Efforts to recall school board members as the GOP hijacks “critical race theory” to manufacture another faux culture war are rising nationwide. Continue reading “GOP Culture War Over Critical Race Theory Bleeds Into School Board Recalls”
Capitol Police Setting Up Field Offices To Address Spiking Threats Against Lawmakers
The acting Capitol Police chief announced Tuesday that the force will be setting up field offices in California and Florida, with more locations to come, to help address the spike in threats against members of Congress.
GOP Candidate J.D. Vance Pleads For Forgiveness For The Sin Of Being Anti-Trump
“Hillbilly Elegy” author and Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance is real sorry about the mean stuff he said about Donald Trump, who was actually a wonderful president who did wonderful things and oh God please don’t be mad at me Mr. Ex-President, sir.
Continue reading “GOP Candidate J.D. Vance Pleads For Forgiveness For The Sin Of Being Anti-Trump”
Trump Demanding Release of Jan 6 Insurrectionists
Yesterday I noted ex-President Trump’s vainglorious recital of events at his two recent rallies in Ohio and Florida. But there were a string of comments he made at his Sarasota, Florida rally that I only learned about after the fact. They are highly important going forward and particularly in the context of the 2022 election. The comments aren’t terribly surprising coming from Trump. They’re perhaps implicit in things he’s said before. But they represent something new. In short, he now seems to be demanding the release of the various insurrectionists facing charges for storming the Capitol on January 6th. “How come so many people are still in jail over Jan. 6?” he asked the crowd.
He also went further and began to suggest or demand (the ambiguity is a central feature of all Trump incitement) the lynching of the Capitol Police officer who shot insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt.
Continue reading “Trump Demanding Release of Jan 6 Insurrectionists”
Morning Memo: GOP’s Continuation Of The Big Lie Looms Ahead Of 2022
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.
Not Great
The Washington Post did the math: At least a third of the nearly 700 Republicans who’ve filed to run in 2022 House or Senate campaigns have endorsed Trump’s lies about the 2020 election.
- 136 of them are members of Congress who voted against certifying Biden’s victory.
Key analysis: “What’s keeping democracy experts up most at night? An overturned election” – NBC News
Florida Man Gets Increasingly Desperate
Michael Wolff is back with a new book. And it claims Trump has been asking random Mar-a-Lago guests for recommendations for a good lawyer as he sinks further into legal quicksand, according to an excerpt published by the UK Times.
- By the way, the ex-president wants you to know that he’s a tax supergenius — but also how can anyone be expected to know about tax laws??
Here’s the two clips together. He went from knowing more about taxes than anyone ever to “I don’t even know. Does anyone know the answer to that stuff?” pic.twitter.com/AVPiWV9Ny8
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 6, 2021
Vaccine Troubles
20% of Americans say they definitely won’t get the COVID-19 vaccine, and another 9% say they’re unlikely to get it, according to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll.
- Biden’s going to give a speech at the White House on the vaccine today at 2:45 p.m. ET.
Remember Who July 4 Was Really For
July 4th… & so, the Declaration of Independence says all men are created equal. Equal to what? What men? Only white men? Isn't it something that they wrote this in 1776 when African Americans were enslaved? They weren't thinking about us then, but we're thinking about us now!
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) July 4, 2021
When they say that the 4th of July is about American freedom, remember this: the freedom they’re referring to is for white people.
This land is stolen land and Black people still aren’t free.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) July 4, 2021
Getting Ready For SCOTUS’ Worst
“A hidden abortion crew prepares to confront a post-Roe America” – Politico
More War Talk From The GOP Clown Car
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) went full fire-and-brimstone during a July 4 rally where she declared that “We will not back down until we have everything God has promised us,” that “we are an army for everything that Jesus has purchased for us and our children, and our children’s children” and that “it’s not a coincidence that Independence Day is on a Sunday this year.”
Don’t Look Away
At least 150 people were killed by gun violence this weekend, during which there were more than 400 shootings.
Settling Dust Post-Jan. 6
People can now walk up to the North Lawn of the White House again after the Secret Service took down the extra fencing this weekend.
He Atones!
“Hillbilly Elegy” author, venture capitalist and Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance is begging for forgiveness for his sins of criticizing Trump.
- What he’s saying: “Like a lot of people, I criticized Trump back in 2016. And I ask folks not to judge me based on what I said in 2016, because I’ve been very open that I did say those critical things and I regret them, and I regret being wrong about the guy. I think he was a good president, I think he made a lot of good decisions for people, and I think he took a lot of flak.”
The Marketplace Of Ideas
You probably knew that Trumpworld’s latest Twitter knockoff got hacked within hours after its launch on Sunday. You probably didn’t know its feeds got bombarded with porn featuring Sonic the Hedgehog.
Are there things that are happening that you want to see in tomorrow’s Morning Memo? Send us the things.
He Speaks
There’s a high bar for nonsensical Trump statements that actually grab my attention. But he seems to be now moving into what I guess we might call his Evita phase. Who talks like this? Who has this kind of messiah complex and who has supporters who don’t laugh when they hear this kind of faux biblical melodrama?
Continue reading “He Speaks”
Report: Trump Tried Calling Top Maricopa County, AZ Official After 2020 Loss
In the aftermath of his 2020 election loss, former President Donald Trump twice tried calling a Republican Maricopa County supervisor who was then chair of the county board, the Arizona Republic reported based on public records and interviews.
Continue reading “Report: Trump Tried Calling Top Maricopa County, AZ Official After 2020 Loss”
Trump Irked Over Giuliani Requesting Pay For Efforts To Overturn Election Results
Former President Trump has reportedly cut ties with his former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and has been annoyed with Giuliani’s requests for financial compensation in his efforts to overturn the election results. Continue reading “Trump Irked Over Giuliani Requesting Pay For Efforts To Overturn Election Results”
Former Fox Exec Calls Out Rupert Murdoch And Fox News For Feeding Viewers ‘Falsehoods’
A former Fox executive blasted Rupert Murdoch and Fox News in an op-ed Monday for sowing lies about COVID-19 and the 2020 presidential election.
A Further Note
The post below on the Delta variant has gotten a lot of attention. It’s always important to make a simple point: This isn’t “oh noooeesss, the vaccines don’t work anymore!” All the data suggests they remain extremely effective at preventing serious illness – over 90%. By the standards of almost any other vaccine they remain highly effective against any infection at all. Recent peer reviewed measures of the Pfizer vaccine against the Delta variant suggest efficacy in the high 80s percentage range. This new data out of Israel says it’s in the mid-60s. If you’re vaccinated, especially with one of the mRNA vaccines, there’s no reason for you to worry. The issue is more at the society-wide level, trying to make sense of the various data points suggesting a non-trivial level of reduced vaccine efficacy and how that maps onto how society at large will be operating in the coming months and years.
At the risk of stating the obvious, if you don’t want to die of COVID or end up in a hospital struggling to breath and fearing for your life, get vaccinated. You’ll be covered.