Blog Betty (Thomas Friedman is a Great Man was an online novel)

Sunday, July 16, 2023

Crazy Junior needs to sit his conspiracy ass down, we can't afford him

Climate change is only get worse. Idiots are not helping. That includes the awful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (see C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" and Rebecca's "things that made me laugh and don't miss 'moving on'" and Ruth's "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is no enivornmentalist") who thinks the free market will take care of it for us. Rebecca Hersher (NPR) reports:

Last month was the hottest June on record going back 174 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It's the latest temperature record to fall this summer, as the El Niño climate pattern exacerbates the effects of human-caused climate change.

The average global temperature in June 2023 was slightly hotter than the previous record June, which occurred in 2020.

Millions of people around the world suffered as a result, as heat waves hit every continent. In the U.S., record-breaking heat gripped much of the country including the Northeast, Texas, the Plains and Puerto Rico in June, and another round of deadly heat is affecting people across the southern half of the country this week.

We don't have time for Junior's crazy. That's this country, that's the earth. We can't afford this nonsense. And nonsense is all Junior has to offer:

Conspiracy theorist and Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spouted wild claims about “ethnically targeted microbes” at a press dinner in Manhattan, according to a video published Saturday by the New York Post.

It was the same dinner table where the conversation about climate change devolved into a shouting match between two older male attendees, leading one to deploy some targeted flatulence.

Kennedy has promoted many falsehoods about science and medicine. Seen at Italian fixture Tony’s Di Napoli in the Post’s video, he tells his companions: “In fact, COVID-19, there is an argument that it is ethnically targeted. COVID-19 attacks certain races disproportionately.”

He went on to say that “COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people” because of “the genetic structure” of the virus.

“The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese,” Kennedy said, giving no evidence. He made sure to say he did not know whether the virus was “deliberately targeted or not.”

We must address climate change. It's not an option. We have to address it and the garbage from Junior is a non-stop distraction. He's not a real candidate, he's brought shame to his father and his uncles' memories. If he had any integrity at all, he'd announced he was crazy and checking into a facility for help.

"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Friday, July 14, 2023. The continued persecution of Julian Assange, climate change continues to impact Iraq, Robert F Kennedy Jr sells out the environment, the only thing worse than Casey DeSantis' fashion choices are her words, and much more.

Starting with Julian Assange, Patrick Boylan (PRESSENZA) reports:

Incarcerating Julian Assange gives governments the power to imprison any journalist, Stella Moris Assange told a packed room at the Swiss Press Club in Geneva last Monday (2023-07-10). According to the wife of Australian journalist Julian Assange, still imprisoned in the United Kingdom, this bullying technique is deliberately being used to frighten journalists and editors everywhere in the world: strike one to educate one hundred.

And unfortunately, the intimidation is already showing its effects, added the 39-year-old lawyer and human rights activist, who was born and raised in South Africa. Journalists have told her they work under the fear of being “Julian-Assange.” And she spoke of U.S. newspapers that have stopped doing investigative journalism altogether because their sources – the people inside the system who, in the past, used to leak the wrongdoings they came across – are now silent. Especially revealing is the confession of an editor who told her frankly that he is no longer willing to publish explosive revelations that could get him into trouble.

Julian is being persecuted for the 'crime' of journalism. Julian Assange remains imprisoned and remains persecuted by US President Joe Biden who, as vice president, once called him "a high tech terrorist." Julian's 'crime' was revealing the realities of Iraq -- Chelsea Manning was a whistle-blower who leaked the information to Julian. WIKILEAKS then published the Iraq War Logs. And many outlets used the publication to publish reports of their own. For example, THE GUARDIAN published many articles based on The Iraq War Logs. Jonathan Steele, David Leigh and Nick Davies offered, on October 22, 2012:

A grim picture of the US and Britain's legacy in Iraq has been revealed in a massive leak of American military documents that detail torture, summary executions and war crimes.
Almost 400,000 secret US army field reports have been passed to the Guardian and a number of other international media organisations via the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.

The electronic archive is believed to emanate from the same dissident US army intelligence analyst who earlier this year is alleged to have leaked a smaller tranche of 90,000 logs chronicling bloody encounters and civilian killings in the Afghan war.
The new logs detail how:
• US authorities failed to investigate hundreds of reports of abuse, torture, rape and even murder by Iraqi police and soldiers whose conduct appears to be systematic and normally unpunished.

• A US helicopter gunship involved in a notorious Baghdad incident had previously killed Iraqi insurgents after they tried to surrender.
• More than 15,000 civilians died in previously unknown incidents. US and UK officials have insisted that no official record of civilian casualties exists but the logs record 66,081 non-combatant deaths out of a total of 109,000 fatalities.

The numerous reports of detainee abuse, often supported by medical evidence, describe prisoners shackled, blindfolded and hung by wrists or ankles, and subjected to whipping, punching, kicking or electric shocks. Six reports end with a detainee's apparent deat

Eric Lichtblau (GUARDIAN) observes:

The Biden administration has been saying all the right things lately about respecting a free and vigorous press, after four years of relentless media-bashing and legal assaults under Donald Trump.

The attorney general, Merrick Garland, has even put in place expanded protections for journalists this fall, saying that “a free and independent press is vital to the functioning of our democracy”.

But the biggest test of Biden’s commitment remains imprisoned in a jail cell in London, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been held since 2019 while facing prosecution in the United States under the Espionage Act, a century-old statute that has never been used before for publishing classified information.

Whether the US justice department continues to pursue the Trump-era charges against the notorious leaker, whose group put out secret information on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay, American diplomacy and internal Democratic politics before the 2016 election, will go a long way toward determining whether the current administration intends to make good on its pledges to protect the press.

Now Biden is facing a re-energized push, both inside the United States and overseas, to drop Assange’s protracted prosecution.

Tim Dawson (UK PRESS GAZETTE) notes the damage done to the press itself by persecuting Julian:

And for so long as Julian Assange is in Belmarsh, or worse still, in a US jail, he provides a carte blanche for all those other regimes that would lock up journalists, and worse.

Now there are lots of good reasons why Assange should be released, but none are more important than the collective damage to journalists that is done each and every day that he is behind bars.

If the UK government is sincere about promoting media freedom around the world, it should rule out Assange’s extradition. If the US wants to regain its moral force when protecting free expression, it should drop the charges.

Until that happens, whenever the jailers of journalists are called out, the response will be the same: a shrug of the shoulders and a one-word excuse, “Assange!”

Latika Bourke (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD) writes that it's possible Julian's freedom might require a plea deal:

Assange argues he is a whistleblower and is the victim of a political prosecution initiated by the former Trump administration.

The election of Biden to the White House and Anthony Albanese in Australia had sparked hopes among Assange’s supporters that the case, being prosecuted by the independent Department of Justice, could be abandoned.

However, despite Albanese’s direct lobbying to Biden, this has not eventuated and in May, the prime minister said Assange himself needed to be part of the solution to resolve his case, signalling that the 52-year-old may have to accept a plea deal to obtain freedom.

Paul Gregorie (Sydney Criminal Lawyers) offers an analysis of recent statements and events which includes the following:

Julian’s case is testament to the stranglehold that governments, especially the US, are placing on the free press in a time of mass global communications: a case in which extralegal measures in plain sight of all, have been taken to set a precedent to what happens to those who expose certain truths.

There is one last glimmering light of hope left after a UK High Court Justice rejected his last appeal on 8 June, which is one final UK domestic plea to two new judges in a public hearing of that same court.

Yet, Britian, one of our nation’s closest allies, officially signed off on extraction in June last year.

And last week saw Australian foreign minister Penny Wong admit on-air that despite her government having attempted to use its official diplomatic channels to negotiate Assange’s release, all that it could do, has been done, and, basically, it has no more power to achieve anything else.

Wong was speaking to Radio National’s Patricia Karvelas on 4 July, when the host raised that the day prior had been Assange’s fifth birthday spent in a UK gaol, and asked what the government was doing on the matter, since earlier this year, the minister had said the case had dragged on too long.

“Ultimately, this is a legal case in another jurisdiction involving another country. That is both the United Kingdom and the United States,” Wong, who has given similar explanations in the past, told the ABC radio breakfast show host in response.

“So, there are limits to what Australia can do. And I know people believe that somehow, we can fix this,” the foreign minister continued. “Actually, there are limits to what Australia can do.”

The Labor senator added that all her government has the ability to do continues to be done, which is to tell the US and the UK governments, the two administrations this nation recently formed the AUKUS pact with, “that this has dragged on too long, and… that this be brought to a close”.

Wong not only admits here that her government has reached the end of its ability to push the case for Assange being returned, as it’s been raised on a number of occasions “at the most senior levels”, but she also hints that the government’s position wasn’t necessarily that extradition be ruled out.

When Karvelas pushed Wong on when she had last consulted diplomatically on the matter, she received a taciturn, “I’m not going to go into that, but you and I both know I’ve engaged with the foreign secretary, and, obviously, we have engaged with the United States”.

Turning to Iraq, in yesterday's snapshot, we were noting the climate change effects in Iraq. We noted PRI had a report by Shirin Jaafari that was available in audio and I stated text would be up later -- it is up now. We'll note this from the report:

The water situation is not much better in cities.

“The tap water is not usable unless you are using it to wash clothes or something like this,” said 39-year-old Zuhair Muhammad, who lives in Basra in southern Iraq, and relies on bottled water for drinking and cooking.

Muhammad, who lives alone, spends about $7-$10 on bottled water per week. He can afford it, but many others can’t. That’s why people are moving to other parts of the country in search of better access to clean water.

Meanwhile, as Iraq dries up and as the impacts of climate change makes life more difficult, people like Ahmed are trying to raise awareness about protecting the environment by posting on social media.

“I’m in love with nature,” Ahmed said. “I want to be part of saving this nature and the biodiversity in Iraq.”

This is from a REUTERS report by Mohammed Aty up at CHANNEL NEWS ASIA:

According to an official at Basra's agriculture directorate, Abbas Dakheel, only four authorised fish farms continued to work this year, as opposed to 15 in 2020.

"This water is green, dirty and polluted. No fish can live in this water," said Karam, kneeling down next to a pipe irrigating his pond.

He said that his fish were now either sick, failing to grow or dead as a result.

Jumaa Shia, head of Basra's directorate of water resources, said the city of 1.3 million needs to share its decreasing water resources among domestic users, agriculture, the oil industry and electricity generation.

Iraq is expected to be one of the hardest hit by climate change in the next few decades. Let's stay with climate change for a bit more but move over to the US where various personalities are attempting to look presidential ahead of the November 2024 election.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr should be judged by his supporters -- especially when they're his big money supporter invited to an event. Rebecca Friedman (OK!) reports:

Big whoop! One special guest at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s press dinner decided to let one rip in an absurd effort to make his opinions on climate change heard.

On Tuesday, July 11, Kennedy Jr. attended what he thought would be a prestigious evening at Tony's on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in an attempt to prove the prominence of his 2024 presidential campaign for the Democratic nomination against President Joe Biden.

At some point in the evening, an intense screaming match erupted — causing the night to take a turn for the worse, according to a news publication's first-hand experience at the event.

A guest had asked Kennedy Jr. a question about the environment, as the 69-year-old is the founder of Waterkeeper Alliance, an ecological organization protecting bodies of water in the United States and around the world.

The conversation ticked off seemingly drunk publicity agent Doug Dechert, who was hosting the event for Kennedy Jr.

The former gossip columnist yelled as loud as he could, claiming: "The climate hoax!"

Anthony Haden-Guest, an octogenarian art critic — who according to the news outlet, was dozing off for a majority of the dinner — appeared to be woken up by Dechert's loud statement, as he opened his eyes and called his longtime pal a "miserable blob."

"Shut up!" Haden-Guest responded in an attempt to get Dechert to allow Kennedy Jr. to answer the question.

Dechert didn't listen, however, and started going on an erratic rant about how climate change is a "scam."

That's what you get, Junior, when you court crazies with your own crazy. Kyle Koster (THE BIG LEAD) points out, "It's all so ridiculous and yet it makes a lot of sense that these are the people surrounding RFK Jr. as he tries to build a monetary war chest and be taken seriously."

Staying with wacky Junior, Bryan Metzger (BUSINESS INSIDER) reports:

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched his campaign to be the Democratic Party's presidential nominee in April, at least one Republican senator took the time to watch the entirety of Kennedy's nearly two-hour-long speech: Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

"I hope he gains traction and wins the nomination," Johnson said of Kennedy, later quipping that he didn't "want to harm his chances by saying good things about him."

This ties into the previous one. And let's leave vaccines. The writer then wants to note Johnson and Junior's shared opinion there. That's not the troubling thing. If you're supporting Junior, you know where he stands on this issue. What's troubling it what took place at the event as a climate change denier went off. What's troubling is, via WIKIPEDIA, this:

Johnson rejects the scientific consensus on climate change,^[7] describing it in 2021 as "bulls[**]t."^[34] In a 2010 interview, he called attributing global warming to manmade causes "crazy," saying the theory is "lunacy," and attributed climate change to causes other than human activity.^[35] Johnson also suggested carbon dioxide was good for the environment, as it "helps the trees grow."^[7] In dismissing the effects of climate change, Johnson falsely claimed that Greenland was green when it was discovered and had become white and snow-clad over time as a result of cooling temperatures.^[7] In August 2015, Johnson baselessly claimed that "the climate hasn't warmed in quite a few years. That is proven scientifically," although record world temperatures were reached that year and in 2014.^[36] Johnson co-sponsored the Energy Tax Prevention Act, which would block the EPA from imposing new rules on carbon emissions.^[37] In an October 7, 2022, Senate campaign debate, Johnson said, "The climate has always changed and always will change, so I don’t deny climate change",^[38] repeating a similar statement he made in February 2016.^[39]

When asked about allowing additional drilling for oil in the continental US, including the Great Lakes if oil were found there, Johnson responded, "We have to get the oil where it is, but we need to do it responsibly. We need to utilize American ingenuity and American technology to make sure we do it environmentally sensitively and safely." After criticism from the Feingold campaign, Johnson said in July 2010 that his answer did not mean he supported drilling in the Great Lakes.^[40]

Again, I'm not addressing the vaccines. I don't address them. I've never addressed that issue and never will. I fundraise for autism and have been pressured for years. I can't take sides on this and won't. The world will get along just fine without knowing my personal beliefs. But the issue here is climate change. Where does Junior stand on that? Once upon a time, we thought we knew. Once upon a time, he was the great environmentalist.

Now he's constantly around supporters -- big money supporters -- who don't believe in climate change. Ron Johnson does not believe in climate change.

I don't think the planet can wait for the quacks to catch up. I think we've waited too long as it is to seriously address climate change.

Junior wants to be president. Junior's only claim to fame and honor is his environmental work. We now see a completely different Junior than we did in the 90s, for example. Is he now a climate change denier? He needs to answer that.

My personal guess? Junior still believes in climate change but Junior won't publicly address this because the freaks supporting him -- bitches with their panties in a wad over having to wear a mask during the pandemic -- don't believe in climate change.

He doesn't want to address it but it's the first thing he should have to address because it's a pressing issue for the entire world, the scientific community -- educated people -- know this is a problem. If he doesn't believe it's a problem, he needs to say that -- and lose some support. If he does believe in climate change, he needs to demonstrate a backbone and say what he believes.

Naomi Klein Tweeted:

@NaomiAKlein

Now feels like a good time (re: RFK Jr) to remind folks that denial and sneering are not viable political strategies. Kennedy will use these platforms to spread his anti-vax message, xenophobia and Prozac conspiracies. Has the Democratic consultant class learned nothing since Trump? https://theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/14/ignoring-robert-f-kennedy-jr-not-an-option…

9:32 AM · Jul 13, 2023

Naomi Klein, what do you think you're achieving? Drop the vax issue. Climate change is the issue.

I don't understand people who have brains but don't use them. Before you run for office, you dump any known issue out there and do in order to say, "We've already addressed that." And Junior and the vaccines? A known issue before he decided to run.

It's not going to change minds at this point. If you're worried about Junior's campaign or just bored and want to have a little fun, you focus on his strengths. That's what you tear down. Didn't people learn anything from 2004? John Kerry was armor plated and the Bully Boy Bush crowd couldn't do anything to take him down! Why, he's even a veteran!

Yes, he was. And that was one of his strengths with voters. So that's what the GOP went after and destroyed.

Junior doesn't have many strengths. He's got the family name, he's got a great wife and what else? The only thing he can point to that resembles a year book credit for the presidency is his environmentalism background.

Young supporters of Junior will leave if he comes out as a climate change denier. If he comes out as a believer in climate change, his fringe crazy supporters will leave. If you want to press on an issue, it's climate change. Again, his environmental image is the only one left standing currently. Force the Vote? How about force Junior to take a stand.

He's running a wink-and-nod campaign where he expects the left to endure because of his family while he courts and curtsies to the right-wing fringe. Want to stop that charade? Demand that he address where he now stands on climate change.

No one seems to be paying attention to this -- and that's despite his Tweet this week:

@RobertKennedyJr

Climate change is being used to control us through fear. Freedom and free markets are a much better way to stop pollution. Polluters make themselves rich by making the public pay for the damage they do. You show me a polluter, I’ll show you a fat cat using political clout to escape the discipline of the free market. #Kennedy24

"Freedom and free markets"? He's had his nose buried too deeply in Elon Musk's crotch.

He's a climate change denier. No the free market is not going to halt climate change. We now have our answer.

He's a fake and a fraud. He doesn't believe in protecting the earth at all. Those days are gone. He exposed himself and, sorry, what he's packing is micro. This is the issue you hit on if you care about the planet, this is the issue you hit upon if you care about stopping his vanity campaign.

Vax! Vax! Vax! You all sound like Gail Collins writing, in 2012, her thirtieth or so column in a row about Mitt Romney and the family dog Seamus.

In other news, Cornel West hopes to be a candidate for the Green Party's presidential nomination. He is not currently, he has not filed paperwork for it and there is no one currently running for the Green Party nomination. He has publicly expresses his interest in the nomincation.

Yesterday, BLACK POWER MEDIA interviewed him. I have not streamed it and am not planning to. If I stream it, my fear is we'll have to cover it -- Ava and I -- at THIRD and we've done this topic for several weeks in a row. I know at least some THIRD readers are wanting something about entertainment programming so that's what we're hoping to write about -- a TV show or two. But BPM has done the best interviews with Cornel so we're including the video in the snapshot.

Moving over to the GOP side, Doo-Doo Ron Ron DeSantis isn't married to a man, his wife just looks like one. And while I grasp that Ron Ron's recent homophobic and homoerotic commercial was the height of stupidity Casey "Mama" DeSantis has her own video issues if anyone wants to take a moment to notice her ad trying to drum up support for her husband. Problems such as?

Oh, Casey, a halter top? Really? With your flat chest? No wonder they're calling her "Tacky Onassis" online. Clearly, she has no fashion sense -- look at the way the top cuts across her chest and kind of digs into her armpits making her look even more flat chested and boxy. Casey, this is where not being so hateful to gay men and drag queens could have helped you, they could have dressed you like a woman. Clearly, your wardrobe has suffered ever since K-Mart closed.

In her ad, she speaks the usual lies -- she's protecting our children, blah blah blah.

And while she speaks, we see 'children' like grown women -- adults -- competing in sports. You know Casey, to steal from Denise Alexander on Gloria Monty, everyone calls you a mother but no one calls you mom -- if you grasp what I'm saying.

Here Casey is arguing with the voices in her head:

We will not allow you to exploit the innocence of our children to advance your agenda. When you come after our kids, we fight back. We are no longer silent. We are united. We are Mamas for DeSantis . . .and we will elect #RonDeSantis President of the United States. Join our historic movement today."

Today? Because by tomorrow Ron's bumbling campaign may be sunk completely?

To be stupid and ugly and flat chested. I feel for Casey, I do. Looking like a man and being a lady golfer. I guess some of her homophobia stems from other women making the assumption that she was a lesbian.

No wonder you put that big bow on your daughter's head -- she looks like a little boy. You're remembering your own childhood and the gender confusion others had when they looked at you, aren't you, Casey? Don't worry, Casey, all your daughters don't look like boys. In fact, one of them has teen pregnancy written all over her face, poor thing.

Online, Casey's facing pushback.

@LanaMWiggins1

You came for our children, Jackie-No! But I will be damned if I allow you and your bigoted family and friends to harm my children or even attempt to take away my parental rights. My children WILL NOT live under your Fascism. Mama Bears have the sharpest claws, and you better never forget that. Stay. Away. From. My. Kids!

9:33 AM · Jul 7, 2023

Okay, two Tweets from Paul Rudnick, first an interview he's doing today.

Second, this disturbing news.

On judges, this is Jeffrey St. Clair (COUNTERPUNCH):

+ According to Linda Greenhouse, the Roberts Court has accomplished the entire conservative wish list over the last 18 years. On to banning birth control and allowing wife-beaters to carry guns!

+ From a Legal Times profile of Clarence Thomas in the 1980s: “He said he plans to be rich, says that means more than just a few hundred thousand dollars a year.” Around the same time, Thomas’s friend, Armstrong Williams (then his subordinate at the EEOC), paid for his wedding reception.

+ Thomas also “befriended” Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who flew the Thomases around on his private jet, invited him to Dallas’ training camp, hosted him in his luxury suite when the Cowboys played in DC, and gave him a Super Bowl ring.

+ Speaking of Jerry Jones and black men…

+ A lawyer for the law firm Consovoy McCarthy, which argued both the case to kill affirmative action and to kill student debt cancellation, sent money via Venmo to Clarence Thomas’s clerk, Rajan Vasisht, with memos that make it clear it was for Thomas’s birthday.

+ Brett Kavanaugh: “If you’re in a high school gym, the abuse the referees get. I always say, ‘God, who would want to be a referee at a high school basketball game?’ Then, I think, ‘I kind of do the same thing.’” Brett never really left high school, did he Squee?

+ At this point, Ethics Rules for the Supreme Court would only serve to paint a veneer of legitimacy over an anti-democratic institution which has now become the most dominate force in American government.

+ HRC: “I still feel strongly that the Supreme Court needs to stand on the side of the American people, not on the side of corporations and the wealthy.” Remind me, is that what you told Goldman Sachs?

The following sites updated:

Thursday, July 13, 2023

I agree with Robert Reich

Hope you already saw this:

Former United States Labor Secretary Robert Reich on Wednesday demanded that Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas step down or be removed from the bench as allegations of corruption and impropriety continue to pile up.

"Clarence Thomas must resign, and if he doesn't, well, if there was ever a case to impeach a Supreme Court justice, this is it," Reich said.

"For years, Thomas failed to disclose flights on private jets, super yacht trips, and stays at resorts," Reich recalled. "He received his gifts from a Republican mega-donor. Even though the Supreme Court has no legally binding code of ethics and justices remain among the least accountable people in our government legal experts claim that Thomas violated federal disclosure laws when he failed to report the free travel he was gifted. But at the very least it violated the public's trust and corruptly exploited his position of power to subsidize a life of luxury."

Reich also scolded Chief Justice John Roberts for refusing to even discuss implementing a code of conduct for the Court's jurists.

I agree with him. It's time for the American people to hold the Court accountable. Past time. Clarence needs to be pulled from the bench.

Leigh Ann Caldwell, Theodoric Meyer and Tobi Raji (WASHINGTON POST) report:

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) is expected to bring up a proposal today at a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting that would use Congress’s power of the purse to pressure the Supreme Court to adopt a “code of ethics.”

The committee will mark up three spending bills today, including the one that funds the Supreme Court.

Van Hollen, who chairs the subcommittee that oversees the court’s budget, declined to discuss his plans Wednesday, including whether his proposal would be included in the base bill or offered as an amendment.

“I've been sworn not to say anything,” Van Hollen said. “As I've said all along, we're looking at all options.”

But The Early obtained an amendment he is expected to at least bring up for discussion, if not formally offer, that would withhold $10 million in funding from the court’s $110 million salaries-and-expenses account until Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. informs Congress “that the Supreme Court has put into effect a code of ethics for the Chief Justice and the associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.”

It goes on to specify that none of the withheld money would apply to security funding.

Would have been nice, right? That was this morning. This afternoon? The Appropriations Committee issued a press release which included this:

“The final thing I will say—because it will be the subject of an amendment. As I indicated earlier, we cover the federal judiciary. I hoped at the subcommittee level that we would be able to get some language requiring, finally, that the Supreme Court of the United States establish an ethics code of conduct. We were not able to get that done on a bipartisan basis, so I will be offering an amendment for the purposes of discussion, and we will see where that discussion goes.

“But let me close where I started by thanking both the Chair and the Vice Chair, and Senator Hagerty. And with that, I yield.”

We have got to keep trying and we've got to make this happen. We have an illegitimate Court currently and no way to hold it accountable.

"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Thursday, July 12, 2023. When you're deeply removed from reality you make stupid calls for increased oil production in a country already suffering from climate change, in the US we find another hate merchant who thinks equality does not matter and that she can also refuse service, the grifters of YOUTUBE and their hidden cabal continue to plot and scheme, and much more.

Starting in Iraq, KURDISTAN 24 reports, "Iraq has so far witnessed more than 375 confirmed cases of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, a tick-borne disease that transmits from infected animals to human beings, the country’s health minister announced on Wednesday. The fatality rate to the disease in Iraq is 14 percent, Iraqi Minister of Health Saleh Mahdi Al-Hasnawi, told reporters in a presser held following a ministerial meeting on the status of the disease, of which 377 infections have been recorded since January this year." Iraq has so much on its plate and so much to deal with and address. Which makes Haitham El-Zobaidi's column at ARAB WEEKLY even more appalling:

Then there is the “Development Road” project recently announced by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani, which would establish a railway link between the Gulf and Turkey that would cut the time normally spent by ships travelling that distance.

[. . .]

The more pointed question is to what extent does the project constitute a priority now?

Okay, that part seems reasonable. And with the TotalEnergy deal we noted in Monday's snapshot being hailed as a historic deal worth $27 billion with a supposed $10 billion investment in southern Iraq over the next 25 years, people are seeing dollar signs and thinking what to do with them.

But then his column swerves into nonsense:

If money is available for investment in Iraq today, it should be first spent on oil production and expansion of the gas industry infrastructure.

Iraq’s oil production is not commensurate with the country’s potential as one of the world’s largest oil reserves. Some say that Iraq is the largest unexplored oil reservoir in the world, and that seismic surveys have only explored a small part of that reservoir.

Not on the infrastructure that matters the most to the people? Not spent on the sewage infrastructure which would address the flooding in the rainy seasons? Not addressing the electrical system that forces so many Iraqis to rely on generators because 20 years after US 'liberation,' Iraq still doesn't have dependable electricity. The money shouldn't go to those things or to addressing the various health issues of which Congo Fever is only one example.

No, the columnist maintains, the money needs to "be first spent on oil production and expansion of the gas industry infrastructure." Which is spending more money, please note, destroying Iraq. He wants even more oil pumped out of Iraq. Iraq which is already set to be one of the most harmed by climate change according to every climate model out there, needs to produce even more oil? And that's going to help Iraq? It's dealing with water issues already. And the answer is to waste even more water on oil production and to destroy even more of the environment?

Maybe if he wasn't the chair and publisher of ARAB WEEKLY, someone would have stopped this article from being published long enough to ask him, "What the hell are you thinking?"

Clearly, he wasn't thinking a damn thing. Every day, Iraq is facing worsening effects from climate change And nothing seems to wake anyone up. Not last week's dead fish, nothing.

AFP reports:

Mohammed Hamid Nour is only 23, but he is already nostalgic for how Iraq's Mesopotamian marshes once were before drought dried them up, decimating his herd of water buffaloes.

Even at their centre in Chibayish, only a few expanses of the ancient waterways -- home to a Marsh Arab culture that goes back millennia -- survive, linked by channels that snake through the reeds.

Pull back further and the water gives way to a parched landscape of bald and cracked earth.

Mohammed has lost three-quarters of his herd to the drought that is now ravaging the marshes for a fourth-consecutive year. It is the worst in 40 years, the United Nations said this week, describing the situation as "alarming", with "70 percent of the marshes devoid of water".

"I beg you Allah, have mercy!" Mohammed implored, keffiyah on his head as he contemplated the disaster under the unforgiving blue of a cloudless sky.

The buffaloes of the marshes produce the milk for the thick clotted "geymar" cream Iraqis love to have with honey for breakfast.

As the marshes dry out, the water gets salty until it starts killing the buffaloes. Many of Mohammed's herd died like this, others he was forced to sell before they too perished.

"If the drought continues and the government doesn't help us, the others will also die," said the young herder, who has no other income.

Haitham El-Zobaidi wants Iraq to produce even more oil each year. And he wants any investment money coming in to be devoted to the oil industry. I don't know if he's divorced from reality, but the two are at least legally separated.

On PRI's THE WORLD today (link is just audio at present, will be text as well later today), Shirin Jafafari reports on Iraq's increasing water crisis and how an estimated 7 million Iraqis are dealing with reduced water. Last month, Jafafari reported (link is audio and text):

Palm trees need consistent care: watering, pruning and fertilizing. And when farmers had to leave, the trees suffered.

“So many people are forced to sell their land for very cheap and, oftentimes, farmers have found themselves working on land that they used to own,” Rubaii explained.

Iraq has also been getting hotter and drier. According to the UN, it is the fifth-most vulnerable country to the impacts of climate change.

“There’s a section of the southern part of Baghdad, if you drive through, you can see a lot of trees that look like they’ve been decapitated,” Rubaii added, “because sometimes when trees die, they keel over or, if they’re not surviving, sometimes they get cut from the top.”

Making matters worse is Iraq’s construction boom — especially in bigger cities like Baghdad. It means that more farmers are choosing to cut down palm trees entirely to make way for building projects.

Turning to the US where noted bigot Jonathan Turley is no doubt working in secret again with his Federalist Society buddies to create more test cases to expand hate in this country while destroying democracy, John Russell (LGBTQ NATION) reports:

The owner of a Michigan hair salon is refusing to serve some members of the LGBTQ+ community, flouting a state law banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis.

In a recent Facebook post, Christine Geiger, the owner of Studio 8 Hair Lab in Traverse City, Michigan, wrote that “If a human identifies as anything other than a man/woman, please seek services at a local pet groomer. You are not welcome at this salon. Period.”

Geiger added that she and her staff would refer to customers who request to be addressed by a “particular pronoun” as “hey you,” regardless of what Michigan’s H.B. 4744 states. The legislation, signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) in March, added the categories of sexual orientation and gender identity to Michigan’s 1976 Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) banning discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodation within businesses, government buildings, and educational facilities on the basis of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, and marital status.

Geiger’s post follows the Supreme Court’s ruling in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, which said that certain business owners have the right under the First Amendment’s free speech protections to deny service on the basis of their personal beliefs. The court ruled in favor of a Christian web designer in Colorado who argued that the state’s LGBTQ+-inclusive anti-discrimination law violated her free speech rights by potentially forcing her to create wedding websites for hypothetical same-sex couples.

While some have argued that the decision narrowly applies to businesses that provide “expressive services” and does not provide carte blanche protection for any businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people, many have predicted that anti-LGBTQ+ business owners inclined to discriminate would interpret the ruling as a license to do so, despite state laws banning anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.

Marcia covered this topic last night in "Now more businesses think they refuse to serve LGBTQ+ members," while Ann covered it in "One thing Joe Biden deserves serious praise for" and we noted it in the "Roundtable" for THIRD and, yes, it's what Trina's talking about in "Some good news via the Emmy nominations:"

I wasn't feeling blogging last night. I'm not feeling it today. Sorry. I'm just tired of all the hate being hurled at the LGBTQ+ community. I just, I'm tired of it. I'm a mother of a gay man and it's not abstract to me. These efforts to take away rights? It's not abstract.

[. . .]

I feel very frightened for what this country is testing out on LGBTQ+ people. I feel very sad that a country of people who are loving and caring people are being tricked and deceived by liars who are trying to stir up hate. I feel very angry at grifters like Katie Halper who cannot address what is going on but can chat and giggle with convicted pedophile Scott Ritter or waste all of our time on yet another look-what-they're-doing-to-Roger-Waters-now!!!!!

I'm just discouraged.

Understandable. It's not every day we see democracy destroyed by a corrupt Supreme Court.

That decision created a two-tier system of citizenship -- declaring that straight people (and presumably bi) have full rights but gay men and lesbians don't have full rights. Their basic rights are dependent upon the 'religious' beliefs of others. They can lose their rights -- as they did in the illegitimate Court's ruling that found a hateful, ugly, evil woman named Lorie Smith could refuse them service. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted in her dissenting opinion, "Today, the Court, for the first time in its history, grants a business open to the public a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class."

On the hair salon's refusal to serve all customers, Mike Stunson (MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS) notes:

In a statement to WWTV, Traverse City’s LGBTQ organization, Polestar, said the comments made by the business owner “are not welcomed” in the city. “Hate has shown time and time again to be a losing business strategy and we must not allow this blight to take root in our town,” the organization said. Traverse City is in northern Michigan about 140 miles north of Grand Rapids.

Let's turn to the media. She won't save anyone because she can't save herself, yes, we're talking about the disgusting Katie Halper. Exiled from the left for going on the grift. Life's hard for Katie. Her latest segment of THE KATIE HALPER SHOW? Posted for 13 hours now and only a thousand streams. Poor Katie. She's already lost integrity and ethics and now she's losing so much more. When the ship goes down, she better start batting her eyes at men from THE NATIONAL REVIEW because the left won't have her. She's cozied up too much to transphobes and registered sex offenders. No one will have you, Katie. And the only thing stopping me from getting your WBAI program pulled is that I'm too busy right now with too many other things. Pray my plate remains full, Halper, pray.

What's that? BLACK POWER MEDIA. We posted the video last Friday shortly after it went up online. Ava and I knew it was something we had to address at THIRD so I've held off until we could do that. From our piece at THIRD "TV: Trusting the audience versus attempting to manage it:"

Last Friday, BLACK POWER MEDIA offered a segment entitled "A Green Party Response to Cornel West." It was entertaining -- as BPM usually is -- and it was informative -- again, as BPM usually is. However, it was also groundbreaking. Reality is not allowed on YOUTUBE. But somehow, we got some.

It was served up by Kamilah Harris and Renee Johnston as they spoke with Dr Jared Ball about the Green Party. Jill Stein? Not liked. Not liked in the rank-in-file. And people are asking about the 2016 bill she left the Green Party with and why she continues to receive funds.

In fact, tea was getting spilled left and right. A long code of silence was exposed. Bri-Bri? She got name checked. The Medicare For All campaign that Jimmy Dore was promoting. People jumped on it and Bri-Bri was one of them. Renee pointed out that there was the whole issue of why are they just focused on The Squad as opposed to pushing all Democrats in the House to support Medicare For All: "Why are we only trying to force a few people to support this? Why aren't we going after all the people who claimed they would sign on to Force The Vote?" That is a good point. We learned that this 'spontaneous' movement wasn't so spontaneous -- and that Jimmy Dore pocketed money -- money raised for that cause but not spend on it. "Nothing came of it," Kamilah noted, except a tiny march in DC with Jackson Hinkle.

This group was previously activated with regards to The People's Party -- Jimmy, Bri-Bri, Cindy Sheehan, serial plagiarist Chris Hedges . . .

The People's Party was not accountable to the people and refused to be answerable to their so-called membership. "Nobody was elected to this top board, by the way," Kamilah explained. "Nick Brana appointed everyone to this board." Pressuring for accountability led to scripting on what could be said at the meeting with the top board. Another response? Appointing Cornel West and Jimmy Dore to the board. No, there was no input from members. Nick just made another decision yet again.

Listen and note how the same group of people keep popping up -- behind the scenes -- Bri-Bri, Jimmy Dore, Jill Stein, Cornel West, serial plagiarist Chris Hedges, Medea Benjamin, etc etc. As Jared pointed out, "the same people caught up in it. You've got Chris Hedges, you've got Cornel West, you've got Jimmy Dore, you've got talented microphoned, you know, spokespeople. You got somewhat celebrity -- football players, who ever."

Darryl LC Moch (chair of the Green Party's Black Caucus) joined the discussion briefly and he noted how the MPP tried to meet up with the Green Party and Peace & Justice and other third parties -- "In terms of trying to build a national front and to move the conversation and to work better together in some ways without tearing each other apart." Why, Darryl, asked were they trying to build a new party when they had the Green Party already with ballot access.

Darryl was the one who came up with the notion of the Green Party doing a shadow government and it was noted that when Jill Stein later ran with the idea (we'll note she did so without crediting Darryl for it), that she couldn't even do that correctly. She created a shadow government or announced she had but failed to follow through -- the plan was to present what the Green Party would be doing so that you could show the differences between the Democratic Party and the Green Party. And no one's being gifted with the nomination, not Cornel, not anyone, "We not handing you s**t. You've got to do the work. .. . You've still got to earn it. "

Jill Stein, Chris Hedges and Ajamu Baraka were called out for their underhanded maneuvers. "Just be real with the public," Kamilah Harris said with exasperation. "There's a whole lot of this that should be discussed, that should be part of the process," Renee Johnston noted.

Reality, Cornel is not even a candidate for the Green Party's presidential nomination. Not only is he not the nominee, he's not really even a candidate. He has filed no papers, no one has yet. Which is what Darryl tried to walk viewers through as he said point blank, "We have no recognized candidates at this time." And then, "We are nowhere near the nomination yet."

The sainted Jill Stein. When did that happen by the way? She was a lousy campaigner in 2012 and in 2016. Oh, that's right. This same group embraced her because they need to take on Russia-gate but couldn't without her because they are that pathetic. And that's why they can't -- and won't -- tell you -- whether it's Katie Insipid Halper or whomever -- that Jill's not popular in the Green Party. A two-time loser, she's not popular. Kamilah noted all the rumors currently swirling around her (including that she's trying to get on the Green Party ticket again but this time as the vice presidential nominee). These things come up because she is so hated and because her actions are so questionable.

"After 2016, the campaign she ran with Ajamu Baraka ended up in debt, " Kamilah explained. And "she's still collecting money from her principal campaign committee through the FEC. Like they just had a report that she had just brought in, already in the first quarter, over $14,000." And, as Renee pointed out, she's involved to this day in a lawsuit with the FEC. But let's not talk about that, let's ignore real issues and all be whores like Katie Halper.

These behind the scenes tricksters. The first time we called out Jimmy Dore, we gave him the benefit of the doubt. We thought he wasn't seeing his own hypocrisy. He was seeing it, he just didn't give a damn. We're talking about his 2020 and 2021 whines that the Green Party did not make Jesse Ventura their presidential nominee. Now 2016 saw the Democratic Party fix the primary to benefit Hillary Clinton. And some Democrats found that outrageous. Then in 2020, Barack Obama and others orchestrated the mass exodus to ensure that Joe Biden got the nomination. So to hear him say that Jesse should have been given the nomination? This wasn't a misunderstanding on Jimmy's part. He truly believed that Jesse, who refused to run for the nomination, should have just been given it. Why? Because Jimmy knows best, Jimmy knows better and you damn well better go along with him -- that is his attitude. And that's why you need to pay attention to all the backdoor deals and efforts that they are participating in because they don't believe in democracy, they don't believe people should have a say, they believe people should be told what to do and told what to think.

Last week, BLACK POWER MEDIA trusted their audience and it's really sad that we think they deserve a standing ovation for that. Taking nothing away from BPM, why in the world are we wanting to stand up and cheer for BPM doing what everyone should be doing? Why? Because no one else seems to want to do it. No one else seems to actually trust their audience.

Next time you see Katie Halper fawning over Jill Stein and whoring for Jill, grasp that there's so much that you don't know. And also grasp that there's a cabal working behind the scenes not just to manage Cornel West's campaign but to manage what you're going to know and what you're going to think.

These grifters aren't imparting knowledge, they're refusing to do that. They're telling you half-truths and outright lies. They're making you their mark.

New content at THIRD: