A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.
As he was signing off on awarding Congressional Gold Medals to the police officers who were at the Jan. 6 insurrection, Biden tore into Trumpworld’s crusade to recast and whitewash the events of that day.
- “My fellow Americans, the tragedy of that day deserves the truth above all else,” the President said Thursday afternoon. “We cannot allow history to be rewritten. We cannot allow the heroism of these officers to be forgotten.”
- No sweeping it under the rug; “We have to understand what happened-the honest and unvarnished truth. We have to face it,” Biden declared.
Biden on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack:
“We cannot allow history to be rewritten. … We have to face it. That’s what great nations do. And we are a great nation. … Let’s remember what this was all about: It was a violent attempt to overturn the will of the American people" pic.twitter.com/1jW4oBQRMd
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) August 5, 2021
- But of course the ex-president’s lackeys are going to keep trying to gaslight the country: Ex-Trump campaign stooge Matt Braynard is organizing a “huge” rally at the Capitol next month where “we’re going to push back on the phony narrative that there was an insurrection” (there was).
A GOP Senator Throws A Banana Peel In The Senate’s Path
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was ready to wrap up the process of passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill last night — and then Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) objected, citing the Congressional Budget Office score on the legislation that came out yesterday afternoon and showed the package adding to the debt.
- Haggerty “cannot in good conscience agree to expedite a process immediately after the CBO confirmed that the bill would add over a quarter of a trillion dollars to the deficit,” his spokesperson said.
- Many senators are attending late Sen. Mike Enzi’s (R-WY) funeral today, so Schumer was forced to schedule a session for Saturday for a cloture vote.
- Haggerty wasn’t going to vote for the bill anyway, Punchbowl notes. He’s just slowing things down because he can.
The Other Shoe Prepares To Drop
The New York state Assembly says it’s almost done with the impeachment investigation of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who has until August 13 to give evidence in his defense.
- Cuomo’s also been booted off the Democrats’ top campaign platform, ActBlue.
Time To Play Hardball?
Biden’s weighing whether to cut federal funding from institutions that don’t require employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Washington Post.
- Nothing’s been decided yet, though, and that tactic obviously isn’t going to go over well with the already vaccine-resistant conservative areas of the country.
The Ultimate ‘How It Started, How It’s Going’
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), one of the House Republicans who’s suing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) over her mask mandate, got infected with COVID-19.
— Rep. Ralph Norman (@RepRalphNorman) August 5, 2021
Government-imposed mask mandates represent a harmful combination of virtue signaling and unjustified fear.
— Rep. Ralph Norman (@RepRalphNorman) July 28, 2021
The Economy (Is Maybe?) Healing From COVID-19
943,000 jobs were added in July, the Labor Department reported today, shrinking the unemployment rate to 5.4%.
Did The Pandemic Write This?
On Thursday, the Texas Education Agency released new guidance for schools on how to handle positive COVID-19 cases.
More: https://t.co/SJose7KGHL pic.twitter.com/yo49G9VRHA
— WFAA (@wfaa) August 5, 2021
A Zombie Investigation Into The 2016 Election Finally Ends
Rudy Giuliani seems to have just been saying things when he hinted at having inside info on then-FBI Director James Comey’s Clinton email probe in 2016, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz reports in his investigation.
- Key analysis: “Another not-proud moment for Rudy Giuliani” – The Washington Post
Cleaning Up The Courts
Biden’s latest round of judicial picks includes Vermont Supreme Court justice Beth Robinson, who would be the first openly LGBTQ+ woman to serve on a federal circuit court.
- Speaking of judicial appointments, if the fact that Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer still hasn’t retired is giving you heartburn, it might make you feel a tiny bit better to know that Biden has been cranking out court confirmations way more quickly than his predecessors, Trump included.
We Will Stop People From Voting If It Kills Us
Texas Republicans are holding yet another special legislative session this Saturday to try to get their anti-voting measures enshrined into law amid their standoff with the Democrats who fled the state.
I Saw These Horrendous Tweets So You Will Too
repeatedly screaming "um, checkmate libs??" as my children defecate directly into their masks pic.twitter.com/aPzdLUMkG9
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) August 5, 2021
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This one showed up this morning on my news feed:
9/11 families to President Biden: Don’t come to our memorial events (msn.com)
Not sure what to think entirely, but the families may have a point. Why not open these documents up?
Reporter Removed From Kevin McCarthy Press Conference After 1/6 Commission Question: Video (newsweek.com)
Areporter was allegedly “dragged” by four police officers from a press conference on Thursday after asking Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy why he opposed a January 6th commission.
‘We’re Going Back To The Capitol’: Ex Trump Campaign Official Announces ‘Huge’ Protest | HuffPost
Prediction: fizzle.
Could be, but after the last one that was going to be ‘wild’, I believe precautionary moves should take place. Maybe not all the fencing around the Capitol, but certainly the LEO’s and NG on alert. The second one needs to be quashed before it takes root.