Where Things Stand: DeSantis Again Threatens Fines For Those Who Dare Defy His Deadly COVID Rules

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is re-upping his main and, seemingly, only defense against those in his state who dare to buck his rules against COVID-19 mitigation measures: He’s threatening more of the little guys with fines again.

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Where Republicans Are Set To Gain The Most In The Great GOP Gerrymander Of 2021

After dedicating years to winning on the state level, Republicans are poised to deepen and lock in their structural advantages in a redistricting bonanza. 

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Bannon, Guo-Linked Media Company Part Of $539 Million Settlement In SEC Probe

A firm linked to former Trump campaign chairman Stephen K. Bannon was part of a $539 million deal to settle charges emanating from an alleged illegal stock offering scheme, the SEC said on Monday.  Continue reading “Bannon, Guo-Linked Media Company Part Of $539 Million Settlement In SEC Probe”

Texas Vigilante Abortion Law Resurrects Jim Crow-Era Tactic That Gives States Legal Cover

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

The new Texas law that bans most abortions uses a method employed by Texas and other states to enforce racist Jim Crow laws in the 19th and 20th centuries that aimed to disenfranchise African Americans. Continue reading “Texas Vigilante Abortion Law Resurrects Jim Crow-Era Tactic That Gives States Legal Cover”

Man With Weapons And Allegedly Spouting White Supremacist Rhetoric Arrested Near DNC

A California man who allegedly had a machete and bayonet in a truck with white supremacist symbols on it was arrested late Sunday night near the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C.

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The Rest of the Story

The Washington Post has written up this story of an Alabama man who needed an ICU bed to treat a cardiac issue and none could be found for him in his home state. His home town hospital in Cullman, Alabama contacted 43 other hospitals in the state but none had room for him. He was eventually airlifted to a hospital in neighboring Mississippi where he died. The story garnered attention because his family included a plea for people to get vaccinated in Ray DeMonia’s obituary.

But there’s one detail about this story – or at least arguable tied to the story – that the Post doesn’t mention. Cullman, Alabama was the site of what the Alabama state GOP billed as the largest political rally in Alabama history just a couple days before DeMonia went to the hospital. The state GOP claimed 50,000 turned out for the rally in Cullman. Few if any seemed to be masked.

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Manchin Appears To Throw Cold Water On Key To Democrats’ Climate Plan

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) continued his media tour seemingly crafted to cause Democrats agita on Sunday, where he threw cold water on the crux of their climate plan. 

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The 4 Biggest Unknowns In The Disciplinary Cases Against Capitol Police For Jan. 6

The U.S. Capitol Police’s response to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack has faced months of congressional investigations as well as an internal review, and the latter bore some news on Saturday: The department’s Office of Professional Responsibility has recommended that several officers be disciplined for their actions that day. 

Continue reading “The 4 Biggest Unknowns In The Disciplinary Cases Against Capitol Police For Jan. 6”

Fox Host Brian Kilmeade Wants Biden To ‘Yell At’ Black People To Get COVID Shot

“Fox and Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade ran straight to racism on Monday morning as he expressed outrage over President Joe Biden’s broad COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

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We’re Not Partisan Hacks! Justice Barrett Insists At McConnell Celebration

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

Who, Me?

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett wants you to know that the high court is definitely not another GOP machine.

  • “My goal today is to convince you that this court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks,” she said during a speech at an event on Sunday.
  • The event was a celebration the 30th anniversary of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville, which is named after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who was sitting next to Barrett on stage during her remarks.

Sanders Pours Cold Water On Manchin’s Cold Water

Senate Budget Committee chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) went full “Nice bipartisan infrastructure bill you got there, would be a shame if…..” on Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in response to the West Virginia Democrat’s declaration on Sunday that he won’t vote for the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill.

  • No seriously, that’s almost exactly how Sanders put it during a CNN “State of the Union” interview: “Mr. Manchin, I know, worked very hard on the bipartisan bill. It would be a terrible thing for the American people if both of those bills fail. They are linked together. They’re going to go forward together.” 

  • Yes, the Senate already passed the bipartisan bill. But the House hasn’t–and Sanders’ allies in that chamber know what’s up.
  • Sanders’ remarks came shortly after Manchin said during his own “State of the Union” interview that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “will not have my vote” on reconciliation, repeating his complaints about “inflation” he claims the sweeping legislation would cause.

Is Biden Finally Getting Ready To Do Something About The Filibuster?

The President has reportedly told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) privately that he’s ready to step in and lobby moderate Democrats to approve a carve-out in the filibuster in order to pass election reform legislation, according to Rolling Stone.

  • “Chuck, you tell me when you need me to start making phone calls,” Biden reportedly told Schumer.
  • The President was previously resistant to putting his thumb on the scale with regards to the filibuster even for voting rights legislation, according to a CNN report in March. He privately told Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) that it was on Democratic senators to pressure Republicans to back voting rights reform.
  • In the meantime, Democrats are close to reaching an agreement on voting rights legislation that all 50 Democratic senators can support, according to NBC News.

Some Cops Face Discipline For Their Behavior On Jan. 6

The U.S. Capitol Police’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has recommended “disciplinary action” for six of its officers in the agency’s internal investigation into certain officers’ shockingly friendly conduct with Trump supporters who were storming the Capitol.

  • The USCP did not identify the officers or specify what exactly those violations were. The announcement only lists “conduct unbecoming,” “failure to comply with directives,” “improper remarks” and “improper dissemination of information.”
  • The agency had investigated 26 officers in its probe. The rest of the 20 officers were found to have committed “no wrongdoing,” according to the USCP.
  • The announcement emphasized that the six cases “should not diminish the heroic efforts” of the other USCP officers who responded to the attack and that “the bravery and courage exhibited by the vast majority of our employees was inspiring.”
  • The investigation came after footage of officers chumming it up and even posing for selfies with the insurrectionists went viral:

  • It’s unknown if the selfie cop was one of the six officers who was recommended for disciplinary action. He was suspended after the attack.

Conservatives Are Ready To Delegitimize California’s Recall Race

The Golden State’s gubernatorial recall election that will decide Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) fate is tomorrow, and conservative wingnuts are already working to sow doubt over the results:

  • Actually, they’ve been setting the stage for that for a while now:
    • Fox News host Tucker Carlson falsely claimed two weeks ago that non-citizens would be allowed to vote in the election.
    • Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren told her viewers last week that the “only thing” that could keep Newsom from getting voted out in the election is “voter fraud.”
    • Trump himself claimed (without evidence, naturally) that the race was “probably rigged.”
  • Maybe all this has something to do with the fact that Newsom is enjoying a 14-point lead in the polls on whether he ought to be recalled.

Biden Gives Newsom A Boost

The President is traveling to Long Beach, California today to rally for Newsom the day before the state’s recall election.

Looking Back At America’s Wildest Post-9/11 Moments

Here are a couple of truly illuminating threads laying out how borderline deranged everything became in wake of the Sept. 11 attacks:

It’s hard to choose which is the most bonkers, but this pin has to be one of the top contenders:

There were also some nutty editorial cartoons:

Even kids’ movies and TV weren’t safe:

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