Check Out This Hilariously Ugly Confederate Statue That Got Removed

A Bad Day For Racist Statues

A decidedly stupid-looking monument of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest on private property along I-65 in Nashville was taken down yesterday after the owner died.

• The deceased owner left the statue to the Battle of Nashville Trust, a Civil War site preservation group, which decided to get rid of the ugly monument specifically because “the statue is ugly” and “even Forrest would think it is ugly.”

Charlottesville, Too

On the same day as the Nashville statute’s demise, the Charlottesville City Council voted to allow the city’s infamous Robert E. Lee statue to be melted down by a Black history museum.

• So pour one out for Richard Spencer and the other faces of the 2017 “Unite the Right” white nationalist rally. Fresh off of being hit with more than $25 million in damages in a lawsuit over the rally, they’ll now see their beloved icon become a puddle.
• The recycled metal will be made into public art.

Bannon Trial Scheduled For July 

A judge has set ex-White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s criminal contempt trial for July 18 after prosecutors asked for April and Bannon’s team requested October.

Measures To Beef Up Capitol Security Languish

U.S. Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton told the Senate yesterday that out of the 104 recommendations he made to fix the gaping security flaws that allowed the Capitol insurrection to happen, only 30 have actually been implemented.

• Only 61 out of the 200 new security enhancements the Capitol Police claimed to have carried out have been documented, the inspector general said. 
• Additionally, about 200 hundred officers have left the agency since the insurrection, according to Bolton.

House Passes Debt Ceiling Plan

The House approved a bill yesterday setting the stage for increasing the debt ceiling after the Senate reached a tentative deal that would allow Democrats to raise the ceiling on a simple majority vote without GOP obstruction.

Chris Cuomo Loses Book Deal And Severance

HarperCollins announced on Tuesday that it no longer plans to publish ex-CNN anchor Chris Cuomo’s book, which was titled “Deep Denial.” On top of that, CNN President Jeff Zucker told network employees that Cuomo won’t be paid severance, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Biden Warns Putin Against Invading Ukraine

The President held a virtual call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin for about two hours yesterday amid escalating tensions at the Ukraine-Russia border. During the discussion, Biden warned Putin of heavy economic sanctions if his country were to invade its neighbor.

BuT whO’s GOinG To pAy FoR It

The House overwhelmingly passed a $768 billion defense policy bill yesterday, about $24 billion more than what Biden had requested.

GOP’s Cowering Fear Of Trump In One Passage

This Atlantic profile of Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI), who voted to certify the 2020 election and impeach Trump, describes this dark moment on the House floor shortly after the Jan. 6 insurrection:

On the House floor, moments before the vote, Meijer approached a member who appeared on the verge of a breakdown. He asked his new colleague if he was okay. The member responded that he was not; that no matter his belief in the legitimacy of the election, he could no longer vote to certify the results, because he feared for his family’s safety. “Remember, this wasn’t a hypothetical. You were casting that vote after seeing with your own two eyes what some of these people are capable of,” Meijer says. “If they’re willing to come after you inside the U.S. Capitol, what will they do when you’re at home with your kids?”

Trump Almost Yanked Kavanaugh’s Nomination, Meadows Says

Trump nearly withdrew Brett Kavanaugh’s controversial nomination to the Supreme Court in 2018, ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows writes in his new book–not because Kavanaugh had been accused of sexual assault, but because:

1. Kavanaugh kept talking about how much he liked beer during his contentious confirmation hearings, and teetotaler Trump was “extremely put off” by the judge repeatedly declaring his love of the beverage nearly 30 times
2. The judge seemed “almost apologetic” during the hearings (LOL) and therefore looked “weak” in Trump’s eyes

Some Welcome News On The Vaccination Front

Sixty percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Must Read

“‘Growth Fueled by Hate’: Facebook Sued for $150 Billion Over Myanmar Genocide” – Vice

Boebert Shows Off Gun-Waving Kids

After Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) tweeted this deranged Christmas portrait of him and his family holding a bunch of guns, far-right troll Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) tried to up the ante with this:

Speaking of Boebert, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) plans to introduce a resolution to strip the Colorado Republican of her committee assignments a la fellow extremist Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) for repeatedly targeting Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) with racist and Islamophobic attacks.

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