Make it stop

In a little more than five hours the Georgia Senate runoff will be over, and not a second too soon.  Women who have been abused or pressured to have abortions by Herschel Walker must speak now or hold their peace until the Republicans need an athlete-stooge to run in some other election.  And my inbox must stop bristling with chiding reminders from "Reverend Warnock."  He's not my pastor, he's my Senator and I prefer he identify himself as such.  Anyway, I voted weeks ago.

Today members of the Capitol Police and DC Metropolitan Police were honored in a ceremony in the Capitol rotunda with the Congressional Gold Medal for their heroism on January 6, 2021.  "Thank you for being not just our friends, but our heroes," said Mitch McConnell, but officers refused to shake hands with him or with Kevin McCarthy.  "[Republicans] have no idea what integrity is," said Ken Sicknick, whose brother Brian died of his injuries.  

Jack Smith was appointed on November 18, and four days later he was already issuing subpoenas to election officials in Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsin, for records of contacts between them and the Trump campaign.  Something is happening and you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones?  No, but Mr. Smith knows.

It's uphill work re-establishing the principle that everyone is subject to the law (which was always a principle if not a reality).  Take Tampa Police Chief Mary O'Connor, who was pulled over last month for driving home with her husband in Oldsmar.  In fairness, she was driving a golf cart.  Perhaps they had recently seen The Straight Story.*  Anyway, instead of accepting the ticket she pulled out her chief badge and persuaded the officer to "just let us go."  And he did!  But his body-cam was working that night and now she has had to resign.  

What can this be about?  And how can the Supreme Court prevent it by seven o'clock?

I have bad news for lovers of Gogol and Bulgakov:  Satire is dead in Russia.  The Russians are accusing Ukraine of "nuclear terrorism."  But Ukraine has no nuclear weapons, you say.  Yes, but they're shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (which has been in Russian hands since the first weeks of the war) with conventional weapons.  They have also dug out a stash of Soviet-era reconnaissance drones, attached explosives and launched them at two Russian airbases.  Shocking.

Russia had a "don't say gay" law before Ron DeSantis became Governissimo of Florida, but yesterday Putin beefed it up to distract from his wildly unpopular quagmire of a war.  After his bill was rubber-stamped passed by the Duma, Andrei Tsyganov of Public Commission on the Protection of the Family (a sort of Slavic Tony Perkins) called it "a ban on the propaganda of American-European values," giggling, "pederasts who stand at head of global Sodom will burst with rage!"  How about it, pederasts, you doing OK?  Check in.

Here's someone who'll be tossing her MAGA hat in the air:  "So excited to join everyone at the Dallas Christmas Parade today!!  Even though it's a bit rainy we're still going to celebrate Christmas and the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!"  Yes, it's Empty Greene, taking time out from bullying Kevin McCarthy to visit her district.  (Dallas, Georgia...Dallas, Texas...no wonder Herschel Walker is confused.)  The crowd, however, seems underwhelmed.   Hey, Marge, at least nobody hurled a locally brewed beer at you.

 

Longtime Trump scholars like David Cay Johnston will tell you Trump never pays his bills, as will any number of small contractors who went broke after working on his various structures.  Apparently, that's not true.  We know he paid Stormy Daniels for the ninety seconds of bliss they shared (by her account) and he paid back a $19.8 million loan from the South Korean conglomerate Daewoo.  Thing is, he forgot to mention his 25-year relationship with Daewoo in financial disclosure forms while president.  It came to light because of documents obtained by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Why the amnesia?  Because Daewoo is the only South Korean company authorized to do business in North Korea.  Where Trump admired the beaches and speculated about development (hotels, condos, etc.). (Juicy details in Forbes as you might expect.)  Right now the only activity on North Korean beaches is hungry people gathering seaweed.  

It's promising news for Hillary Clinton.  You may recall that Trump sued her in March for spreading "disinformation" about his 2016 campaign.  The judge didn't just dismiss it, he hurled it against the wall like a plate of linguine, calling it "political grievances masquerading as legal claims," and sanctioning Trump's lawyers for wasting his time.  Clinton, James Comey, Adam Schiff and other defendants want Trump to reimburse the legal fees it cost them to answer this thing, and it comes to a lot less than $20 million.  Trump would rather eat steak tartare in Macys window than pay them.  Time for the short-fingered vulgarian to file bankruptcy again?

Oh, good grief, I just got another email from the reverend.  END THIS.

*Yes, I know Alvin Straight uses a riding mower.  He had no business being on the road either, but it's a lovely movie.