Gaetz AG Bid Goes Down in Flames; Pam Bondi Next Up - The Friday AM Quickie 11/22/24
This chart from the Economist proves quantifiably that the loathsome oligarch Elon Musk is deep in the throes of Poster's Madness. It's a case fit for the textbooks, really. I'll be back Monday. - Corey
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THE BIG NEWS
Trumpocalypse: Pam Bondi, Florida Crony Accused of Bribery, Named as New Attorney General Nominee
- Matt Gaetz Abandons AG Bid Minutes Before News Breaks of His 2nd Sexual Encouter with a Minor; at Least 4 Senate Republicans Planned to Vote Down His Confirmation "The game changed as of today," says one person "on Trump's team." Senate Minority Leader Mitch "McConnell just told MAGA, 'I took down your golden boy in a week.'" via CNN, the Washington Post, and Politico.
- Republican Senators Call Pete Hegseth 'the Right Man for the Job' of Defense Secretary – Even After Learning the Details of His Sexual Assault Case "JANE DOE remembered saying 'no' a lot," according to the Monterey Police Department report, which does not conclude that her account of possibly being roofied by the Fox News war crimes apologist at a 2017 Republican Women's gathering was false. via NBC News, the Associated Press, and the Washington Post.
- Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos Are Joining Trump Team's Attempt to Destroy the NLRB and Give Union-Busters Free Reign "We once existed in a regime where there was no labor law, and it wasn't good for workers," says Dan Ocampo of the National Employment Law Project. "It was the 19th century, and cops were called in to break up strikes." via the Washington Post and the New York Times.
- House GOP Selects Marjorie Taylor Greene to 'Oversee' Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's Fake Federal Department Trump "might get away with" an unconstitutional power grab through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, says William Galston of the Brookings Institution, warning that "Congress' power of the purse [could] turn into an advisory opinion." via HuffPost and the AP.
- Like JD Vance, RFK Jr. Compared Trump to Hitler Before Joining His Side "Kennedy's harshest attacks date back to Trump's rise in 2016, when on his radio show 'Ring of Fire,' Kennedy applauded descriptions of Trump's base as 'belligerent idiots' and suggestions that some were 'outright Nazis' and 'spineless fellow travelers.'" via CNN, the Washington Post, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Trump's Return to Power Coincides with Rise in White Supremacist Flash Mobs, 'Fight Nights,' and Vandalism "Almost every week, small white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups have been descending on downtowns, gathering in public parks or rallying on the grounds of state houses and courthouses across the country." via the New York Times.
- 3-Term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Concedes to Republican Dave McCormick as Pennsylvania Finishes Counting Votes The largest outside spender in the $300 million race "was Keystone Renewal, a pro-McCormick super PAC backed primarily by finance industry billionaires, some of whom knew the Republican from his days at Bridgewater Associates." via the Inquirer.
- More Democrats Call on Party to Embrace the Labor Struggle, 'Say Goodbye to Our Neoliberal Era' Historian and activist Jeremy Brecher, meanwhile, is calling for a Green New Deal "from below" modeled on "what the Polish activists who overthrew their country's dictatorship in 1989 called 'social self-defense.'" via the New York Times, the Nation, and In These Times.
MORE STORIES TO WATCH
Biden Denounces ICC Warrant for Israeli Leaders
Human rights attorney and war crimes prosecutor Reed Brody tells Drop Site News that the International Criminal Court warrants against far-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant are "a watershed event in the history of international justice," marking the first time since World War II that an international court has indicted pro-Western officials. Officials representing the Netherlands, France, and Ireland were among the first to proclaim they would honor the warrants; Netanyahu's key ally, President Joe Biden, however, dismissed the ICC's action as "outrageous," and reaffirmed that the US "will always stand with Israel." Brian Finucane, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group and former State Department lawyer, tells HuffPost the warrants "are one more reminder to US officials that they have been aiding and abetting men credibly accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity." Netanyahu's office called the international court, which also issued a warrant for Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif, "antisemitic." Reaction among civilians in Gaza has been mixed. "There has been political pressure for over a year," 51-year-old widow Abeer Khamis tells the Washington Post. "Will this end the war or not? Will our situation in Gaza improve? Will there be food? Will we return to our homes in the north?"
Bolsonaro Indicted Over 2022 Brazil Coup Attempt; Police Detail Plot to Kill Lula
We will now see whether Brazil's democratic institutions respond more capably to a frontal assault by fascists than their US counterparts. The Associated Press reports:
Brazil's federal police said Thursday they indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 other people for allegedly attempting a coup to keep him in office after his defeat in the 2022 elections. ...
Dozens of former and current Bolsonaro aides also were indicted, including Gen. Walter Braga Netto, who was his running mate in the 2022 campaign; former Army commander Gen. Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira; Valdemar Costa Neto, the chairman of Bolsonaro's Liberal Party; and his veteran former adviser, Gen. Augusto Heleno.
Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo, explains that Bolsonaro is already barred from running in the 2026 elections. "And if he is convicted he could also be jailed by then," Melo explains. "To avoid being behind bars, he will have to convince Supreme Court justices that he has nothing to do with a plot that involves dozens of his aides. That's a very tall order."
Per Reuters, Brazilian police also this week revealed the existence of a Bolsonarista plot to kill leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin before they took office. One of the five people arrested on Tuesday in the plot was retired Brig. Gen. Mario Fernandes, who worked as Bolsonaro's executive secretary.
QUICKEST QUICKIES
- Putin and Top Ukrainian General Agree: Russia's War Is Going Global Threatening Ukraine's allies with a new nuclear-capable ballistic missile, the Aspiring Tsar said on state TV that the war "has acquired elements of a global character"; Ukraine's former military Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny, meanwhile, told an audience that the arrival of North Korean troops is a sign that "the Third World War has begun." via the New York Times, Politico, and the Associated Press.
- China's Hack of US Telecoms Enabled Real-Time Eavesdropping on Phone Calls Nationwide "Unlike some of the European countries where you might have a single telco, our networks are a hodgepodge of old networks," Democratic Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Mark Warner explains. "The big networks are combinations of a whole series of acquisitions, and you have equipment out there that's so old it's unpatchable." via the Washington Post and the New York Times.
- 'It Was Super, Super Scary': Hundreds of Thousands in Seattle Area Still Without Power Days After Bomb Cyclone "Meanwhile on the East Coast, where rare wildfires have raged, New York and New Jersey welcomed much-needed rain that could ease the fire danger for the rest of the year." via the New York Times, the Seattle Times, and the Associated Press.
- Texas Oil Company Phillips 66 Federally Indicted for Dumping Refinery Waste Into California Sewers According to US Attorney Martin Estrada, Los Angeles County "became aware of the problem only when workers noticed the smell of oil and industrial grease permeating their sewer treatment facility." via the Washington Post and the AP.
SOME NUMBER
0.6 percent
That's how much of the time San Diego officials stored any of the property of homeless people after removing their encampments – just 19 times out of more than 3,000 removals last year, according to ProPublica. Trashing people's belongings is common practice in cities with large homeless populations, and often leads to personal disaster. ProPublica spoke to Stephenie, a homeless woman in Portland, Oregon, who lost her food stamp card and cash in a camp sweep by city workers while pregnant and hungry, causing her to sleep on the sidewalk without a tent for the first time and subsequently attempt suicide.
ON THE SHOW TODAY
11/22: It’s Casual Friday! Sam and Emma speak with Heather Digby Parton, contributing writer at Salon.com and proprietor of the blog Hullabaloo, to round up the week in news.
DON'T MISS MR CLIPS
EMMA RIPS PIERS TO SHREDS
Back in the home country they call him Piers Moron.
No, Trump Does Not Have a Mandate
And even if he did, which he doesn't, what would it matter?
PARTING WORDS
"Any deal that would result in President Biden's four remaining circuit court nominees being denied a vote is categorically unacceptable. These are critical seats that have real impacts on everyday Americans ― we cannot allow Trump to fill them with radical extremists.
"If Democratic Senators are already rolling over this easily while they still have power, we are in for trouble when Trump actually assumes office."
-- Maggie Jo Buchanan, managing director of Demand Justice, responding to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's deal with Republicans to confirm a dozen Biden judicial nominees while withdrawing four from consideration. The House Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, is "stalled" over a bill to increase the total number of federal judges, which would give Trump even more seats to fill.
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