Blog Betty (Thomas Friedman is a Great Man was an online novel): 5/7/23

Friday, May 12, 2023

DiFi needs to go and she needs to go now

Picking up from Ann's "Dianne Feinstein is proof of the need for mandatory retirement" -- Dianne Feinstein. She took her lazy and useless rear to DC -- to try to silence the outcry. She's voting by proxy.

She needs to resign now. Liz Goodwin and Maeve Reston (WASHINGTON POST) report:

After a months-long absence that sparked an intra-party debate about judicial nominees, sexism and the Democratic agenda, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) cast her tiebreaking vote for three of President Biden’s stalled judges from her seat in the Senate Judiciary Committee this week — breaking the stalemate that had led some progressives to unsuccessfully call for her resignation.

The 89-year-old senator received a bipartisan standing ovation as she was helped to her seat by an aide, still visibly suffering the lingering effects of the shingles diagnosis that has sidelined her since late February.

Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the chair of the Judiciary Committee who has complained that her absence hamstrung his committee at a crucial time, expressed his “relief” Thursday that she was back, and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) crowed from the Senate floor that he expected to “to move forward on many more judges” in the coming days.

Democrats celebrated her return ahead of what could be a crucial debt ceiling vote in the coming weeks, but her office stressed that she is taking her recovery day by day, and will work a “light” schedule as she continues to heal — which was evident as she skipped several votes on her first day back. And it’s still unclear what her presence will mean for the Judiciary Committee’s agenda, as Durbin faces pressure from progressives to use his committee to aggressively investigate alleged ethical lapses by Justice Clarence Thomas.

She is not up for the job and she needs to retire. Immediately. She's screwed up enough things -- including two confirmations under Trump -- and we can't afford her or her senility. She is not a functioning adult and she needs to go. Immediately.

Jeffrey St. Clair (COUNTERPUNCH) observes, "Meanwhile, Dianne Feinstein returned to Washington for the first time since February and promptly missed her first vote." Exactly.

"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Friday, May 12, 2023. A 'think' tank tells us the US military can leave Iraq . . . in five years, there's a campaign to save the TV show THE WINCHESTERS, someone let Sabby Sabs know that typing a lie does not make the lie true, and much more.

You'd think Ava and I having written, 17 years ago, of SUPERNATURAL, that "it's like really bad gay porn where the leads forget to take their clothes off" would keep us off certain request lists. You'd think it.

THE CW is a piece of crap network today run on the cheap and desperate. They'll either commit to real programming or go down the toilet quickly -- real programming isn't Chip and Joanna or their ilk on a non HGTV channel. I have no idea why THE WINCHESTERS can't easily move to HBO (which needs new programming but is part of the problem due to new ownership) or PARAMOUNT+ which is still butt hurt over the survey that they sent to some subscribers earlier this week (results? If it's not STAR TREK and it's not Sarah Michelle Geller's WOLFPACK, subscribers aren't impressed) -- since it's a WB and CBS co-production. Jensen and company are attempting to save THE WINCHESTERS -- the SUPERNATURAL spin-off that THE CW announced was axed yesterday. I'm happy to note the campaign to save the show and we'll even open the snapshot with it.

Let's move over to Iraq, Stefanie Glinski (GUARDIAN) reports:

It’s been 20 years since the start of the US-led invasion which toppled the then president Saddam Hussein – launched under the false premise of Iraq owning weapons of mass destruction. What followed were years of violence, including a sectarian civil war, frequent terrorist attacks by al-Qaida and, eventually, the emergence of Islamic State. About 300,000 civilians died in the conflict over the past 20 years and much of Iraq was left devastated.

Baghdad’s face is constantly changing: concrete blast walls coming down, new co-working spaces popping up, the banks of the Tigris River being redeveloped and a building boom under way. Young people have transformed grey walls into colourful murals, or empty buildings into restaurants and it is on this generation of people in their late teens and early 20s that so many hopes are being pinned.

In the capital, Baghdad, they are students and ballet instructors, artists and amputees who lost limbs during the heavy years of conflict, entrepreneurs and business owners. Many were born into war, and are now torn between two choices: “My generation either wants to leave Iraq and start over elsewhere, or otherwise stay here and invest, rebuild and move our country forward,” says Anwar Ahmed, a 23-year-old environmentalist. “Personally, I believe Baghdad needs me – and even when it’s not always easy, I think I need it too.”

Of course, she adds, metropolitan Baghdad with its 8 million residents does not necessarily always speak for the rest of the country – but “here’s where change starts”.

First, I missed the memo too -- the one on "300,000" -- that started showing up over and over this year. It's over a million dead and it was over a million before Bully Boy Bush left the White House.

Second, if they can leave Iraq, good for thm. The US military can't leave. All these years later, the US military can't leave.

The US government's Operation Inherent Resolve announced this morning:

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On May 2, 2023, Coalition service members will be conducting aerial operational exercises in or near the Erbil region in Iraq to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness.

These exercises ensure the Coalition’s continued capability to support our partner forces and protect our Coalition forces. Extensive planning and proper safety measures are taken before and during live fire rehearsals in order to protect the Coalition and the local population.

Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve advises, assists, and enables partner forces to secure the lasting defeat of ISIS and to enable the establishment of enduring security cooperation frameworks.

UPDATE: On May 3, 2023, Coalition service members will be conducting aerial operational exercises in or near the Erbil region in Iraq to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness.

UPDATE: On May 4, 2023, Coalition service members will be conducting ground and aerial operational exercises in or near the Erbil and Khalidiyah regions in Iraq to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness.

UPDATE: On May 5, 2023, Coalition service members will be conducting aerial operational exercises in or near the Erbil region in Iraq to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness.

UPDATE: On May 6, 2023, Coalition service members will be conducting aerial operational exercises in or near the Erbil region in Iraq to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness.

UPDATE: On May 7, 2023, Coalition service members will be conducting ground operational exercises in or near the Mosul region in Iraq to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness.

UPDATE: On May 8, 2023, Coalition service members will be conducting aerial operational exercises in or near the Mosul region in Iraq to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness.

UPDATE: On May 9, 2023, Coalition service members will be conducting aerial operational exercises in or near the Mosul region in Iraq to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness.

UPDATE: On May 10, 2023, Coalition service members will be conducting aerial operational exercises in or near the Sulaymaniyah region in Iraq to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness.

UPDATE: On May 11, 2023, Coalition service members will be conducting aerial operational exercises in or near the Erbil region in Iraq to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness.

UPDATE: On May 12, 2023, Coalition service members will be conducting ground defense operational exercises in or near Baghdad, Iraq to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness.

They're not going anywhere. This wave of the war started in 2003 and it still hasn't ended. Over at the latest non-thinking think-tank (Quincy Institute For 'Responsible' Statecraft), Steven Simon and Adam Weinstein presented their best effort (which is really sad) regarding Iraq. It's entitled "How To Withdraw From Iraq in Five Years."

In five years.

The 'think'-tank is telling us how the US military can leave Iraq in . . . five years.

When Barack Obama became president, some thought US troops were coming home. "We want to end the Iraq War and we want to end it now!" he thundered on the 2008 campaign trail over and over. But didn't happen, did it. Let's drop back to the February 8, 2012 snapshot:

We covered the November 30th [2011] House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the MiddleEast and South Asia in the December 1st snapshot and noted that Ranking Member Gary Ackerman had several questions. He declared, "Number one, does the government of Iraq -- whose personnel we intend to train -- support the [police training] program? Interviews with senior Iaqi officials by the Special Inspector General show utter didain for the program. When the Iraqis sugest that we take our money and do things instead that are good for the United States. I think that might be a clue." The State Dept's Brooke Darby faced that Subcommittee. Ranking Member Gary Ackerman noted that the US had already spent 8 years training the Iraq police force and wanted Darby to answer as to whether it would take another 8 years before that training was complete? Her reply was, "I'm not prepared to put a time limit on it." She could and did talk up Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Interior Adnan al-Asadi as a great friend to the US government. But Ackerman and Subcommittee Chair Steve Chabot had already noted Adnan al-Asadi, but not by name. That's the Iraqi official, for example, Ackerman was referring to who made the suggestion "that we take our money and do things instead that are good for the United States." He made that remark to SIGIR Stuart Bowen.

Brooke Darby noted that he didn't deny that comment or retract it; however, she had spoken with him and he felt US trainers and training from the US was needed. The big question was never asked in the hearing: If the US government wants to know about this $500 million it is about to spend covering the 2012 training of the Ministry of the Interior's police, why are they talking to the Deputy Minister?

In that same House Foreign Relations Committee hearing, it was also established that the State Dept had no real plan.

Ranking Member Gary Ackerman: When will they be willing to stand up without us?

Brooke Darby: I wish I could answer that question.

Ranking Member Gary Ackerman: Then why are we spending money if we don't have the answer?

[long pause]

Ranking Member Gary Ackerman: You know, this is turning into what happens after a bar mitzvah or a Jewish wedding. It's called "a Jewish goodbye." Everybody keeps saying goodbye but nobody leaves.

That was 2011. It's eleven years later and Quincy wants to tell us how the US can leave . . . in five more years.

Ackerman: "It's called 'a Jewish goodbye.' Everybody keeps saying goodbye but nobody leaves."

True then, true all these years later.

The US media sold the war on Iraq with lies. All this time later, the media works overtime to either lie or be silent when it comes to the American Taliban. Ari Drennan (MEDIA MATTERS) calls out THE WASHINGTON POST for lying and selling hatred:

Reporting on a Washington Post/KFF poll that ran on the Post’s front page on Monday morning promised “political jet fuel for Republicans in state legislatures and Congress who are pushing measures restricting curriculum, sports participation and medical care,” a self-fulfilling prophecy enabled by the Post’s own oversimplified, hyperbolic framing.

The first question reported in the story asked whether someone’s gender can differ from their sex assigned at birth, a theoretical topic far removed from the actual GOP policies concerning trans people, which have included bans on public bathroom access, exclusions from athletic competition, and prohibitions on gender-affirming care for adults.

Summarizing the poll, the authors wrote that “certainly for now, the new Post-KFF poll finds, Republican lawmakers have the wind at their backs on much of their anti-transgender legislative agenda.”

But while the story was new, the poll was conducted in November and December 2022, over six months ago and well before this year’s legislative onslaught of over 450 bills targeting LGBTQ people. Restricting rights for transgender people tends to be a low-salience issue, falling far below other priorities, that has been rejected by voters time and time again — including in the November 2022 midterms and the December 2022 Georgia Senate runoff. Even a recent Fox News poll conceded that voters regard “attacks on families with transgender children” as more of a problem than trans athletes.

Indeed, in the only question concerning laws discriminating against trans people, the Washington Post/KFF poll found overwhelming majorities support protections for trans people in housing (74%), employment (73%), and K-12 schools (69%). However, these were not the conclusions that the Post chose to highlight in bizarrely claiming that “most Americans support anti-trans policies favored by GOP.”

The misleading framing of the Post’s story lent itself to coverage by Fox News, which used it to attack former college trans athlete Lia Thomas — who last competed 14 months ago and whose record in the 1,650-yard freestyle has since been broken by a cisgender swimmer — and to claim that Republicans are fighting for women’s sex-based rights instead of working to criminalize abortion. The poll was subsequently used by Fox News to defend a Texas bill that would criminalize gender-affirming care for minors and to argue that trans equality is being pushed by “marginal extremist individuals who are left-wing activists”

Fox News is adept at using corporate media’s questioning of the basic existence of trans people as a cudgel against Democratic politicians who refuse to stay silent.

While the inclusion of trans people in public life has become a matter of fierce debate in the last couple years, history shows the danger of framing like that adopted by the Post. As pointed out by The American Independent writer Oliver Willis, a 1961 Gallup poll found that what the Post would call “most Americans” believed that the sit-in protests against racial segregation would “hurt” the integration movement.

At a time when the position of much of the right is that “transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely,” The Washington Post’s poll analysis presenting attacks on trans people as politically popular is, in fact, adding “jet fuel” to the fire being stoked by the GOP.

THE WASHINGTON POST publishes their lies and FOX "NEWS" presents it on air as proof. We saw the same with Iraq. THE NEW YORK TIMES published the lies, then president of vice Dick Cheney went on NBC's MEET THE PRESS waving the 'report' by THE TIMES as proof.

There was a time, boys and girls, when John Stauber would have called such things out -- and did. But he's gone over to the dark side. As Rebecca's noted, "john stauber is the 21st century david horowitz."

The American Taliban is bent on destroying democracy and the nation itself. Some of the hate merchants are betting on Ron DeSantis -- alleged governor of Florida who fails at that task but thinks he should be president of the United States.

Sarah Rumpf (MEDIAITE) explains:

According to the Orlando Sentinel, DeSantis’ board has “created a code enforcement system that could issue fines to Walt Disney World, which is known for meticulous care of its grounds,” which would include imposing fines for code violations of up to $500 per day, all determined by a group of newly-appointed code enforcement officers, who would answer to the new administrator the board had selected (along with a substantial pay increase). The new program “would also authorize foreclosures on any liens.”

This increasingly bizarre mess started just over a year ago, with a milquetoast press release issued by the then-CEO Bob Chapek — regarding the Parental Rights in Education bill (dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by many of its critics) after it passed. Many other companies criticized the legislation in far harsher terms before it passed, and Disney didn’t actually do anything about the bill after that press release, but it was enough to trigger DeSantis’ ire.

Well, more accurately, the Disney corporation presented an irresistible target for DeSantis’ presidential ambitions, helping him secure some of that sweet, sweet Fox News airtime as he sought to portray himself as a warrior knight of the culture wars. As DeSantis admitted in his book, he directed the GOP-controlled Florida legislature to rush through a bill targeting Disney: an ill-conceived, unconstitutional effort to repeal outright the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), the special taxing district for Disney’s property that stretches across Orange and Osceola County.

DeSantis’ Cinderella Castle coup attempt was derailed by RCID’s outstanding municipal bond debt of over $1 billion that would become the debt of the county taxpayers if RCID was dissolved — a politically unpalatable development — so during the 2023 legislative session, his minions in the legislature rushed forward another bill that kept the main structure of RCID intact and took control of the board away from Disney and granted that appointment power to the governor.

But before DeSantis’ new puppet board could seize the reins, Disney and the existing RCID board entered into a new development agreement (a common legal instrument in Florida real estate development), essentially freezing the existing system in place, prohibiting the incoming board from using the Disney name or characters, and otherwise sharply limiting their power — all done at a publicly-announced, open-to-the-public RCID meeting that was recorded in the county public records.

Disney has filed suit in federal court, arguing that the plain language in an incredibly long list of comments by DeSantis and his allies proves their retaliatory intent, and therefore a violation of the First Amendment, in addition to other claims based on contract law. First Amendment jurisprudence has long held that the government cannot take otherwise legal action (and the RCID repeal and board takeover violate other provisions of Florida law) against a taxpayer as retaliation against the exercise of that taxpayer’s free speech rights.

B-b-b-but Jonathan Turley says!!!!

Jonathan Turley doesn't know what he's talking about.

Sidebar, what should a university do with a tenured professor if they find out that he or she has actively participated in a cabal, an actual conspiracy -- as legally defined? Pretend Ann Coulter could be a professor, for example, and that back in the 90s when she was one of the 'elves' working to overthrow then-President Bill Clinton, when that reality came out, she could lose her job -- whether she had tenure or not. Tenure makes you untouchable in a lot of ways but deceiving the public can invalidate that.

At any rate, Jonathan doesn't know what he's talking about. He's a mouthpiece for the right-wing. It's gotten so bad that he no longer even does a pretense that he's left. In addition to the legal issues, there's also the harm Ronnie's doing to his own image. Dean Baker (TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICES) observes:

In the good old days, we used to think that in a democracy, we should have a level playing field. This meant that candidates made their case to the voters and did their best to get supporters out to vote. Elections were hard fought and often nasty, but the idea was that the person who could get the most votes won.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis doesn’t think this will work for him. He seems to need the power of Florida’s government to help him advance his political career.

That is the story of his battle with Walt Disney Co. It is crucial to be clear about the issue here. Florida arguably has been overly generous in its subsidies to Disney, most notably ceding control over a chunk of the state’s territory to Disney. People who live in the area near Florida’s Disney World don’t vote for city or county officials; their community is governed by Disney.

This is an arrangement that dates back more than 50 years. Florida never should have offered this sort of concession to attract Disney. Arguably, it should be looking to take it back now.

But that is not the issue here. DeSantis has made it clear that he is not going after Disney because he thinks the state has been too generous with the company. He is going after Disney because it publicly disagrees with his politics.

DeSantis is saying that he has the right to use the power of Florida’s government to attack Disney for political reasons. And the issue is not just Disney.

By attacking Disney, one of the most influential companies in the country, DeSantis is sending a warning. He is prepared to use the power of the state’s government against any company or individual that might oppose his political ambitions. Apparently, DeSantis is worried about his prospects in fair elections. He feels he needs the power of the government at his back to move ahead in politics.

And, of course, among Republicans, he's harming himself. He's trying to pull the MAGA vote away from Donald Trump but he's mainly just running off what would be termed "reasonable Republicans" by some. They're not really thrilled with his anti-business stance and stunts.

Jonathan can't tell you about that because it's not part of the on-message talking points delivered each morning.

And Bob Iger (as disclosed before, I know Bob) made a great point this week: "One question: Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes — or not?"

Little Ronnie and Swirley Turley are idiots who don't remember when Florida's reputation found the state struggling to bring in tourists. I do. Lose DISNEY and Florida will suffer. Florida has always been tourism-dependent when it came to the economy. Getting DISNEY WORLD in 1971 was a major boost. It even helped them when Florida was seen as too lawless, dangerous and with a heavy criminal element. In other words, Ronnie, I'm not really sure that pissing off the people in charge of creative entertainment is the way to go. You'll never win and all you have to do is give the studios a reason to explore crime and Florida and you'll see those tourist dollars taper off yet again. A gritty reboot of MIAMI VICE, for example, could do a lot of harm to what would be left -- without DISNEY -- of the tourist industry.

Little Ronnie's an idiot. Jonathan Turley's just a media whore paid by FOX "NEWS."

Speaking of idiots or liars -- Sabby Sabs.

@SabbySabs2

·

17h

Replying to @AOC

They set up @ReadeAlexandra
 when she came forward about Biden. You were silent. Why are you so concerned now? 

Just typing something doesn't make it true. She grasps that, right?

Joshua Rhett Miller (NY POST) May 8, 2020 [Click on the link, Sabby, use the mouse -- okay, just stand up in the coffee house and ask someone to come over and help you with your laptop, Sabby]:

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes “something happened” between former Vice President Joe Biden and a former staffer accusing him of sexual assault some 27 years ago — although the allegations are not “clear-cut,” she said.

Ocasio-Cortez, speaking to National Public Radio Thursday, warned against rushing to judgment and urged due process regarding Tara Reade’s claim that the Democratic presidential hopeful sexually harassed her while working as an aide for Biden in 1993.

“There have been investigative journalists that have corroborated certain aspects of her account — that is undeniable — [and] have raised questions about other aspects of her account,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

So, Sabby, are you a liar or just an idiot?

I think you (a) are too stupid to remember recent history (or any) and (b) that you're eager to attack AOC and you have a base of idiots who believe you're little con game so you think you can type anything. It's not that easy, Sabby. You were wrong. Don't correct it, that way we'll know you lied intentionally.

Blogs and kisses -- as Tracey would say when doing her Arianna impersonation -- blogs and kisses.

And that was spotted on Tara's feed -- Tara Reed reTweeted it. Another reason never to support Tara. I've noted she made a credible case and I've noted that even really awful and disgusting people -- who leech off others and never repay them -- can be raped or assaulted. But it's not my job to defend racists and transphobes so, as I've noted before, Tara's on her own.

And she should be.

AOC spoke out in her defense and Tara -- an ungrateful attention whore -- rewards that by . . . reTweeting a dishonest attack.

Well if Tara couldn't be dishonest, she might never get to speak. Take a moment and ponder what a glorious world that would be.

As long as I'm fact checking, Jonathan Turley:

Today, I will testify on free speech protections before the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability. The hearing is entitled “Censorship Laundering: How the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Enables the Silencing of Dissent.”

No, you didn't. You testified at the House Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Accountability.

That's the subcommittee that Marjorie Taylor Greene should be removed from for applauding a leaker posting classified material online to show off -- yes, I know Majorie emphasized that he was a "White" "Christian" and that apparently matters to her more than the rules in place for handling classified information. That's why she needs to be removed from the committee and any other one that might require her to handle classified material.

The following sites updated:

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Crooked and Corrupt Clarence

Let me note first off that I agree with Marcia (read her "Useless Idiots Katie Halper and Briahna Joy Gray ") and Briahna Joy Gray is what used to be known as "a crossover artist." Meaning she has more appeal for Whites than for Black people. She has never spoken -- on any topic -- in such a way that I could identify with her. She's White people popular but she doesn't speak to most of us in the Black community.

Crooked Clarence Thomas is a bad look for the Supreme Court as is their refusal to police their own. BUSINESS INSIDER reports:

At a time when Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was accepting lavish trips paid for by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, fellow Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan was turning down bagels and lox from high school friends, over concerns she could be violating the court's ethics rules for accepting gifts, according to a new report.

Forward reported that friends who attended Hunter College High School in Manhattan with Kagan in the 1970s wanted to send her a "care package" of bagels, lox, babka, chocolates, and other inexpensive items in February 2021.

However, they later scrapped the idea after Kagan expressed concerns about issues it could pose under the Supreme Court's rules on gifts and disclosures, per Forward.

"We thought it would be a sign of support to send her some lox, but she was too ethical to take the lox," said Sarah Schulman, a former school friend, according to the media outlet.

Such a thought would never have entered what passes for Clarence's brain. He is disgusting, disappointing and crooked.

At CNN, Steven Lubet writes:

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has had to explain decades of omissions on his annual financial reports. The most recent revelation, as reported by ProPublica, is that Thomas did not mention Republican donor Harlan Crow’s private school tuition payments for the justice’s grandnephew, whom the justice and his wife, Virginia Thomas, were raising “as a son.” That was a direct financial benefit to the Thomases, but it appeared nowhere on the justice’s disclosure statements mandated by the Ethics in Government Act.

The discovery is just the latest to cast a pall on Thomas for providing flimsy excuses for failing to make disclosures on these reports. As a Supreme Court justice, Thomas routinely interprets complex statutes that affect millions of Americans, priding himself on close adherence to the text. It beggars belief that he could repeatedly misinterpret plain statutory requirements and simple instructions on his annual disclosure reports.

In the case of the private school tuition, Thomas’ close friend Mark Paoletta released a statement on Thursday acknowledging Crow’s generous payments for the justice’s greatnephew at two schools for at least the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years, which may have totaled over $100,000 by the calculations of ProPublica based on the publicly available tuition rates. The money was paid directly to the schools at Crow’s suggestion since Thomas and his wife were “struggling to find a school where they could send their great nephew,” according to Paoletta, a lawyer who has represented Virginia Thomas. The gifts were not included on Thomas’s annual disclosure reports, according to ProPublica.

The payments were excludable from reporting, Paoletta said, because they were gifts to the student rather than the Thomases. Although gifts to a justice’s minor children must ordinarily be disclosed, Paoletta found an escape route. “The definition of a ‘dependent child’ under the Ethics in Government Act … does not include a ‘great nephew’” or ward, he explained. It is limited to a “son, daughter, stepson or stepdaughter.”

Paoletta does not acknowledge the inconvenient truth that the payments were reportable gifts to Thomas himself. I have never heard of adolescents who pay their own tuition, and the boarding school arrangements were made with Thomas’ participation and approval, according to Paoletta’s statement.

Is there any doubt that most parents would consider it a wonderful gift for their dependent child to be provided an expensive education beyond their own means? A few years earlier, Thomas himself disclosed a different donor’s $5,000 “education gift” for the same child.

It is indeed admirable that the Thomases, as Paoletta put it, “devoted twelve years of their lives to helping a beloved child in desperate need of love, support, and guidance,” while encountering “immeasurable personal and financial sacrifices.” But there’s no question Crow’s largesse financially benefited Thomas by saving him, as a legal guardian, from making hefty tuition payments on his own.

Unfortunately, that was not the first time Thomas attempted to justify nondisclosure with a dubious interpretation of the law.

"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Thursday, May 11, 2023. The bees in Iraq, democracy in the US -- what are things that suffer currently?

The American Taliban. You think so many can't call it out because they're in bed with it? Tucker Carlson defenders, for example, who call themselves post-left. Nick Pemberton (COUNTERPUNCH) notes:

Upon Tucker Carlson’s firing the position of the post-left became even more clarifying. Consider these tweets from the Post-Left Watch: “These people went on Tucker Carlson: Glenn Greenwald, Aaron Maté, Max Blumenthal, Michael Tracey, Russell Brand, Dennis Kucinich, Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Oliver Stone, Matt Taibbi, Roger Waters, Lee Fang, Tara Reade, Jimmy Dore, Cornel West, Ro Khanna, Krystal Ball…. Other people who went on Tucker Carlson: Anya Parampil, Zaid Jilani, Stephen F. Cohen, Andrew Yang, Jill Stein, Matt Stoller, Angela Nagle, Rod Blagojevich.”

I'm sorry, who on that list is supposed to impress me?

Stephen F. Cohen is someone I knew and he went on there to get the word out on Ukraine. He didn't do testimonials for Tucker. As for the rest? Where's the person that's supposed to impress me? A bunch of do nothing self-promoters.

Glenn Greenwald -- libertarian, not left. Dennis Kucinich? He sold out his followers at the 2004 DNC convention. It's not my fault that people don't know their history. After that? He talked a big game about universal healthcare, said it's what we needed, said ObamaCare wasn't that (he was right) and swore he would never vote for it. Then Barack got on that plane with him and explained how easy it would be to primary him and get him out of Congress. When that plane landed, Dennis was all for ObamaCare. Here's the joke -- well, Dennis is always the joke, here's the punchline: Barack forced Dennis to vote for it and in the next election cycle still had Dennis face a real primary challenge and Dennis was out of Congress. Tulsi Gabbard -- homophobic, transphobic, cult member. Cornel West? Tavis Smiley is a friend, I don't care for people who stab my friends in the back. Who on this list is supposed to impress me. Rod Blagojevich? The man who tried to sell Barack's Senate seat. Rod went to prison, he's a corrupt politician. Do these idiots -- these post-lefters -- not know a damn thing? That would explain why they all cozy up to convicted pedophile Scott Ritter. Tara Reade? Tara may have been assaulted. Didn't give her super powers, didn't make her a nice person and she's never was that left and ran to the right as soon as she could. She pretends to believe all victims while promoting Scott Ritter, the registered sex offender that was sent to prison.

It's the American Taliban that's threatening democracy and human rights. And they can't call it out because they're too busy defending it. Tara's gal pal, for example, is Marjorie Taylor Greene.

And while they stay silent, the American Taliban destroys a little bit more each day.

Lorena O’Neil (JEZEBEL) reports:

After a truly eyebrow-raising hearing on Wednesday, Louisiana’s House criminal justice committee voted against adding rape and incest exceptions to the state’s abortion ban, one of the strictest in the country.

Pastor John Raymond of Slidell, La., testified against the bill, saying that an abortion in the case of rape would make it so there are two victims instead of one–a talking point parroted by anti-abortion activists throughout the discussion. Women will “clamor to put old boyfriends behind bars in order to dispense with the inconvenience of giving birth,” he said.

That's the world we live in now thanks to DOBBS -- you know, DOBBS, it's the decision that they never want to talk about -- the 'post-left,' the Mother Tuckers.

I'm going to assume that most people reading this -- even drive-bys -- can get how offensive John Raymond's 'reasoning' is. So let's instead talk about another offense. The Louisiana House brought that piece of filth to testify. He's filth. He's under charges. He abuses children.

Is that why he's opposed to abortion? He thinks banning abortion will give him more children to bully and threaten and physically abuse?

Why didn't you ask the 'pastor' to testify about this:

On April 7, 2022, Slidell Police in St. Tammany Parish arrested Pastor John Raymond, 60, of Lacombe, on three counts of cruelty to juveniles.

Raymond is the headmaster of Lakeside Christian School in Slidell.

In late March, Slidell Police said they received a complaint from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) about potential child abuse at Lakeside Christian School. The complaint stated that Pastor/Headmaster John Raymond taped multiple students’ mouths shut as a form of discipline. Slidell Police launched an investigation into the allegations.

NBC NEWS noted:

A Louisiana Christian school headmaster, a pastor and former "Survivor" contestant who was arrested last week after he taped students’ mouths shut as a form of discipline, is defending his actions, claiming the pupils were bullying their teacher.

John Raymond, 60, headmaster of Lakeside Christian Academy in Slidell, was arrested Thursday on three counts of cruelty to juveniles, the Slidell Police Department said in a news release.

A police investigation found that on March 18, Raymond used a roll of packing tape to tape the mouths of three 13-year-old students shut after they were removed from a class for "excessive talking," according to the release.

He wrapped the tape "around their heads" and sent them back to class for about 45 minutes, police said. Another school administrator felt uncomfortable and allegedly removed the tape from the children’s faces, according to the police account.

Police said the tape had to be removed with scissors because it was wrapped around the students’ heads.

“During the encounter, the students claim they had trouble breathing and that the removal process was painful,” police said.

Lorena notes in her article:

Raymond, mind you, currently faces numerous criminal charges for cruelty to juveniles, including multiple allegations of physically abusing a 4-year-old, once allegedly holding him upside down by the ankle and whipping his butt. The pastor has also been accused of taping three 13-year-old boys’ mouths shut after they refused to stop talking in class.

This is the American Taliban. These are the people saying 'save the children.' But they don't give a damn about children. They work to gut student breakfast, student lunch, to gut any program that helps children. They hide behind children to attack drag queens. They're liars and they're whores.

These are the people need to be called out but they're the people that Tara Reade promotes on her Twitter feed.

Last night, Trina's "Mark Ruffles Ruffalo, Hate Merchant Kelly Craft" noted the trump-ette Kelly Craft, as she runs for governor of Kentucky, promising voters that "we will not have transgenders in our school system."

The American Taliban has declared war on the United States and a group of idiots have decided they'd rather be collaborators.

So they ignore the real issues. And they ignore what 2024's election is about.

Why is that?

There was a poll -- one poll -- and didn't it get covered like crazy. You have to wonder about that. Now I know BREAKING POINTS and the other crap-fests are staffed with political idiots. I know they never sat their ass in research and methodology in college. So I know they don't grasp that one poll isn't news. When the next poll came out refuting the strange findings of the first, they didn't rush to cover that, did they?

But when a single poll told you that Donald Trump would beat Joe Biden in a match-up in 2024, they ran with that like crazy. Because they're whores. They lie for whomever they're for. That's what whores do. John Nichols lied about Hillary Clinton because he hated her (lied that she was going to steal the Democratic nomination at the 2004 convention, lied that she was the one, not Barack!, saying NAFTA would remain in place, etc, etc). They're not honest brokers.

In "THE VANGUARD," Ruth said she didn't know who I would be voting for. I don't either. If I pick one, I'll note it. But I will be voting Democrat in the presidential election. That is not me telling anyone else how to vote. You're a grown up, it's your vote, use it as you feel you should.

We are up against an American Taliban. And when I'm speaking to groups -- mainly on Zoom -- that's what I'm hearing. That's what frightening voters. So many times, the Democratic Party has had to work to frighten voters into turning out but this go-round they've got pool of voters who see what's going on and are frightened for good reason.

The successful campaigns will be the ones that can contrast what one group stands for and what another one does. Do we believe in equality and fairness or do we believe in hate?

The successful campaign will be the one that notes our basic beliefs and principles and contrasts that with Crooked Clarence Thomas and George Santos. They are the face of corruption. They refuse to take accountability. In other times, both of them would have resigned their posts immediately. Now both con artists hope and pray that they can ride it out.

It is a question as to where we are going as a nation.

Emily Chudy (PINK NEWS) notes:

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of TSU’s class of 2023 on Saturday (6 May) the legendary talk show host said her advice was to be good to at least one other person every single day, and that fulfilment is found in “making a difference”.

Winfrey, who has long been a supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, told graduates that while the political landscape is difficult right now, they can use their education to make a difference.

“You’ve witnessed the storming of the Capitol and the death of civility,” she began. “You’re acutely aware that voting rights are being gutted. Women’s rights are being dismantled, books are being banned, history is being rewritten. The Supreme Court is being corrupted… the LGBT+ community is under attack.

“The leaders are behaving like children. Children are being gunned down by military-grade assault rifles. We live on a planet where there’s more than enough wrong to keep you busy trying to make things right for the rest of your natural life.”

Here's her speech.

At JACOBIN, Matt McManus tackles hate merchant Matt Walsh:

A media commentator for the Daily Wire, Walsh tackles big questions like the scientificity of a black mermaid and the fertility of sixteen-year-old girls. But Walsh has become most well-known for the relentless bile he directs at the LGBTQ movement, particularly in his widely cited documentary What is a Woman? and its sister book.

While the competition has become stiff, Walsh’s truly obsessive fixation on what people do with their genitals has made him the US right’s homophobe and transphobe in chief. And he pairs this bizarre preoccupation with a crusading right-wing Christianity, on full display in Church of Cowards: A Wake-Up Call to Complacent Christians.

[. . .]

Adding to this, we can ask whether it should be an ethical norm to not misgender people. Some, like Walsh, insist that they will refuse to call anyone by their identified gender since it deviates from (crudely conceived) biology. But as Ben Burgis points out, this is an absurd claim that doesn’t even conform to already-existing social expectations. For instance, when someone describes their adopted child as “my daughter,” no one except Matt Walsh would take issue with it by saying “she wasn’t born that way and I’ll never call her your daughter!”

Turning to Iraq . . .

“One of the main problems we have suffered from is climate fluctuations, including global warming which led to a decrease in beekeeping in Iraq, in addition to dust storms that dispersed bees and led to their loss. Also, we suffer from the scarcity of water and lack of nectar sources in honey production. All this led to a decrease in the level of production of bees, the dispersal of bees, and the destruction of most of the beehives... I own an apiary. There were 300 cells, now it is only 100 cells due to the scarcity of water and the lack of nectar sources that we suffered from in Iraq.”

Saturday, Baghdad kicked off the three-day International Water Conference. Let's note some Tweets.

Sinan Mahmoud (THE NATIONAL) reported:

Iraq on Saturday called for emergency assistance from the international community to help restore the flow of water in the country's two main rivers.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani made the plea for “urgent international intervention” at the start of the two-day Baghdad International Water conference.

“The issue of water has become a sensitive one not only in Iraq but in all countries,” Mr Al Sudani said.

Water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which account for more than 90 per cent of Iraq's freshwater reserves, have declined significantly over the years, partly as a result of the construction of dams and diversion of water upstream in Turkey and Iran.

The Prime Minister warned that a shortage of water compounded by climate change would have a substantial impact on Iraq's economic development and environment, with wider ramifications for regional stability.

KURDISTAN 24 adds:

The KRG Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Begard Dlshad, is heading the delegation to present the Region’s perspective on water issues such as drought, that has negatively impacted Iraq in recent years, the minister told Kurdistan 24.

The United Nations is also participating in the conference along with representatives of neighboring countries, including Iran and Turkey.

“The KRG’s dam construction project aims to reduce the reliance on water flow from neighboring countries,” the minister told Kurdistan 24 and added that 30 percent of Iraq’s water reserves are in the Kurdish region.

The 45-year-old Begard Dlshad Shukralla has her degree in biology and has previously held the following posts: 2011 to 2013 head of the PUK's Office for Monitoring and Follow Up, 2013 to 2017 MP in the Kurdistan Parliament and, in 2017, Secretary of the Kurdistan Parliament.

Julian Bechocha (RUDAW) reports:

Iraq is among the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity, according to the United Nations. It is facing a severe water shortage because of reduced precipitation and higher temperatures, and waste and mismanagement. The crisis is worsened by dams upstream in Turkey and Iran that have led to a significant decrease in the volume of water entering the country.

A visit by Sudani to Turkey in March saw measurable success after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to double the water releases in the Tigris River for a period of one month, saying the decision was made “in order to relieve Iraq’s distress.”

“The government has set the water file as one of its priorities, and has taken many policies. And it was necessary to identify the problems with upstream countries so our meetings with the countries emphasized the need to give the full share of water,” Sudani said.

During the conference, Sudani also pleaded for “the efforts of all friends” of the international community to “urgently” assist Iraq counter water insecurity.

In one of the latest stark warnings of the threats a heating climate poses to Iraq, a report by the Ministry of Water Resources late last year predicted that unless urgent action is taken to combat declining water levels, Iraq’s two main rivers will be entirely dry by 2040.

The Special Representative to the United Nations Secretary General spoke at the conference. Here's what Ghulam Isaczai stated:

Excellencies,
Distinguished guests, good morning.

Today, I have the honor of speaking at the 3rd Baghdad International Water Conference, at the invitation of H.E. Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Prime Minister of Iraq, and H.E. Aoun Diab, Minister of Water Resources.

I would like to begin by highlighting some positive developments related to the water agenda that have taken place in recent months, thanks to the joint efforts of the Government of Iraq and the United Nations.

Specifically, I would like to congratulate Iraq for being the pioneer in the region to accede to the UN Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. This accession will open new opportunities to enhance transboundary water cooperation, while strengthening national water policies and practices, and enhancing intersectoral cooperation and stakeholder participation.

From our side at the United Nations, we have established a Water Task Force comprising water experts from different international organizations and think tanks to provide technical assistance and advice to the Government of Iraq on water issues. Our advocacy and engagement on water challenges in Iraq have increased significantly, reflecting our commitment to supporting Iraq in addressing its looming water crisis.

At the national level, there is a need to:

Initiate a national dialogue on water and around SDG6 on Clean Water and Sanitation leading to development of a national Water Roadmap.
Make water resources management as a national priority, while allocating sufficient funds towards research, analysis, innovation, and transfer of efficient technologies for integrated water resources management.
Invest in national capacity building, water infrastructure including dams, irrigation systems, and wastewater treatment plants, to maximize water usage.
Promote water conservation measures: such as repairing leaky pipes, introduce water-saving technologies, and enforce regulations on water usage.
Revive traditional Rainwater harvesting practices such as building catchment systems, to collect and store rainwater for future use.
Establish water monitoring systems for river and ground water, and take regulatory, technological, and behavioral measures to prevent water pollution, while also investing in urban water recycling.
Combat desertification through integrated and adaptive land, water, and forest management.
Launch education and awareness campaigns to promote responsible water usage and conservation.

At the regional level there is a need to:

Strengthen regional cooperation to develop equitable and eco-friendly water use policies, while developing a negotiated strategy encouraging riparian countries to sign river-basin-management agreements based on a win-win approach.
Conduct regional water assessment of the economic, environmental, regional integration and political benefits costs of non-cooperation on water resources.
Actively leverage relevant global legal instruments on transboundary water.

To effectively address Iraq’s water challenges, we must work jointly and transparently. The cross-cutting nature of water means that challenges must be addressed through a whole of government and whole of society approach, and approach that is inclusive and engages the Iraqi people, that is those most directly affected by the water situation.

On our side at the United Nations, we will continue to actively engage with our government counterparts, through the Water Task Force and the Inter-agency working group on climate and environment.

Let me close by saying that all technical solutions to the water problems are within our reach; what we need is effective policies, investments, incentive mechanisms, regulations, and enforcement actions.

The United Nations stands ready to support. I wish you all a fruitful conference.

Thank you.

The following sites updated: