-WHAAR MARRICK GAARLANND?? Issuing troves of subpoenas, that’s where – or at least that’s where January 6 Special Prosecutor Jack Smith is. The Washington Post revealed dozens of subpoenas issued in December on a few individuals exploring several questions surrounding the events of that day. Of note are subpoenas that center around Ex-President Trump’s Save America PAC and the fundraising that took place in the weeks between Election Day and the insurrection (if not beyond) – an issue that was not touched on in public by the January 6 Commission, whose investigation ended and whose work ended last week after Republicans finally took control of the House.
-Speaking of the new House and investigations, new chairs have been seated by Kevin McCarthy (SINO-R, CA) and the UltraMAGA caucus that controls the true agenda of the House. Of note is the “Special Committee” promised by GOP leaders Marjorie Taylor Greene (Z-Q-R, GA) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL, man) that purports to investigate what it calls the “weaponization of the federal government,” but which Democrats are calling everything from the “investigate the investigators committee” to the “MAGA Grievance Committee.”
-The committee will be chaired by Rep. Jim “Gym” Jordan (OtheR Way, OH), and he and his chief sidekick, Rep. James Comer (HunteR!, KY), have announced their first hearing in February will focus on allegations (from right-wing media, one-time credible reporter Matt Taibbi, and billionaire weirdo Elon Musk) that Twitter suppressed “photographic evidence” of the corruption of Hunter Biden from Biden’s “laptop” (show me the physical laptop and I’ll begin to consider whether it exists) – a charge connected with Twitter apparently deciding not to published alleged photos of Hunter Biden’s penis.
-Meanwhile, as promised, McCarthy has also refused to seat three Democrats on committees they have been seated on for years, alleging Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA) had illicit relations with a Chinese woman who was revealed to be a spy (Swalwell admitted they had dated but broke off the relationship when told of her suspicious background – information corroborated by intelligence and news reports), that Adam Schiff (CA) “lied” about the first impeachment that Schiff led (Schiff did not lie – Trump did, indeed, accept help from Russian sources in the 2016 election and was not a “Rusher Rusher Rusher Hoax!”), and that Ilan Omer (MN) is … well … a female Muslim.
-Even McCarthy has admitted these are all retaliatory refusals after the previous Congress removed Greene from her committee positions after Greene violated a number of House rules ranging from openly bullying fellow House members to repeatedly refusing to be disarmed after the events of 1/6/21 (something she will not need to worry about in this Congress, as not only was the rule banning concealed weapons on the House floor killed, but the metal detectors installed after 1/6 were removed).
-Nonetheless, Democrats will still be seating members on all the new commissions, including Jordan’s “special” Commission, promising not to make the mistake McCarthy made with the January 6 Commission.
-On top of all this, right-wing media fury is being directed on revelations that President Biden had classified documents in offices he should not have had dating back to his time as Vice President (even though unlike Trump, Biden’s team notes the documents were not spread out without watchdogs, openly admits the error, turned over the documents immediately, and is fully cooperative with the National Archives) and gas stoves. Yes, a study that discusses how new medical studies show possible connections between respiratory illnesses in children and homes with gas burners has been transformed by Fox and GOP House members into “BIDEN WILL TAKE MY GAS STOVE OUT FROM UNDER MY COLD DEAD ASPHYXIATED HANDS!” (I may be paraphrasing.) The White House has not moved to end the use of gas ranges in America.
-What HAS the White House done? Presided over another drop in the inflation rate – now 6.5%, with gas prices leading the drop and reports that further drops are likely. No word yet on how the GOP will connect threats to American kitchens, the first Trump impeachment, ongoing investigations, or Hunter Biden private parts photos to a plot to make the economy appear to be doing better than it is. (All Hail Dark Brandon!)
-On this date in 1838, members of what we now call the Mormon Church left Ohio on their way to their permanent settlement in Utah. On this date in 1943, Soviet forces broke through Nazi military lines and began the end of the siege of Stalingrad. Two notable TV premieres occurred on this date: the Adam West BATMAN in 1966 and ALL IN THE FAMILY in 1971. And on this date in 2010, a 7.0 earthquake led to extensive casualties and damage in Haiti.
-Happy Birthday to Jack London, Tex Ritter, Luise Rainer, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Ruth Brown, Tim Horton, Kreskin, Long John Baldry, Joe Frazier, George Duke, Tom Dempsey, Haruki Murakami, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-CA), Bill Madlock, Kirstie Alley, Howard Stern, Dominique Wilkins, Oliver Platt, Rob Zombie, Zach De La Rocha, Mel C, Cade McNown, Dontrelle Willis, Issa Rae, and Zayn Malik.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Hiram Walker, Lorraine Hansberry, Agatha Christie, Bobby Phills, Affirmed, Bill Hewlett, Cyrus Vance, Maurice Gibb, Alice Coltrane, William Peter Blatty, Keith Jackson, Bob Kuechenberg, and Ronnie Spector.
-Feed the Worms: Hermann Goering, Apartheid Prime Minister P.W. Botha, and already-forgotten right-wing talk show host Rush Limbaugh entered Earth on this date.
-Weather Underground co-creator Bernardine Dohrn and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos were born on this date. You decide if they get Happy Birthdays or if they Feed the Worms.