptocurrency industry is both embarrassing and hugely problematic for the many politicians that received the money. But so far, little attention has been paid to the systemic flaws that enabled the unbridled pay-for-play scheme that we've seen unfold in recent weeks.
The FTX scandal shows that it's finally time to reckon with the disastrous Supreme Court ruling Citizens United v. FEC, which allowed unlimited political giving by corporations and wealthy individuals as "free speech" and paved the way for unlimited "dark money" in our politics.
While prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried's political contributions were illegal, businesses and billionaires have legally been giving in secret for years in order to hide their more distasteful and self-interested attempts at political influence. The Citizens United decision gave corporations and billionaires free rein to spend unlimited secret money to influence policy and our elections. In the 2020 election cycle alone, more than $1 billion in undisclosed funds was spent at the federal level. This secret giving has proven disastrous for democracy: For example, secret money front groups spent millions of dollars to hold and promote the rally outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which turned into an attempted insurrection that aimed to overturn the 2020 election. ...............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/12/21/how-sam-bankman-frieds-dark-money-political-donations-fueled-his-massive-fraud/
How Sam Bankman-Fried's dark-money political donations fueled his massive fraud
How Sam Bankman-Fried's dark-money political donations fueled his massive fraud
Citizens United has fueled any number of sleazy dark-money political bargains. At least Bankman-Fried got caught
By LISA GILBERT
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 21, 2022 5:45AM (EST)
(Salon) FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was recently indicted for violating campaign finance laws following his recent arrest in the Bahamas for wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. He was also charged with defrauding equity investors by the Securities and Exchange Commission, with SEC Chair Gary Gensler saying in a statement, "Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto."
The campaign finance scandal being exposed is enormous, and the unabashed influence peddling that Bankman-Fried and his executives engaged in as they attempted to influence policy over the cryptocurrency industry is both embarrassing and hugely problematic for the many politicians that received the money. But so far, little attention has been paid to the systemic flaws that enabled the unbridled pay-for-play scheme that we've seen unfold in recent weeks.
The FTX scandal shows that it's finally time to reckon with the disastrous Supreme Court ruling Citizens United v. FEC, which allowed unlimited political giving by corporations and wealthy individuals as "free speech" and paved the way for unlimited "dark money" in our politics.
While prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried's political contributions were illegal, businesses and billionaires have legally been giving in secret for years in order to hide their more distasteful and self-interested attempts at political influence. The Citizens United decision gave corporations and billionaires free rein to spend unlimited secret money to influence policy and our elections. In the 2020 election cycle alone, more than $1 billion in undisclosed funds was spent at the federal level. This secret giving has proven disastrous for democracy: For example, secret money front groups spent millions of dollars to hold and promote the rally outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which turned into an attempted insurrection that aimed to overturn the 2020 election. ...............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/12/21/how-sam-bankman-frieds-dark-money-political-donations-fueled-his-massive-fraud/
December 21, 2022
Trump and the IRS: A massive tax cheat and a hapless, corrupt agency
We can't be sure whether Trump cheated in claiming huge tax losses — but the IRS didn't even bother to investigate
By HEATHER DIGBY PARTON
Columnist
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 21, 2022 9:56AM (EST)
(Salon) Back in February of 2019, then-President Donald Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, testified before the House Oversight Committee that his former employer had once shown him a big refund from the IRS and told him "he could not believe how stupid the government was for giving someone like him that much money back."
It turns out that the man who once claimed in a presidential debate that not paying any taxes made him "smart" was right about that. The IRS is stupid, or at least lazy and incompetent. It let Donald Trump off the hook for years.
On Tuesday the House Ways and Means Committee finally broke its silence and announced that after years of legal battles and delays it would release Trump's tax returns to the public, as they are authorized to do by the same law Republicans invoked when they investigated the IRS back in 2014. That probe, which was supposed to show that the IRS had targeted conservative organizations, actually made clear that the agency had targeted progressive groups as well. But this investigation looks like it exposed a real scandal. The only question is whether the IRS will take the fall for this entire mess or whether Donald Trump will finally be fully exposed for his egregious pattern of tax evasion.
The committee released a report on its findings Tuesday night, as did the Joint Committee on Taxation, which delved into some of the details of the returns themselves. The first big takeaway is that the IRS, which is supposed to audit all presidential tax returns under the Mandatory Presidential Audit Program, never even got around to looking at Trump's. It was only after the committee began its inquiries in 2019 that the IRS finally opened an investigation of Trump's 2016 returns, even though it had been tasked by that time with auditing him from 2015 through 2018.
That's very strange, to put it mildly, and it certainly validates the committee's stated premise for opening the case. Its members are now recommending that the Mandatory Audit Program, which has been in place since the Carter administration, be codified into law. ..........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/12/21/and-the-irs-a-massive-cheat-and-a-hapless-corrupt-agency/
Trump and the IRS: A massive tax cheat and a hapless, corrupt agency
Trump and the IRS: A massive tax cheat and a hapless, corrupt agency
We can't be sure whether Trump cheated in claiming huge tax losses — but the IRS didn't even bother to investigate
By HEATHER DIGBY PARTON
Columnist
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 21, 2022 9:56AM (EST)
(Salon) Back in February of 2019, then-President Donald Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, testified before the House Oversight Committee that his former employer had once shown him a big refund from the IRS and told him "he could not believe how stupid the government was for giving someone like him that much money back."
It turns out that the man who once claimed in a presidential debate that not paying any taxes made him "smart" was right about that. The IRS is stupid, or at least lazy and incompetent. It let Donald Trump off the hook for years.
On Tuesday the House Ways and Means Committee finally broke its silence and announced that after years of legal battles and delays it would release Trump's tax returns to the public, as they are authorized to do by the same law Republicans invoked when they investigated the IRS back in 2014. That probe, which was supposed to show that the IRS had targeted conservative organizations, actually made clear that the agency had targeted progressive groups as well. But this investigation looks like it exposed a real scandal. The only question is whether the IRS will take the fall for this entire mess or whether Donald Trump will finally be fully exposed for his egregious pattern of tax evasion.
The committee released a report on its findings Tuesday night, as did the Joint Committee on Taxation, which delved into some of the details of the returns themselves. The first big takeaway is that the IRS, which is supposed to audit all presidential tax returns under the Mandatory Presidential Audit Program, never even got around to looking at Trump's. It was only after the committee began its inquiries in 2019 that the IRS finally opened an investigation of Trump's 2016 returns, even though it had been tasked by that time with auditing him from 2015 through 2018.
That's very strange, to put it mildly, and it certainly validates the committee's stated premise for opening the case. Its members are now recommending that the Mandatory Audit Program, which has been in place since the Carter administration, be codified into law. ..........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/12/21/and-the-irs-a-massive-cheat-and-a-hapless-corrupt-agency/
December 21, 2022
(Detroit Free Press) Dearborn-based apparel firm Carhartt plans to hire up to 125 more workers in Dearborn with an average $43 hourly wage, rather than in Kentucky or Mexico, with help from a recently approved state grant.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Monday that Carhartt has been approved for a $937,500 performance-based grant from the Michigan Business Development Program to assist with an anticipated $4.65 million capital investment at its Dearborn campus, which is expected to result in the new hiring.
The grant was approved last week by the Michigan Strategic Fund.
Carhartt had told economic development officials that, absent the nearly $1 million in grant assistance, it may have hired those new positions not in Dearborn but rather at its IT service center offices in Mexico or distribution center in Hanson, Kentucky, or Supply Chain Administration office in Irvine, Kentucky. The firm also considered making the new positions fully remote. ...............(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/2022/12/19/carhartt-dearborn-expansion-michigan/69740768007/
Carhartt chooses Dearborn over Kentucky, Mexico for 125 new jobs: Here's why
(Detroit Free Press) Dearborn-based apparel firm Carhartt plans to hire up to 125 more workers in Dearborn with an average $43 hourly wage, rather than in Kentucky or Mexico, with help from a recently approved state grant.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Monday that Carhartt has been approved for a $937,500 performance-based grant from the Michigan Business Development Program to assist with an anticipated $4.65 million capital investment at its Dearborn campus, which is expected to result in the new hiring.
The grant was approved last week by the Michigan Strategic Fund.
Carhartt had told economic development officials that, absent the nearly $1 million in grant assistance, it may have hired those new positions not in Dearborn but rather at its IT service center offices in Mexico or distribution center in Hanson, Kentucky, or Supply Chain Administration office in Irvine, Kentucky. The firm also considered making the new positions fully remote. ...............(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/2022/12/19/carhartt-dearborn-expansion-michigan/69740768007/
December 21, 2022
In its closing months, 2022 is looking like an annus horribilis for Donald Trump – or to put it in the former president’s terms, a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad year. The January 6 committee’s recommendation on Monday that criminal charges be brought against him over his attempt to subvert the 2020 election results and the deadly storming of the Capitol was unprecedented – the first time that Congress has referred a former president to the Department of Justice. Though largely symbolic, it has set down a marker. And it is the latest in a string of recent setbacks.
His candidates triumphed in Republican primaries, but then tanked in the midterms. His announcement on his 2024 bid was lacklustre and bathetic. A New York jury found his business guilty of tax fraud. On Tuesday, a House committee was set to vote on whether to release six years of his tax returns to the public. And, of course, the list of civil actions and criminal investigations targeting him is growing.
The congressional committee’s referral does not change the legal position, though some of the evidence it turned over to the justice department theoretically could. In its impact on public opinion, however, it may have an indirect effect on whether charges are brought. The evidence the committee amassed and its presentation of the facts are compelling. In televised hearings and presentations, in the executive summary published on Monday, and presumably in the full report to follow this week, it has shone an unflinching light on the brutality of that day and Mr Trump’s culpability.
His own aides have testified that he was repeatedly told he had lost, and that they urged him to tell the crowd to be peaceful. Instead, he pressed Republican officials to overturn the results, then his vice-president to block Congress from approving Joe Biden’s victory. When those attempts failed, he summoned a crowd to Washington, urged it to the Capitol and for hours failed to call off supporters as they rampaged and hunted down elected politicians. Unlike Mr Trump himself, at least some participants have since admitted their responsibility. One described his involvement as “part of an attack on the rule of law”; another conceded that “I guess I was [acting] like a traitor”. ..............(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/20/the-guardian-view-on-the-january-6-committee-trumps-terrible-no-good-year
Guardian UK: Trump's terrible, no-good year
In its closing months, 2022 is looking like an annus horribilis for Donald Trump – or to put it in the former president’s terms, a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad year. The January 6 committee’s recommendation on Monday that criminal charges be brought against him over his attempt to subvert the 2020 election results and the deadly storming of the Capitol was unprecedented – the first time that Congress has referred a former president to the Department of Justice. Though largely symbolic, it has set down a marker. And it is the latest in a string of recent setbacks.
His candidates triumphed in Republican primaries, but then tanked in the midterms. His announcement on his 2024 bid was lacklustre and bathetic. A New York jury found his business guilty of tax fraud. On Tuesday, a House committee was set to vote on whether to release six years of his tax returns to the public. And, of course, the list of civil actions and criminal investigations targeting him is growing.
The congressional committee’s referral does not change the legal position, though some of the evidence it turned over to the justice department theoretically could. In its impact on public opinion, however, it may have an indirect effect on whether charges are brought. The evidence the committee amassed and its presentation of the facts are compelling. In televised hearings and presentations, in the executive summary published on Monday, and presumably in the full report to follow this week, it has shone an unflinching light on the brutality of that day and Mr Trump’s culpability.
His own aides have testified that he was repeatedly told he had lost, and that they urged him to tell the crowd to be peaceful. Instead, he pressed Republican officials to overturn the results, then his vice-president to block Congress from approving Joe Biden’s victory. When those attempts failed, he summoned a crowd to Washington, urged it to the Capitol and for hours failed to call off supporters as they rampaged and hunted down elected politicians. Unlike Mr Trump himself, at least some participants have since admitted their responsibility. One described his involvement as “part of an attack on the rule of law”; another conceded that “I guess I was [acting] like a traitor”. ..............(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/20/the-guardian-view-on-the-january-6-committee-trumps-terrible-no-good-year
December 21, 2022
A Gigantic Aquarium Exploded in Berlin. Some Germans Are Worried It’s a Metaphor.
When is a crack in the glass not just a crack in the glass?
BY BRYN STOLE
DEC 19, 20225:40 PM
(Slate) Firefighters had already cleared the dead fish from the frigid street by the time I showed up, on Friday morning, outside the smashed front doors of Berlin’s five-star Radisson hotel.
Just hours before, the hotel’s massive AquaDom—billed as the largest freestanding cylindrical aquarium tank in the world—had exploded suddenly, causing a surge of more than a quarter-million gallons of saltwater, along with roughly 1,500 fish, to course through the hotel’s lobby and onto street.
Much of the immediate area—a bustling, tourist-packed hub of broad Communist-era boulevards, shadowed by the red-brick spire of Berlin City Hall—was temporarily closed off. Bemused tourists and locals gawked from the sidewalk.
....(snip)....
That the explosion happened in Berlin, often cast as the dysfunctional and mismanaged stepchild to a nation otherwise known for quality engineering, struck many as fitting. Several online pundits were quick to draw parallels between the spectacular aquarium failure and the city’s sparkling embarrassment of a new international airport, which ran billions of dollars over budget, opened a decade late, and remains largely a nightmare for travelers.
Der Spiegel ran a column describing the explosion of the aquarium as “the perfect symbol for 2022” and a potent metaphor for the last year in German public life. Germany had, in recent years, appeared to be a marvel of stability, until a crack appeared—created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—and, all at once, everything gave way.
....(snip)....
It has been an unsettling year. The country that seemed to coast through crisis after crisis apparently unscathed during the Merkel years has finally faced some major reckonings: a winter without cheap Russian gas, an economy sputtering amid inflation, a major war on the EU’s border. ..............(more)
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/12/berlin-aquarium-explosion-germany.html
A Gigantic Aquarium Exploded in Berlin. Some Germans Are Worried It's a Metaphor.
A Gigantic Aquarium Exploded in Berlin. Some Germans Are Worried It’s a Metaphor.
When is a crack in the glass not just a crack in the glass?
BY BRYN STOLE
DEC 19, 20225:40 PM
(Slate) Firefighters had already cleared the dead fish from the frigid street by the time I showed up, on Friday morning, outside the smashed front doors of Berlin’s five-star Radisson hotel.
Just hours before, the hotel’s massive AquaDom—billed as the largest freestanding cylindrical aquarium tank in the world—had exploded suddenly, causing a surge of more than a quarter-million gallons of saltwater, along with roughly 1,500 fish, to course through the hotel’s lobby and onto street.
Much of the immediate area—a bustling, tourist-packed hub of broad Communist-era boulevards, shadowed by the red-brick spire of Berlin City Hall—was temporarily closed off. Bemused tourists and locals gawked from the sidewalk.
....(snip)....
That the explosion happened in Berlin, often cast as the dysfunctional and mismanaged stepchild to a nation otherwise known for quality engineering, struck many as fitting. Several online pundits were quick to draw parallels between the spectacular aquarium failure and the city’s sparkling embarrassment of a new international airport, which ran billions of dollars over budget, opened a decade late, and remains largely a nightmare for travelers.
Der Spiegel ran a column describing the explosion of the aquarium as “the perfect symbol for 2022” and a potent metaphor for the last year in German public life. Germany had, in recent years, appeared to be a marvel of stability, until a crack appeared—created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—and, all at once, everything gave way.
....(snip)....
It has been an unsettling year. The country that seemed to coast through crisis after crisis apparently unscathed during the Merkel years has finally faced some major reckonings: a winter without cheap Russian gas, an economy sputtering amid inflation, a major war on the EU’s border. ..............(more)
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/12/berlin-aquarium-explosion-germany.html
December 20, 2022
The Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) planned expansion of the Red Line to the far south side of the city received a funding boost from the Chicago City Council with the approved establishment of a Transit Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district.
The Transit TIF will fund a portion of the CTA Red Line Extension (RLE), the $3.6 billion extension from the Red Line’s current terminus at 95th Street to 130th Street. The 5.6-mile project is described as a critical and transformative investment in the far south side of Chicago, an area that is underserved by transit. The project will open far south communities to more job and economic development opportunities and save up to 30 minutes of travel time between those communities and downtown Chicago.
....(snip)....
"The Red Line Extension project represents one of the most critical investments in CTA's history and will undoubtedly be a transformative development for our far south side community," said Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot.
An extension to 130th Street has been under consideration since 1958 and the far south side, which consists of predominately Black and Brown neighborhoods, is the only major portion of the city lacking a CTA rail line. .............(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/infrastructure/article/21290129/chicago-city-council-approves-transit-tif-district-to-fund-cta-red-line-extension
Chicago City Council approves Transit TIF district to fund CTA Red Line extension
The Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) planned expansion of the Red Line to the far south side of the city received a funding boost from the Chicago City Council with the approved establishment of a Transit Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district.
The Transit TIF will fund a portion of the CTA Red Line Extension (RLE), the $3.6 billion extension from the Red Line’s current terminus at 95th Street to 130th Street. The 5.6-mile project is described as a critical and transformative investment in the far south side of Chicago, an area that is underserved by transit. The project will open far south communities to more job and economic development opportunities and save up to 30 minutes of travel time between those communities and downtown Chicago.
....(snip)....
"The Red Line Extension project represents one of the most critical investments in CTA's history and will undoubtedly be a transformative development for our far south side community," said Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot.
An extension to 130th Street has been under consideration since 1958 and the far south side, which consists of predominately Black and Brown neighborhoods, is the only major portion of the city lacking a CTA rail line. .............(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/infrastructure/article/21290129/chicago-city-council-approves-transit-tif-district-to-fund-cta-red-line-extension
December 20, 2022
Jan. 6 assault reflected a deep American division: Whose democracy is it?
Trump's rioters represented a deep, dark current in American history: Restricting democracy to a chosen few
By GREGG BARAK
Contributing Writer
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 20, 2022 6:00AM (EST)
(Salon) The enemies of democracy who stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, aiming to overturn a presidential election were in effect privileging their votes over those of the majority of voters. After their side had lost the election, as well as the various recounts and court challenges, these rioters followed the lead of the losing incumbent president in his attempt to overturn the election results by force and violence. That president has now been referred to the Justice Department for possible prosecution on a number of criminal charges, an unprecedented step taken by the House select committee investigating the insurrection, which is sure to be dissolved with the new Congress next month.
The actions of the lame-duck president's supporters and those members of Congress who voted later that night not to certify the election of Joe Biden shared an evident belief that all people are not in fact equal, and that some are more deserving of rights than others. In defiance of the law and the Constitution, these Trumpist loyalists were in effect weaponizing citizenship, in the phrase of Michael Belleisles, by "claiming a determinative right as 'real Americans,' the embodiment of the 'true America,' to place themselves in a category of citizenship enjoying certain" inalienable rights that are denied to others.
Democracy, from its Greek roots kratia, means to rule by demos or the people. More precisely, democracy refers to a polity ruled by free, as contrasted with unfree (or enslaved), people. This concept of democracy, which always embodies concepts of privilege and inequality, has its roots in the historical distinction between citizens with the franchise to vote and subjects without it. From its inception, our nation has always been something other than a democracy, as initially most members of American society were subjects of the law, not citizens or rulers of the law.
....(snip)....
As presidential historian Michael Bellesiles, also quoted above, has written:
Ideally, a democracy should be one person, one vote, at least on those things that impact the commonwealth and affect all of us. To this very day, the ongoing struggle to fulfill the ideals, if not truths, held by the authors of the Declaration of Independence that all people are equal and entitled to the same unalienable rights, is still a work in progress. Likewise, the ongoing struggles to establish local, state and national governments whose democratic powers are derived from the consent of all the governed is also a work in progress. The United States will remain an imperfect union until such time as all these political struggles are realized in full measure. ..............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/12/20/jan-6-reflected-a-deep-american-division-whose-democracy-is-it/
Jan. 6 assault reflected a deep American division: Whose democracy is it?
Jan. 6 assault reflected a deep American division: Whose democracy is it?
Trump's rioters represented a deep, dark current in American history: Restricting democracy to a chosen few
By GREGG BARAK
Contributing Writer
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 20, 2022 6:00AM (EST)
(Salon) The enemies of democracy who stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, aiming to overturn a presidential election were in effect privileging their votes over those of the majority of voters. After their side had lost the election, as well as the various recounts and court challenges, these rioters followed the lead of the losing incumbent president in his attempt to overturn the election results by force and violence. That president has now been referred to the Justice Department for possible prosecution on a number of criminal charges, an unprecedented step taken by the House select committee investigating the insurrection, which is sure to be dissolved with the new Congress next month.
The actions of the lame-duck president's supporters and those members of Congress who voted later that night not to certify the election of Joe Biden shared an evident belief that all people are not in fact equal, and that some are more deserving of rights than others. In defiance of the law and the Constitution, these Trumpist loyalists were in effect weaponizing citizenship, in the phrase of Michael Belleisles, by "claiming a determinative right as 'real Americans,' the embodiment of the 'true America,' to place themselves in a category of citizenship enjoying certain" inalienable rights that are denied to others.
Democracy, from its Greek roots kratia, means to rule by demos or the people. More precisely, democracy refers to a polity ruled by free, as contrasted with unfree (or enslaved), people. This concept of democracy, which always embodies concepts of privilege and inequality, has its roots in the historical distinction between citizens with the franchise to vote and subjects without it. From its inception, our nation has always been something other than a democracy, as initially most members of American society were subjects of the law, not citizens or rulers of the law.
....(snip)....
As presidential historian Michael Bellesiles, also quoted above, has written:
The concept of equality shapes definitions of citizenship. If we think that some people deserve more rights than others, then citizenship takes different forms for different groups. The January 6 insurrectionists expressed a certainty that their opinions mattered more, reflecting a heritage that has denied the full citizenship of non-whites. In some ways, their perspective is accurate, since the inequality of citizenship rights is built into our political system. The Senate and Electoral College ensure that some people always matter more than others. For instance, Wyoming's 575,000 people have the same representation in the Senate as California's 40 million … while the 700,000 residents of Washington, D.C., have no political citizenship in the Senate.
Ideally, a democracy should be one person, one vote, at least on those things that impact the commonwealth and affect all of us. To this very day, the ongoing struggle to fulfill the ideals, if not truths, held by the authors of the Declaration of Independence that all people are equal and entitled to the same unalienable rights, is still a work in progress. Likewise, the ongoing struggles to establish local, state and national governments whose democratic powers are derived from the consent of all the governed is also a work in progress. The United States will remain an imperfect union until such time as all these political struggles are realized in full measure. ..............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/12/20/jan-6-reflected-a-deep-american-division-whose-democracy-is-it/
December 20, 2022
Far-right Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., exchanged barbs this week over their differences on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's, R-Calif., speaker bid.
After extracting various concessions, Greene has been one of McCarthy's biggest defenders against a push from other far-right lawmakers to torpedo his speaker bid or extract even more concessions. Unlike Greene, Boebert has been noncommittal on McCarthy's ascension unless there is an "accountability mechanism" to easily remove him from the job.
Boebert took a shot at Greene at the Turning Point USA conference in Phoenix on Monday while discussing her differences with the Georgia Republican.
"I've been aligned with Marjorie and accused of believing a lot of the things that she believes in," Boebert said. "I don't believe in [McCarthy as speaker], just as I don't believe in Russian space lasers, Jewish space lasers and all of this," she added, referring to a conspiracy theory shared by Greene linking wildfires to a fictional space laser controlled by the Rothschilds, a wealthy Jewish family at the heart of many antisemitic conspiracy theories. .............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/12/20/she-gladly-takes-our--mtg-and-lauren-boebert-get-into-high-school-drama-over-kevin-mccarthy/
Low IQ right-wing dogfight
Far-right Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., exchanged barbs this week over their differences on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's, R-Calif., speaker bid.
After extracting various concessions, Greene has been one of McCarthy's biggest defenders against a push from other far-right lawmakers to torpedo his speaker bid or extract even more concessions. Unlike Greene, Boebert has been noncommittal on McCarthy's ascension unless there is an "accountability mechanism" to easily remove him from the job.
Boebert took a shot at Greene at the Turning Point USA conference in Phoenix on Monday while discussing her differences with the Georgia Republican.
"I've been aligned with Marjorie and accused of believing a lot of the things that she believes in," Boebert said. "I don't believe in [McCarthy as speaker], just as I don't believe in Russian space lasers, Jewish space lasers and all of this," she added, referring to a conspiracy theory shared by Greene linking wildfires to a fictional space laser controlled by the Rothschilds, a wealthy Jewish family at the heart of many antisemitic conspiracy theories. .............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2022/12/20/she-gladly-takes-our--mtg-and-lauren-boebert-get-into-high-school-drama-over-kevin-mccarthy/
December 19, 2022
(Detroit Free Press) The more the Detroit Lions win, the more they become one of the top few storylines in the NFL.
That was the case Monday morning after their thrilling 20-17 win Sunday over the New York Jets in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The Lions (7-7) have roared back with three straight wins and have won six of seven to climb firmly into the NFC playoff race. They have a 41% chance to make the postseason, according to fivethirtyeight.com, and are favored over Washington (35%) and Seattle (30%) to grab one of the final two spots. The New York Giants (8-5-1) have an 87% chance after their 20-12 road win over Washington on Sunday night.
ESPN's "Get Up" show spent a segment on the Lions' turnaround and provided their analysis on how this has happened, who gets the credit and why they're a dangerous team moving forward. ................(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2022/12/19/detroit-lions-nfl-playoffs/69740016007/
Surging Detroit Lions are the talk of the NFL: 'Nobody wants to play 'em'
(Detroit Free Press) The more the Detroit Lions win, the more they become one of the top few storylines in the NFL.
That was the case Monday morning after their thrilling 20-17 win Sunday over the New York Jets in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The Lions (7-7) have roared back with three straight wins and have won six of seven to climb firmly into the NFC playoff race. They have a 41% chance to make the postseason, according to fivethirtyeight.com, and are favored over Washington (35%) and Seattle (30%) to grab one of the final two spots. The New York Giants (8-5-1) have an 87% chance after their 20-12 road win over Washington on Sunday night.
ESPN's "Get Up" show spent a segment on the Lions' turnaround and provided their analysis on how this has happened, who gets the credit and why they're a dangerous team moving forward. ................(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2022/12/19/detroit-lions-nfl-playoffs/69740016007/
December 19, 2022
Do sex toys belong in ‘comprehensive sex education’ for high school students?
The administration at Chicago’s Francis Parker School and many parents are strongly defending the school’s comprehensive sex ed curriculum, including presenting sex toys to a small group of high schoolers. But other parents say it’s inappropriate.
By Char Daston | WBEZ Dec 19, 2022, 7:00am EST
After a secretly recorded video discussing a queer sex ed lesson at Chicago’s Francis Parker School was widely circulated recently, subjecting the school to a torrent of online harassment, school leaders strongly defended its “LGBTQ+ affirming and comprehensive approach” to sexual education.
But the one-time session, which included showing high school students dildos and butt plugs, is raising questions both inside and outside of Parker about the school’s approach to sexual education.
The video was covertly recorded by an operative of the far-right group Project Veritas who Parker said presented himself as an attendee at an education conference. It shows the Parker dean of student life discussing the sex toy portion of the optional lesson for high schoolers and his strong support for it. New York-based Project Veritas is known for edited undercover videos intended to discredit progressive groups and media outlets.
In an email to the school community last week, Parker’s principal said just six students, mostly seniors, attended the 30 minute one-time session presented by an outside LGBTQ+ health group, and that school adults were present. ............(more)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2022/12/19/23512045/do-sex-toys-belong-in-comprehensive-sex-education-for-high-school-students
Do sex toys belong in 'comprehensive sex education' for high school students?
Do sex toys belong in ‘comprehensive sex education’ for high school students?
The administration at Chicago’s Francis Parker School and many parents are strongly defending the school’s comprehensive sex ed curriculum, including presenting sex toys to a small group of high schoolers. But other parents say it’s inappropriate.
By Char Daston | WBEZ Dec 19, 2022, 7:00am EST
After a secretly recorded video discussing a queer sex ed lesson at Chicago’s Francis Parker School was widely circulated recently, subjecting the school to a torrent of online harassment, school leaders strongly defended its “LGBTQ+ affirming and comprehensive approach” to sexual education.
But the one-time session, which included showing high school students dildos and butt plugs, is raising questions both inside and outside of Parker about the school’s approach to sexual education.
The video was covertly recorded by an operative of the far-right group Project Veritas who Parker said presented himself as an attendee at an education conference. It shows the Parker dean of student life discussing the sex toy portion of the optional lesson for high schoolers and his strong support for it. New York-based Project Veritas is known for edited undercover videos intended to discredit progressive groups and media outlets.
In an email to the school community last week, Parker’s principal said just six students, mostly seniors, attended the 30 minute one-time session presented by an outside LGBTQ+ health group, and that school adults were present. ............(more)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2022/12/19/23512045/do-sex-toys-belong-in-comprehensive-sex-education-for-high-school-students
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