It’s thirteen days since Putin invaded Ukraine, meeting a level of resistance that’s shocked the world while isolating Russia and its people from much of the global economy.
Continue reading “US To Block Russian Oil As Millions Flee Putin’s Invasion”RonJohn And Cruz Meet With Trucker Convoy Organizers As Lackluster Protest Drags On
Three days into a handful of truckers’ effort to circle the Capital Beltway to protest COVID-19 mandates, leaders of the so-called “People’s Convoy” met with Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) to vow that truckers won’t back down until vaccine mandates in the country end.
Continue reading “RonJohn And Cruz Meet With Trucker Convoy Organizers As Lackluster Protest Drags On”Dangerous Business
As we noted a short while ago, Poland just announced that it is going to transfer its collection of MiG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. at Rammstein Air Base in Germany. Then what the U.S. does with them is up to the U.S. All they ask is that they get new U.S. jets. But Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland, during Senate testimony, just said that the statement from Poland wasn’t discussed in advance or approved by the U.S. This is a very dangerous game with a lot of governments involved, each responding to their strategic situation and public opinion. At the end of the day though, funny business about who exactly is giving the planes doesn’t matter. This isn’t a technicality kind of situation. Supplying fighter jets to Ukraine is a big, big escalatory deal. And that decision has to be for the U.S. to make — because the consequences will be on the U.S. to deal with.
Canada Has Long Feared The Chaos Of US Politics
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published by The Conversation.
When the nation of Canada was founded in 1867, its people deliberately chose a form of government meant to avoid the mistakes and problems they saw in the U.S. government next door.
That helps explain why Canadian police used emergency powers to arrest hundreds of people and tow dozens of vehicles while ending the trucker protests in Ottawa, Canada’s capital.
Since its founding, Canada has taken a very different view of liberty, democracy, government authority and individual freedom than is known in the United States.
Continue reading “Canada Has Long Feared The Chaos Of US Politics”Florida Just Passed The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill, Another Prong In Agenda-less Republicans’ Faux Outrage Machine
Florida’s GOP-controlled legislature just passed the infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill, as dubbed by critics, after the state Senate approved the measure on Tuesday by a 22-17 vote, with all “yea” votes cast by Republicans. Two GOP senators, Sens. Jennifer Bradley and Jeff Brandes, joined the chamber’s 15 Democrats to vote against it.
The Florida House passed the bill in February.
The measure now heads over to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who, in his commitment to the right-wing grievance issues that have been fueling his reelection campaign (and his prospects of a potential 2024 presidential bid), has backed the bill.
Continue reading “Florida Just Passed The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill, Another Prong In Agenda-less Republicans’ Faux Outrage Machine”Proud Boys Leader Tarrio Indicted On Jan. 6 Conspiracy Charges
Enrique Tarrio, a leader of the right-wing street gang the Proud Boys, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on Jan. 6-related conspiracy charges.
Continue reading “Proud Boys Leader Tarrio Indicted On Jan. 6 Conspiracy Charges”Congress Passes Anti-Lynching Bill For First Time After Over 100 Years Of Trying
The Senate on Monday unanimously approved the Emmett Till Antilynching Act of 2022, which would make lynching a federal hate crime, and sent it over to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
Continue reading “Congress Passes Anti-Lynching Bill For First Time After Over 100 Years Of Trying”RonJohn Wants To Resurrect Obamacare Repeal Zombie
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
100th Time’s The Charm?
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told Breitbart News Radio on Monday that Republicans should come up with a plan to kill Obamacare again if they take control of Congress and the White House in 2024.
- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is absolutely going to love another Republican senator putting out more agenda proposals ahead of the 2022 midterms. It’s really working out for National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Rick Scott (R-FL), who says “hell yeah!” to telling Americans they need to pay more taxes.
- A record 31 million Americans now have health care thanks to Obamacare, the White House reported last year.
Tucker Claims Dems Wanted Russia War With First Trump Impeachment
Fox News host Tucker Carlson argued during his show last night that Democrats were angling for a war against Russia when they impeached Trump because they were trying to punish him for “failing to back a proxy war in Ukraine” (actually, what happened was Trump tried to withhold military aid to Ukraine in exchange for dirt on Biden, but okay Tucker).
- Carlson also blamed Republicans, who he claimed didn’t speak out against the impeachment because they wanted war too, “Maybe even more than the Democrats did.” Dun dun dun!
- Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) also is trying to blame Russia’s Ukraine invasion on those involved in Trump’s first impeachment, including retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.
The Debate Over Russian Oil Ban
Though the U.S. and its allies have slapped Russia with sanction after sanction over its unprovoked attack on Ukraine, they’ve been reluctant to take a major step to punish the Kremlin: A ban on Russian-imported oil. That reluctance seems to be waning in recent days, however.
- New York Times: “Venezuela could be a fill-in for Russian oil, but critics fear aiding another strongman.”
- Politico: “Biden warms to a Russian oil ban. Congress may not give him a choice.”
- Wall Street Journal: “How Oil Giants’ Bets on Russia, Years in the Making, Crumbled in Days”
SCOTUS Bats Away GOPers’ Bid To Uphold Gerrymandered Maps
North Carolina and Pennsylvania are keeping the neutral district maps that were drawn by state courts after striking down Republicans’ gerrymandered district lines in the two states: The Supreme Court declined to take up state Republicans’ challenges against the maps on Monday, dashing hopes for another Alabama.
- Democrats are likely to gain a seat in North Carolina under the new map, the Associated Press notes.
- However, SCOTUS’ decision isn’t necessarily the victory for voting rights groups that it appears to be on its face.
Florida’s Top Health Official Discourages Giving Kids COVID-19 Vaccine
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo announced on Monday that the state’s health department will release guidelines recommending against vaccinating healthy kids against COVID-19.
- It’s a flat rejection of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendation that all children ages five and up get the vaccine.
- Ladapo, who was appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), has been railing against governmental COVID measures to the point of claiming that masks aren’t saving lives and accusing the CDC of using “shaky studies, shaky methods” in its handling of the pandemic.
Lynching Finally About To Become Federal Crime
Biden is poised to sign the anti-lynching bill, aka the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, after the Senate passed it unanimously on Monday.
- The House passed the measure by a 422–3 vote last month. Reps. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Chip Roy (R-TX) voted against it.
- There’ve been more than 200 attempts to pass a bill criminalizing lynching since 1918.
Grassley Complains About Dems’ Speedy SCOTUS Confirmation Plan (LOL)
Ranking Senate Judiciary Committee member Chuck Grassley (R-IA), after backing Amy Coney Barrett’s two-minute confirmation right before the 2020 election, says Democrats need to hold their horses with Supreme Court Justice nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation process, which they plan on starting on March 21. After all, there’s “the integrity of our constitutional advice” and “thoroughness of the vetting process” to think about, crucial things that shouldn’t be sacrificed for an “arbitrary timeline,” according to Grassley.
In Case You Missed It
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) roasted the disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday after he whined during a speech at at a Brooklyn church that he was a victim of cancel culture and “prosecutorial misconduct” in James’ sexual harassment investigation.
- “Serial sexual harasser Andrew Cuomo won’t even spare a house of worship from his lies,” James said in a withering statement through her reelection campaign.
- The prosecutor also called Cuomo a “sick, pathetic man.”
Graphic Design Is My Passion
A pretty hilarious oopsie on Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s show last night:
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A Ukraine Miscellany
A few points that seem important to absorb — some of which may appear to be in tension.
I ALLUDED TO THIS in my earlier post on my list of military analysts. We’re seeing lots of imagery of downed plans, shattered tanks, captured tanks, often with detailed information about where and how they were destroyed. But that flood of information often leaves us — even if we don’t know it — unclear on the big picture. This thread notes that many of us are getting an incomplete view of the situation in Ukraine because Ukraine’s (and its supporters’) social media efforts have been so effective. The issue here isn’t deception or misinformation, though there’s certainly some of that. It’s that the supporters of Ukraine are doing a very effective job surfacing imagery every time the Ukrainian army scores a tactical victory — destroying a tank, shooting down a plane. And we’re seeing much less of the fact that Russia is continuing to make progress on the ground — just slowly. Maybe very slowly. But they are making progress.
Continue reading “A Ukraine Miscellany”Where Things Stand: Shutting Down RonJohn’s Upside-Down Theory On A ‘Weakened’ Ukraine
As we’ve documented closely over the last 12 days of Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine, Republicans are offering up a confusing mix of reactions and deflections in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Some have praised Putin, others have condemned him. But all are mostly mad at President Biden, for a slew of reasons mostly tied to a vague assertion that he’s been weak on foreign policy since taking office.
But Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) offered up a rather unique and entirely backwards hypothesis last week when he suggested that somehow those involved in impeaching President Trump the first time might be to blame for the current war in Europe. Of those attracting his ire: retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was himself born in Kyiv and also became an important whistleblower in the impeachment drama.
Continue reading “Where Things Stand: Shutting Down RonJohn’s Upside-Down Theory On A ‘Weakened’ Ukraine”