Red-Blooded Patriot And Senate Candidate JD Vance Calls America ‘A Joke’

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.

A Solid Campaign Strategy

The hillbilly elegist’s latest attempt to out-Trump his Ohio Senate race rivals led to a spectacular belly flop in an interview with Spectrum News published on Monday.

  • While trying to defend his joke about the deadly shooting incident with actor Alec Baldwin, Vance made the argument that politicians should have a sense of humor because “unfortunately, our country’s kind of a joke.” 
  • Vance declared that he refuses to be one of those “fake politicians” who doesn’t joke about things like people getting fatally shot.
  • Joke’s on him.

Alabama GOP-Drawn District Map Gets Struck Down

A federal court threw out Alabama’s new congressional district map on Monday because it allows only one district to have a majority of Black voters.

  • The district lines needs to be redrawn to include two of those districts, the court ordered. If the court’s decision prevails on appeal, Democrats are likely to gain a second seat in Alabama.
  • The Republican-controlled state legislature has 14 days to draw a new map that has “two districts in which Black voters either comprise a voting-age majority or something quite close to it,” the court said.
  • This is the second time a state’s newly drawn district map has been quashed by the courts due to gerrymandering. The Ohio Supreme Court rejected the map from the state’s GOP-dominated redistricting commission less than two weeks ago.

8,500 US Troops Put On High Alert For Possible Ukraine Deployment

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has ordered those troops to prepare to potentially get sent to Eastern Europe if Russia invades Ukraine, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. Read TPM reporter Josh Kovensky’s report on Ukraine urging its allies to please chill out.

Anti-CRT Boogeyman Gets Professor’s Civil Rights Lecture Canceled

A Florida history professor was slated to give a presentation on the civil rights movement in front of the state’s Osceola County School District teachers on Saturday — then the school district canceled the event due to Florida Republicans’ hysteria over “critical race theory.”  

  • The school district superintendent told the teachers in an email that the professor’s lecture needed to be reviewed by the district “in light of the current conversations across our state and in our community about critical race theory.”
  • The professor’s presentation didn’t mention critical race theory or even systemic racism, NBC News reports.
  • The cancellation came less than 24 hours after a GOP-controlled Florida Senate committee approved legislation banning race-related discussions that makes white people feel “discomfort.”

Dems Take Over New York Redistricting

The Democrat-controlled New York legislature will steer the process of drawing the Empire State’s new district lines after negotiations in the bipartisan redistricting commission fell apart on Monday. New York Democrats could wipe out as many as five GOP-held seats in the state as they create the new map.

House Ethics Panel Investigates Two Lawmakers

Reps. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) and Marie Newman (D-IL) are being investigated by the House Committee on Ethics for potential misuse of official resources and potentially bribing a primary rival with a job, respectively. Both lawmakers deny the allegations.

Biden Spanks Fox News Reporter

There’s almost no way y’all missed this, but in case you did: The President flat-out called Fox News reporter Peter Doocy a “stupid son of a bitch” during his press briefing yesterday (which got included in the official White House transcript).

The disgust for Doocy seems to be bipartisan:

Must Read

“​​The school shooting generation grows up” – Vox

Embattled Sheldon Silver Dies

The former New York Assembly Speaker died at age 77 on Monday while serving his prison sentence for corruption.

Hospital Tries To Force Departing Workers To Stay Via Court Battle

On Monday, a hospital in Wisconsin lost its lawsuit attempting to force seven employees — who had quit for another hospital — to stay until their replacements could be found. Those employees were supposed to begin on Monday, but were prevented from doing so by the judge before the trial, according to the Post-Crescent.

Idaho GOP Candidate Buys FB Ads To Complain About ‘Zuck Bucks’

A Republican hopeful in Idaho’s secretary of state election, state Sen. Mary Souza (R), has shelled out $1,400 for Facebook ads in which she attacks Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg over his nationwide 2020 election administration grants.

The Right-Wing Cesspit

Please stick to your day job, Laura.

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Biden Mutters ‘Stupid Son Of A B*tch’ At Fox News’ Peter Doocy In Hot Mic Moment

President Biden on Monday was caught on a hot mic calling a Fox News reporter a “stupid son of a bitch” after being asked about inflation.

Continue reading “Biden Mutters ‘Stupid Son Of A B*tch’ At Fox News’ Peter Doocy In Hot Mic Moment”

Russian Invasion Talk Mounts. Ukrainian Officials Urge Everyone To Please Calm Down.

A key Ukrainian national security official sat down today and told the country’s allies what they could do to help: please, calm down.

But also: Keep the weapons coming.

Continue reading “Russian Invasion Talk Mounts. Ukrainian Officials Urge Everyone To Please Calm Down.”

Where Things Stand: Cheney Isn’t Entertaining Newt’s Call For Her (And Others) To Be Jailed

The only two Republicans on the Jan. 6 Committee have responded to calls made by a member of their own party — Newt Gingrich — suggesting that they, and the rest of the panel, should be jailed for the committee’s investigative work.

At this point, it’s par for the course for Gingrich to traffic in Trumpian outrage, as Josh Marshall outlined here. But it’s also an illustration of the Republican Party’s ongoing divide and the ways in which the party as a whole has responded to the bombastic individual who commandeered it for his own ends.

Continue reading “Where Things Stand: Cheney Isn’t Entertaining Newt’s Call For Her (And Others) To Be Jailed”

Georgia County Judges Grant DA Request For Special Grand Jury In Trump Election Steal Probe

A request by Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for a special grant jury in her election interference probe into former President Trump was granted by a panel of county judges on Monday.

Continue reading “Georgia County Judges Grant DA Request For Special Grand Jury In Trump Election Steal Probe”

Kazakhstan’s Internet Shutdown Is Latest Episode In An Ominous Trend: Digital Authoritarianism

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation.

The Kazakhstan government shut off the internet nationwide on Jan. 5, 2022, in response to widespread civil unrest in the country. The unrest started on Jan. 2, after the government lifted the price cap on liquid natural gas, which Kazakhs use to fuel their cars. The Kazakhstan town of Zhanaozen, an oil and gas hub, erupted with a protest against sharply rising fuel prices.

Immediately, there were reports of internet dark zones. As the demonstrations grew, so did the internet service disruptions. Mass internet shutdowns and mobile blocking were reported on Jan. 4, with only intermittent connectivity. By Jan. 5, approximately 95% of internet users were reportedly blocked.

Continue reading “Kazakhstan’s Internet Shutdown Is Latest Episode In An Ominous Trend: Digital Authoritarianism”

Defiant School Boards Across Virginia Sue Over Youngkin’s Anti-Mask Order

Seven Virginia school boards on Monday sued to stop a mask-optional order by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) on the first day it was scheduled to take effect.

Continue reading “Defiant School Boards Across Virginia Sue Over Youngkin’s Anti-Mask Order”

Unvaccinated Palin Gets COVID, Derailing Her NYT Defamation Suit Trial

What was supposed to be the first day of the trial in ex-GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s defamation case against the New York Times on Monday has been pushed back to next week after she tested positive for COVID-19, the judge in the case announced on Monday.

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Conservative Supreme Court Takes Up Affirmative Action Cases, Raising Alarms

The Supreme Court, with its weighty conservative majority, has shown its cards with the cases it takes up: lots on religious liberty, a handful of challenges to abortion rights, one on a defunct Environmental Protection Agency rule that experts were equal parts shocked and alarmed to see the Court accept. 

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