NATIONAL FINANCIAL CRIMEFIGHTER DAY UPDATES
Holding Out for Heroes Anywhere We Can Find Them These Days ...
-A state wide manhunt is underway in Maine to find the 'person of interest' responsible for mass shootings that (as of this morning) killed 18 and injured 13 in a bowling alley and Wal-Mart distribution center. Sadly not surprisingly, the suspect is a 40-year-old white male with an apparent history of mental health issues (including reportedly telling people he was hearing voices) who is also a National Guardsman with training as a sniper. Thoughts and prayers are flowing in from the usual suspects who secretly celebrate another incident that will mean an increase in purchasing of firearms and demonization of the vast majorities of Americans who continue to demand an assault weapons ban.
-And one of those who is likely to do some of the biggest behind-closed-door celebrations is new GOP UltraMAGA House Speaker Mike Johnson - and hoo boy, this guy may actually be MORE UltraMAGA than even the excretable Jim "Gym" Jordan, to whom it has been said Johnson is the same except for the jacket (no view yet on whether Johnson is a sex offender cover-upper). And the thing about politics is, when you get someone who is unknown and thrust him/her into the spotlight, you often don't have the time to do one of the first things to do to be able to defend oneself to voters: do opposition research on yourself before your opponent does. Luckily for us, Republicans didn't - but Democrats and reporters ARE, so let's ask the question ... HOW ULTRA-MAGA IS MIKE JOHNSON?!?
-Glad you asked!
-Mike Johnson is SO ULTRA-MAGA, he is not only a full-throated 2020 election denier, not only a co-signer on a lawsuit aimed at trying to negate four states' worth of Electoral College Joe Biden delegates, NOT ONLY one of the central House figures in the events leading up to the events of January 6, and NOT ONLY one of the Republicans who still voted against certifying the election on January 7, 2021, but SO ULTRA-MAGA he openly pushed for the lunatic theory that voting machines were imported from Venezuela and deliberately flipping Trump votes to Biden votes (Politico, Fox).
-Mike Johnson is SO ULTRA-MAGA, he is not only in favor of a national ban on abortion, he is ALSO in favor of a national ban on ... BIRTH CONTROL (Axios, Huffington Post).
-Mike Johnson is SO ULTRA-MAGA he is not only anti-LGBTQI, but has discussed in interviews his religious-based belief that gay sex should be criminalized (ABC, CNN).
-Mike Johnson is SO ULTRA-MAGA that, as part of his first speech as Speaker, openly claimed his wife was "on her knees" praying for her husband to become Speaker (hey, that's what SHE said!) (RIMSHOT!) (Not apologizing!) and has also discussed his belief that the United States is actually Christian and not secular, which would make him a Christian nationalist (Newsweek, Christianity Today).
-And that's pretty brutal, but one other thing to keep in mind: Mike Johnson is also SO ULTRA-MAGA that he is bereft of any actual legislative experience, fund-raising expertise, independent thought to the UltraMAGAts, and is very much likely to continue the display of government dysfunction that likely places his time for having the gavel fairly short-term.
-ONE FINAL NOTE: many have noted Johnson's election denialism and the fear that a Johnson-led House would deny Biden a vote certification in 2025. That danger is real - but, if Democrats take control of the House in 2024, THEY would be the ones certifying the vote, as a new House is sworn in on January 3 and the 2024 election would be certified days later. (That said election denier is now second in line of succession, though, there folks have a point ...)
-We need some good news after all that - and there was good news, particularly with Ex-President Trump XCI and is court trials. CNN reported yesterday that at least six more defendants in GA are discussing plea deals with Fani Willis that undoubtedly spell even more trouble for the higher-ups who have yet to make deals, chief among them Trump. The reports of former Trump COS Mark Meadows flipping against Trump were bolstered when Trump attacked Meadows on a social media post (following a denial by Meadows' attorneys). Special Prosecutor Jack Smith asked for a renewal of the full gag order on Trump in the wake of his breaking of the gag order in NY.
-And in the NY civil trial determining punishment for The Trump Organization, observers got to see what was described as a live-action meme when, after testimony by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen prompted an arm-throwing fit by Trump and attorney Alina Habba and a demand to end the trial immediately which was forcefully denied by Judge Arthur Engoron, prompted manly and totally innocent Trump to shout "I'M LEAVING!" and stomped his littley toy feet and girdled and beDepended body (ALLEGEDLY) (eyeroll) out of the court room, with Secret Service agents scrambling to try to follow him.
-That scene, by the way, came AFTER Trump was forced to testify about what was ruled to be his second violation of a gag order, fine of $10,000, and warning of more and more stringent penalties if ... okay, WHEN ... Trump breaks the order again.
-Trump also used that branding magic of his by giving Speaker Johnson the nickname MAGA MIKE - a nickname the Biden Campaign also immediately and enthusiastically embraced to introduce the new Speaker to the world.
-THANKS, TRUMP!
-On this date in 1925, the Erie Canal opened. On this date in 1881, the Earp Brothers won what was arguably the most famous gunfight in the American West at the OK Corral in Tombstone, AZ. On this date in 1958, the first commercial jet airliner (the Boeing 707) went into service. On this date in 1984, THE TERMINATOR premiered. On this date in 1986, Bill Buckner let a ground ball roll between his legs, opening the door for the New York Mets to defeat the Boston Red Sox in that year's World Series. And on this date in 2001, the Patriot Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush.
-Happy Birthday to Georges Danton, C.W. Post, Mahalia Jackson, Sid Gilman, Don Siegel, Jackie Coogan, Francois Mitterand, Dave Gavitt, Bob Hoskins, Jaclyn Smith, Pat Conroy, Pat Sajak, Hillary Rodham Clinton (Goddamn RIGHT she gets a Happy Birthday!), Chuck Foreman, Julian Schnabel, Maggie Roche, Bootsy Collins, David Was, Lauren Tewes, D. W. Moffett, Rita Wilson, Bob Golic, Dylan McDermott, Cary Elwes, Natalie Merchant, Ted Demme, Keith Urban, Anthony Rapp, Seth MacFarlane, Jon Heder, CM Punk, and Francisco Liriano.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Charles Comiskey, Hattie McDaniel, Hoyt Axton, Bobby Avila, Robert Evans, and Mort Sahl.
-Feed the Worms: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, entered Earth on this date.