INTERNATIONAL BE KIND TO LAWYERS DAY UPDATES

Or Else You Will Be TORTED! (I'll See Myself Out ...)

-The TN Republican Party has backed off on its threat to defund the city of Nashville after the Nashville City Council voted 36-0 to reinstate Rep. Justin Jones (D), who was expelled along with fellow Rep. Justin Pearson (D) on Friday for "breaking rules of decorum." In a previous meeting, the two Representatives broke up a legislative meeting by speaking with a bullhorn (along with Rep. Gloria Johnson, who was not expelled because of what appeared to be her race vs. the race of the two Justins) after the mass murder of six people, including three children, at a Christian school in TN. It is widely expected Pearson will also be reinstated this week.

-Besides the firestorm of condemnation that rained down on the TN GOP after their votes, another factor in the party declining (at least for now) to escalate their actions against the Tennessee Three was the revelation that TN House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) was not a resident of the county he represented - his permanent home is 300 miles away from his stated home where his family lives. In addition, the same reports revealed Sexton is in arrears on payment of his property taxes on his two-bedroom condominium for two years. It is not believed Sexton will be expelled or perhaps even mildly rebuked for his actions.

-Reports continue to pour in about Harlan Crow, the mega-billionaire donor who, it was revealed late last week, has paid for over 30 years of luxury vacations of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginni (despite Thomas' claims that he only takes vacations in his RV parking in Walmarts while doing so) (and despite the cost of a typical RV - look it up!). Turns out Crow is also generous to Ginni, apparently giving her a large sum of cash to create a "dark money" political organization one year before such organizations could operate without any reporting thanks to the Citizens United SCOTUS decision (which Thomas supported).

-Crow is also a large donor to Leonard Leo, an ultra-conservative Catholic considered the architect of the Federalist Society and its push to turn the courts into a radical right-wing machine currently attacking all abortion rights in this country (and reportedly also aiming at controlling or ending the use of birth control as well) who, according to The Guardian, controls $1.6 billion in dark money to be used for similar court cases and political leaders.

-And all of THAT doesn't even touch on one of the darker and weirder aspects of Crow's life: his museum-sized collection of Nazi memorabilia, including a signed copy of MEIN KAMPF, which Crow openly displays on his grounds that Thomas and others have visited. It is that part of Crow's life that right-wing media have been defending in the last few hours, insisting that just because there cannot POSSIBLY be ANY connection between collecting Nazi stuff and believing in Nazi ideology?! HOW DARE YOU say that - over there - HUNTERBIDEN!!!

-Also over a very busy holiday weekend, a series of leaks that allegedly reveal problems with support for Ukraine and its potential offensive into Crimea are currently under investigation. While some reporters are taking the information at face value and are now worried about Ukrainian military capabilities, other analysts question whether the "leaks" might in fact be some kind of disinformation campaign by either Russia or even the U.S. This as analysis of Russia's attempts to mount an offensive in the east have concluded that effort has failed, and other reports that note that Russia's attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure to deprive the country of electricity and heat have also proven to be fruitless as winter ends and the long-anticipated counteroffensive may soon begin.

-SLAVA UKRAINI!

-In self-immolating rich guy news, it's been another bad week for Twitter CEO and billionaire weirdo Elon Musk. After being roundly criticized for labelling National Public Radio a governmental broadcast outlet (NPR only gets Federal grants like many nonprofits), Musk continues to allow QAnon and other radical right and anti-Semitic accounts to operate freely on the once-vital social media network. Musk also published private messages between him and once-respected reporter Matt Taibbi that belied Taibbi's claims that Twitter was tilting its algorithms to suppress right-wing media feeds - that after Taibbi first tried to claim there were "Twitter files" that said such bias was rampant, insisting that his investigation was not influenced by Musk, being exposed for having numerous flagrant inaccuracies in his reporing by MSNBC reporter Mehdi Hasan, and finally being so left out to dry by Musk that Taibbi left Twitter in a snit after his round humiliation.

-Poor Matt. You sleep with goofball oligarchs you get what you deserve ...

-ONWARD!

-On this date in 1814, Napoleon abdicated his role as leader of France. On this date in 1921, Pittsburgh's KDKA broadcast the first live sporting event on radio - a boxing match between Johnny Ray and Johnny Dundee (won by Ray). On this date in 1951, Harry Truman relieved Douglas MacArthur of his military duties after MacArthur demanded the U.S. expand its role in Korea to attack China.  And on this date in 1979, one of the most flamboyant dictators in African History, Uganda's Idi Amin Dada, was overthrown himself.

-Happy Birthday to Dean Acheson, Percy Lavon Julian, Oleg Cassini, Ethel Kennedy, Joel Grey, Louise Lasser, John Milius, Meshach Taylor, Peter Riegert, Bill Irwin, Neville Staple, Stuart Adamson, Doug Hopkins, Bret Saberhagen, Lisa Stansfield, and Joss Stone.

-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Dolores Del Rio, Erskine Caldwell, Primo Levi, Kurt Vonnegut, Roscoe Lee Browne, Jonathan Winters, John Warren "J." Geils, and Mitzi Shore.

-The #1 Album in America ... in 2023, ONE THING AT A TIME by Morgan Wallen ... in 2013, THE 20/20 EXPERIENCE by Justin Timberlake ... in 2003, METEORA by Linkin Park ... in 1993, SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION by Depeche Mode ... in 1983, THRILLER by Michael Jackson (get used to seeing that one in future updates like this) ... and in 1973, the soundtrack to LADY SINGS THE BLUES by Diana Ross.