NATIONAL MOSCOW MULE DAY UPDATES
Bottoms Up!
-Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee's "Special Commission on the Weaponization of the Federal Government" released a report (first reported by Rolling Stone) exposing multiple issues with the first three witnesses called by Subcommittee Chair Jim "Gym" Jordan (OtheR Way, OH) to testify about supposed anti-right-wing currents in the Federal government. What were billed as the first of allegedly dozens of "FBI whistleblowers" were, in the report, instead revealed to be nothing more than employees released for cause that testified to right-wing conspiracy theories about everything from the January 6 insurrection to COVID and the 2020 election, but "did not present actual evidence of wrongdoing" in their closed-door hearings.
-As if that weren't bad enough, it was also revealed that the three witnesses have connections to Kash Patel, an ally of Ex-President Trump who are suspected to have been paid by Patel as part of their preparation for their testimony. And to put a cherry on the pile, at least one of the witnesses, Stephen Friend, also has ties to known Russian propogandists. These, let us be reminded, were the LEAD witnesses scheduled for Jordan and the UltraMAGAts in their thrust to demonize the FBI, and it continues the negative momentum the McCarthy/Greene GOP House seems to be building since the 15 attempts to get the gavel to McCarthy earlier in the year.
-And it's not as if there isn't something to be investigated about the FBI. The Washington Post reported earlier this week that FBI agents fought with the Department of Justice when DoJ decided to move against Trump to seize highly-classified documents that Trump took from the White House when he left after losing the 2020 election - with said FBI agents fighting to stop the DoJ from trying to reobtain those documents. WaPo reports the fight, which lasted "months," included at least one effort by the FBI to stop the investigation altogether and several confrontations to try to at least give Trump a heads-up on the warrant and subsequent search. DoJ wound up winning the fight, but it appears there are still elements of the FBI that are, in fact, sympathetic to the former President if anyone has a committee that wants to poke around about it ...
-Speaking of the DoJ, yesterday in a filing in Federal court, Special January 6 prosecutor Jack Smith laid an aggressive marker down when they declared that DoJ believes that Ex-President Trump can be taken to civil court and sued for damages by individuals injured or harmed as part of the January 6 insurrection. Trump has argued that, like literally everything he did while in the White House, that he has "absolute immunity" that gives him God-like powers to act under no laws or rules. (I might be paraphrasing.) Smith clearly disagrees, which is certainly one reason Trump continues to rail against Smith and (as is his habit) Smith's wife on social media as being biased and prejudiced and a thug and a bully and a monster and "Mad Dog Psycho Jack Smith!" And that last nickname, if we're going to be honest, really does make Smith sound like a total badass. So, THANKS, TRUMP! (And people think I don't say anything nice about Trump ...)
-Speaking of House investigations, by the way, the House Ethics Committee has convened and is now investigating the multitude of issues that flow in and around and are the entire apparent reason for being for one "Rep." "George Santos" ("R," "NY"). Spokespeople in "Santos'" "office" say "he" will "fully cooperate" with the investigation. M'kay ...
-And speaking of criticism, as someone who teaches rhetoric, every once in a long while someone writes a review of a movie or show or album that is so surgical yet so devastating there is unabashed entertainment throughout the carnage of whoever dared produce something so hideous. Just such a review has been issued by Pitchfork writer Jeremy D. Larson, tasked with reviewing RUSH!, a rock album recorded by an Italian band with the allegedly provocative name of "Maneskin" (with missing various accents and umlauts).
-The band, who has apparently generated 6.5 billion listening streams (so they're popular to some folks), won a Eurovision Song Contest and does feature an appearance by guitar god Tom Morello, recorded an album Larson describes as "absolutely terrible at every conceivable level," then goes on to describe them as "three men and a woman who play traditional rock music and - if you can believe it - all wear eyeliner" in order to project "a retro, lascivious attitude that feels neither cool nor popular, and therefore stands in opposition to what is cool or popular." Larson believes Maneskin asks the question "don't you wish rock music was horny again?" and answers with the lyrical come-on "kiss my butt" while wishing the band asked different questions, like "Don't you wish cologne commercials were longer?" and "Don't you wish Guitar Center could win a Grammy?" before concluding they are "a band to build your identity around and say, 'I'm not with the cool kids - I'm with Maneskin!'"
-On this date in 1845, Congress overrode a Presidential veto (by John Tyler) for the first time (the bill involved preventing Tyler from appropriating funds for building "revenue-cutter ships" whatever those were). On this date in 1887, Anne Sullivan began her work as a teacher and "miracle worker" for Helen Keller. On this date in 1931, "The Star-Spangled Banner" became the National Anthem. On this date in 1991, five white Los Angeles Police officers severely beat a robbery parolee named Rodney King after a car chase. And on this date in 2005, the first solo flight around the world in a plane that did not need to refuel successfully landed after a 67-hour flight (the plane was essentially a tank that glided and had a very small motor to stay aloft and steer).
-Happy Birthday to George Pullman, Alexander Graham Bell, Wee Willie Keeler, Jean Harlow, Martin Ritt, James Doohan, Doc Watson, Tim Kazurinsky, Robyn Hitchcock, Herschel Walker, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Tone-Loc, Julie Bowen, Tyler Florence, Douglas Osmond, Jessica Biel, and Camila Cabello.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to James J. Jeffries, Lou Costello, William Frawley, Tintin creator Herge, Danny Kaye, Sandy Dennis, Dr. Albert Sabin, Margurite Duras, Fred Friendly, STAR WARS design artist Ralph McQuarrie, Ronnie Montrose, David Ogden Stiers, Roger Bannister, and Joe Altobelli.
-Feed the Worms: Fraud innovator Charles Ponzi entered Earth on this date.