Politics’ News Keeps Oozing Out

Despite a 72-hour cease-fire extension to allow people to escape, Sudan’s capital experiences heavy fighting. After a 24-hour journey, an evacuation convoy of about 300 U.S. citizens on over a dozen buses has reached the coast at Port Sudan from Khartoum under the protection of armed drones deployed by the Pentagon. 

A drone strike may have caused the gigantic fire at a fuel storage facility and refinery in Sevastopol, the Crimean city occupied by Russia. The day before, Russia’s strike on the Ukrainian city of Uman by cruise missiles from Russian aircraft in the Caspian Sea killed 23 civilians, including children, and more civilians were killed in Dnipro. Uman is considered a holy city for Orthodox Judaism, a site for Hasidic pilgrimage for over 200 years. Ukraine intercepted 21 of the 23 missiles. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be added to the list of people who are above the law. A GOP bill will exempt DeSantis from public records laws; he will be able to hide information about his travel, people at the governor’s mansion, and donations to state political committees by extending deadlines for reports about fundraising. In court cases, DeSantis has claimed “executive privilege” to block the release of records and to keep staff from testifying, an advantage only for presidents. 

Chief Justice John Roberts stated that Supreme Court justices should control their own ethics issues, but their behavior indicates they aren’t qualified. Elite law firms paid his wife, Jane Roberts, over $10 million in seven years with hundreds of thousands of dollars from a firm arguing a case in the high court. Most of her placements with law firms, however, are confidential. On his disclosure forms, Roberts does not release information about who is paying his wife.

Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas failed to recuse themselves from cases involved with those who enriched them—failing to be specific about the largess—and Samuel Alito was wooed with free meals and vacation locations by an evangelical activist coordinating an influence campaign for the court to overturn women’s reproductive rights. Justice Antonin Scalia died in 2016 on an expenses-paid trip with a secretive hunting society at a luxury Texas ranch.

Unlike judges in lower courts, Supreme Court justices are exempt from the Judicial Conference’s rigorous Code of Conduct; Roberts calls it a “starting point.” Supreme Court is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act or the oversight of the Office on Government Ethics. It has no internal ethics committee and no inspector general.

After years of questioning the conduct of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, new information reveals serious omissions in research about him when he was a candidate. In 2018, a Senate report released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) provided the unfounded and unverified claim that one of his accusers was “likely” mistaken in alleging that Kavanaugh had exposed himself to her at a dormitory party, blaming another Yale student. The accusation came from a Colorado attorney member of the Federalist Society supporting Kavanaugh and friend of the judiciary committee’s lead counsel at that time. The young man picked by the attorney who allegedly exposed himself instead of Kavanaugh was a high school senior at the time, not a Yale student, and had never been contacted by any GOP staffers for the report. He said:

“These people can say what they want, and there are no consequences, ever.”

In a never-before-heard recording, another Yale graduate said he witnessed Kavanaugh expose himself at a party. Previously he tried to anonymously tell the FBI during the confirmation process that he saw Kavanaugh’s friends push the future justice’s penis into the hand of a female classmate at a party. In another situation, Kavanaugh had allegedly tried to push his penis into the mouth of a young woman almost passed out on the floor from drinking. Republican committee members were aware of the witness’s wish to testify to the FBI, but he was not interviewed by the committee’s investigators.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R-RI) is expected to release a report of the FBI’s shabby handling of the Kavanaugh investigation by the end of the year. Roberts refused to testify at a Senate judiciary hearing on Tuesday, May 2, regarding potential reforms to ethics rules. Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) cited “a steady stream of revelations regarding justices falling short of the ethical standards.”

According to several sources, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) obtained passing votes for his shady debt ceiling bill by telling Republicans to ignore the provisions of the measure because it would never become law. Instead, they should focus on its symbolic victory proving to President Joe Biden that GOP could unite around votes.

Two conservative states failed to ban abortion, each by one vote. The Nebraska bill in the unicameral legislature was to stop abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy, and South Carolina would have prevented them at conception. Six Republicans helped block motions with the chamber’s five women filibustering the proposal. One Republican senator compared the bill to Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale, in which women are considered state property. An 80-year-old Republican in Nebraska abstained because six weeks is not long enough for a woman to know that she is pregnant. Nebraska currently bans abortion after the 20^th week. 

Citing bigger expenses, WinRed, a website for GOP donations intends to add a $.30 fee for every donation on top of the 3.94 percent it already charges. During the 2022 election, the 31.2 million donations on WinRed were valued at almost $1.2 billion, and the 2024 election could double that number. The company could make almost an additional $20 million, reducing GOP campaign monies. WinRed complained that GOP donations were down and multiple investigations were expensive.

A judge issued a restraining order against a reporter in Arizona when she rang the doorbell of Sen. Wendy Rogers’ home to ask about her residency. Rogers may not be living in the district where she is elected. The judge refused the request to keep the reporter out of the state senate. In her second term, Rogers is an Oath Keeper, election denier, and QAnon promoter who also has faced accusations of antisemitism. Rogers defended Alex Jones who claimed the massacre of small children at Sandy Hook a hoax. Last year, most of her GOP colleagues voted to censure her for comments such as seeing her political enemies hanged.

The Federal Aviation Administation indefinitely grounded SpaceX after the Starship blew up four minutes after takeoff. The failure caused blackened structures and a huge crater in the ground at the launch pad, and dust and debris spread out, striking at least one vehicle. Heat and the force of the firing rocket engines caused the pad’s concrete structure to fracture after gasses expelled from the engines entered cracks at a high pressure, further eroding the pad. Dirt from under the pad cast massive quantities of dust for several miles away.

People in Port Isabel, five miles away from the launch, had broken windows, shaken buildings, and dust raining down. The particulates can cause respiratory problems and other health problems. In addition, five to eight of the 33 Raptor engines didn’t fire at different times during the ascent. One cause could have been debris from the pad’s destruction may have damaged them, especially the rocket nozzles.

The destruction of the launch pad was unanticipated. CEO Elon Musk suggested using a water-cooled steel plate to disperse the heat, but it wasn’t ready in time. Engineers assumed the pad could survive one launch, and they went ahead.

In another revelation about Elon Musk’s companies, a new report shows that Twitter complies with government requests to censor material far more often than before Musk purchased the company. In the first six months of his control, Twitter’s compliance for censorship demands rose to 80 percent from about 50 percent, especially in India where the right-wing government insisted on the removal of unflattering media portrayals about the governing party. Turkey provided the most requests to Twitter to suppress dissent which have been largely fulfilled.

Lawyers for Jack Teixeira, the airman who leaked hundreds of classified Pentagon documents, want him released into the custody of his father with a $20,000 bond. Prosecutors pointed out that he could be a flight risk, especially because his knowledge could be valuable to a foreign governments. Prosecutors also said that Teixeira had destroyed evidence in the case and has a history of making violent threats online.  

Teixeira was suspended in high school for violent threats, planned to participate in a public shooting from an SUV.  Six months ago, he said he would “kill a ton of people” with the goal of “culling the weak minded.” He also kept an arsenal of handguns and rifles in his room along with a gas mask. The judge scoffed when Teixeira’s lawyer claimed his client is only accused of sharing the information with a small group on the internet.

Two leaders of the Massachusetts Air National Guard unit where Teixieia was stationed have been suspended during the investigation, temporarily losing access to classified systems and information.

A family in Cleveland (TX)  asked their neighbor to stop firing his AR-15 rifle in his yard at 11:30 pm so their baby could sleep. He went to their house and murdered five of them ages 8 to 31 with the gun. Five others were injured, three of them in the hospital. The shooter is still at large with the rifle. The U.S. has had at least 174 mass shootings in the first 128 days of 2023. That’s freedom in the United States.

For people who think studying punctuation has no value…

Supreme Court, DeSantis, More News

Mifepristoine, the abortion drug, is available—for now. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 21 that a lower court’s decision supporting antiabortion groups to restrict the drug terminating early pregnancies is on hold. Matthew Kacsmaryk, a judge appointed by former Dictator Donald Trump (DDT), had totally overturned FDA approval, making the medication illegal in the entire United States, and the 5th Circuit Court upheld some restrictions. 

Dissents from Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito stated they would not have granted a stay. Thomas gave no reason, and Alito said no one would have been harmed by opposing the FDA scientific opinions. The appeals court had removed telehealth for mifepristone, availability of prescriptions at pharmacies, and use of the drug until ten weeks of pregnancies. The 5^th Circuit Court will probably not change its position with the return of the case to its jurisdiction. The U.S. Supreme Court may need to readdress its ruling because another federal judge has approved the use of mifepristone for 17 states.

The argument against the use of mifepristone came from the 1873 Comstock Act that opposed obscene materials.  Kacsmaryk’s ruling ignored standing, that the plaintiffs had suffered harm, and used antiabortion language such as “abortionists” and “unborn humans” because he used information from antiabortion groups for his ruling. The case was a direct attack against the FDA; antiabortion plaintiffs said that the agency “have brazenly flouted the law and applicable regulations, disregarded holes and red flags in their own safety data, intentionally evaded judicial review, and continually placed politics above women’s health.”

In allowing states to ban abortion last June, the decision stated that abortion was a states’ decision. Kacsmaryk’s decision covers the entire nation.

Philippe-Alexandre Langlois, press secretary to Canada’s Families Minister Karina Gould, said people from the U.S. can go to Canada for abortions, including mifepristone, because non-Canadians can obtain abortions there:

“Our government has and will always defend a woman’s right to choose. We have taken action to not only protect, but also improve access to reproductive health services, including abortion. In Canada, there is no prohibition on the provision of health care services to citizens of other countries.”

Dick Durbin (D-IL), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has asked Chief Justice John Roberts to testify before Congress about the justices’ ethics rules and possible reforms. In his letter, Durbin stated that Roberts had not addressed these issues since a 2011 report. Since that time, “there has been a steady stream of revelations regarding Justices falling short of the ethical standards expected of other federal judges and, indeed, of public servants generally.”

Roberts has not responded, and some Republicans, who benefit from the lack of ethics display in the high court, oppose his testimony.  Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said he recommended Roberts not testify “because it will be a circus,” pretending that the problems with the Supreme Court is not already a circus. Senate Republican Whip John Thune (SD) said Congress should interfere with the court’s internal affairs. Democrats cannot subpoena Roberts for an appearance because Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) absence removes their majority, and Republicans refuse to allow her replacement after she resigned from the Judiciary Committee.

The chief justice may be reluctant because his wife has extensive connections with lawyers appearing before the Supreme Court.

After a DDT-appointed judge ordered former Manhattan prosecutor Mark Pomerantz to be deposed by Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) judiciary committee, the 2^nd Circuit Court blocked the subpoena. Both Pomerantz and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg had sued Jordan to stop the deposition. The deposition was seen as retaliation for Bragg’s indictment of DDT for allegedly falsifying business records.

The judge presiding in E. Jean Carroll’s sexual assault lawsuit told DDT’s attorneys that his appearance at the trial would not be a burden on New York City, DDT’s excuse not to attend. He also said that DDT was not required to be present.

MyPillow founder Mike Lindell promised to pay anyone $5 million who could prove his data showing Chinese interference in the 2020 election is not from that election. A computer forensics expert who voted for DDT found the proof, along with no evidence that the election had been falsified, and Lindell now claims he never made this statement. Lindell called his challenge “Prove Mike Wrong,” and an arbitration panel ruled that he has to make the payout, ordering Lindell’s firm to pay within 30 days. The contest rules stated disputes would be “resolved exclusively by final and binding arbitration” and that arbitration “is subject to very limited review by courts.” Dominion Voting Systems still has a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against Lindell, and one of Dominion’s former executives is suing Lindell for defamation.

Republicans like old laws, like the antiabortion one from 1849 and the 1873 Comstock Act, again used to block medical abortion. In Michigan, nine Republicans, half those in the Senate, opposed the overturning of a 1931 law punishing unmarried couples living together. During the debate to repeal the law, a Republican said the law was “passed for the betterment of society, particularly for children.” The repeal passed, and the bill goes to the other chamber.

One of the Republicans who voted to expel two Black legislators from the Tennessee House supporting gun control has resigned after his ethics violation on the legislator’s workplace discrimination and harassment policy became public. No more information will be released. The resignation came hours after a Nashville TV station asked him about sexual harassment allegations involving legislative interns. He said, “I had consensual, adult conversations with two adults off property.” The legislator stayed in office after the ethics finding to vote in expelling the two legislators who have been reappointed by their districts.

Taxpayers paid thousands of dollars to cover up the ethics violation: one of the victims had been relocated from the apartment building where she and the former legislator had apartments, her furniture was shipped to her home in another part of the state, and she stayed in a downtown hotel at taxpayer expense for the remainder of her internship.

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie appears to be considered a presidential run, as evidenced by his attacks against potential opponents, for example this one about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ retaliation against Disney:

“If he was so offended by the Reedy Creek District, why didn’t he do something the whole first four years he was there? It’s not like—don’t tell me that the governor of Florida didn’t know that Disney had its own governing body. ‘Cause if he didn’t, then he’s an incompetent.”

In New Hampshire, Christie compared DDT to Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter series.

Although not declaring his candidacy, DeSantis has been traveling the country campaigning using a pitiful impersonation of Winston Churchill and touting his book while Florida suffers from gas shortages and rising gas prices while parts of the state are inundated with serious flooding. DeSantis’ message:

“We fight the woke in the legislature, we fight the woke in the schools, we fight the woke in the corporations. We will never ever surrender.”

During DeSantis’ stop in Washington, D.C., several members of Congress, including from Florida, endorsed DDT.

In North Carolina, state Democratic senator Michael Garrett, filed a bill to give Disney a home for its holdings. Called Mickey’s Freedom Restoration Act, the measure asks for $750,000 to study a plan intended to lure Disney to the state.

“North Carolina is a great place to do business. Politicians who put their state’s economy at risk to boost their own selfish political ambitions are a liability. In North Carolina, we’ve learned this lesson the hard way. When HB2, the so-called ‘bathroom bill’ passed, other states capitalized on our state’s disgraceful misstep.”

Furious with Disney for controlling its business, DeSantis has proposed building a prison or another amusement park next to Disney World. Unfortunately for the possibility of a Garrett’s proposed move, two North Carolina Republicans filed a bill to add drag shows to “adult” entertainment, banning them to anyone “younger than 18.” Drag shows would be labeled as “prurient,” legally defined as “having a tendency to excite lustful thoughts.” The bill doesn’t clarify performances with cross-dressing characters such as Hairspray Jr. and Tootsie, or cartoons with cross-dressing appearances of Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, and Quick Draw McGraw.

In Florida, Disney covers about 43 square miles with two small municipalities where Disney controls public safety, roads, utilities etc. usually provided to cities and counties. Central Florida has 145,000 hotel rooms, mostly in Orlando, and Disney is the biggest attraction in the state.

The spectacular explosion of Space X’s new Starship rocket four minutes after it left the launch pad is theorized to be a “successful failure,” accelerating development of the vehicle. The rocket lasted only 20 miles into the sky after the Raport engines malfunctioned and Starship did not separate from its Super Heavy rocket booster. Planetary scientist Tanya Harrison expects humans on Mars within a decade. The explosion caused Elon Musk’s assets to plummet $13 billion, leaving him only $164 billion, and his Tesla stock dropped by 10 percent in 24 hours after its net income dropped 20 percent.