Finally Friday Reads: Hyper News Day Edition

Good Day, Sky Dancers!

Remember when Fridays were always slow?  Well, “Quoth the Raven nevermore.”  I may have to resort to listing links. I’d like to start with the New York Times Obituary of Former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who honorably served as the first woman on the Supreme Court. “Sandra Day O’Connor, First Woman on the Supreme Court, Is Dead at 93. During a crucial period in American law — when abortion, affirmative action, sex discrimination and voting rights were on the docket — she was the most powerful woman in the country.”  Her appointment was probably the only good thing Ronald Reagan did during his 8 years of damaging the U.S. economy, among many other things. She struggled with dementia in her final years.

Very little could happen without Justice O’Connor’s support when it came to the polarizing issues on the court’s docket, and the law regarding affirmative action, abortion, voting rights, religion, federalism, sex discrimination and other hot-button subjects was basically what Sandra Day O’Connor thought it should be.

That the middle ground she looked for tended to be the public’s preferred place as well was no coincidence, given the close attention Justice O’Connor paid to current events and the public mood. “Rare indeed is the legal victory — in court or legislature — that is not a careful byproduct of an emerging social consensus,” she wrote in “The Majesty of the Law: Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice,” a collection of her essays published in 2003.

When President Ronald Reagan named her to the Supreme Court in 1981 to fulfill a campaign promise to appoint the first female justice, she was a judge on a midlevel appeals court in Arizona, where she had long been active in Republican politics, though she had friends in both parties. Fifty-one years old at the time of her nomination, she served for 24 years, retiring in January 2006 to care for her ailing husband. As the court moved to the right during that period, her moderate conservatism made her look in the end like a relative liberal.

“Liberal” was undoubtedly not her self-image, but as the court’s rightward shift accelerated after her retirement — her successor, Samuel A. Alito Jr., was notably more conservative — she lamented publicly that some of her majority opinions were being “dismantled.”

There’s some terrific news coming out of the courts reviewing Trump’s involvement in the January 6th insurrection riots. This is from the Washington Post. “Trump not immune from being sued for Jan. 6 riot, judges rule.”  The Trumps will be so broke by the time all these civil suits come in.  Plus, E Jean is about to get more money also. This link goes to a Newsweek article indicating she’s probably got the basis of yet another lawsuit.

Donald Trump can be held civilly liable for the actions of the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, an appeals court ruled Friday in a long-awaited decision that could clear the way for lawsuits seeking financial damages from the former president.

The unanimous decision by a federal appeals court in Washington is expected to be appealed and also offers insight into how the court could view Trump’s argument that presidential immunity also protects him from being charged criminally for his efforts to stay in power after the 2020 election.

“When a first-term President opts to seek a second term, his campaign to win re-election is not an official presidential act,” Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan wrote for the three-judge panel. “The Office of the Presidency as an institution is agnostic about who will occupy it next.”

Two U.S. Capitol police officers and about a dozen Democratic lawmakers sued Trump in 2021, saying he potentially instigated violence on Jan. 6 by telling supporters the election was stolen and urging them to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell.”

“More than two years later, it is unnerving to hear the same fabrications and dangerous rhetoric that put my life as well as the lives of my fellow officers in danger on January 6, 2021,” James Blassingame, one of the police plaintiffs, said in a statement. “I hope our case will assist with helping put our democracy back on the right track; making it crystal clear that no person, regardless of title or position of stature, is above the rule of law.”

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung called the decision “limited, narrow, and procedural,” adding that “the facts fully show that on January 6 President Trump was acting on behalf of the American people, carrying out his duties as President of the United States.”

How can Steven Cheung say these things with a straight face?

So, 100 Republican Congress critters joined all but one Democratic Senators to expel George Santos from Congress.  This is breaking news from NBC News. “House votes to expel indicted Rep. George Santos from Congress. The New York Republican is now just the third lawmaker since the Civil War to be expelled from the House of Representatives.”

The House voted overwhelmingly to expel indicted Rep. George Santos on Friday, pulling the curtain down on a tempestuous term in office that was marred by revelations that he’d fabricated parts of his resume, a scathing House ethics investigation and a 23-count federal indictment charging him with crimes such as wire fraud and money laundering.

The vote was 311-114, with two voting present. Santos had already put his winter jacket on, left the chamber and sped through the speaker’s lobby before the vote total was announced.

“It’s over,” Santos said before heading to his vehicle outside the Capitol.

“They just set a new, dangerous precedent for themselves,” he added, noting that he’s the first House member in modern history to be expelled before a federal conviction.

Santos, R-N.Y., had survived two previous attempts to expel him this year — one in May and the other a month ago.

But he began losing significant support just before Thanksgiving after the bipartisan House Ethics Committee issued a damning 56-page report detailing allegations that he had deceived his donors, filed false campaign statements and used campaign money to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Among the things he spent campaign funds on were rent, luxury designer goods, personal trips to Las Vegas and the Hamptons, cosmetic treatments, including Botox, and a subscription to the adult-content site OnlyFans, the report said.

Earlier this week, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said his leadership team wouldn’t whip the vote one way or the other, instead allowing members to “vote their conscience.” But moments before the vote, he, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer and GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, one by one, announced their opposition to removing the freshman fabulist.

Johnson had previously signaled he would oppose expulsion, saying: “I personally have real reservations about things. I’m concerned about a precedent that may be set.”

Why the hell did these 2 democrats vote against expelling George what's his name? pic.twitter.com/Skbe8nHDsv

— Jessica M. MSN, FNP-C, ACNP, CFNP (@Jessicam6946) December 1, 2023

 

Georgie Porgie just sounds like the nicest guy. This is from HuffPost. “George Santos Accused Of Stealing House Member’s Personal Credit Card Info. GOP Rep. Max Miller of Ohio made the allegation not long before Santos was expelled from Congress.”

If he only would start saying that about Trump now.

As long as we inkled the dread, Sleazy Steve, here’s a headline about him. This is from Politico. “Steve Scalise reveals what’s really happened since McCarthy’s fall. The House Majority Leader illuminates what happened behind closed doors after Kevin McCarthy’s ousting as well as what to expect next on impeachment; why he will vote against expelling George Santos; and how Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to use immigration to tame hardliners when it comes to the spending showdown with Joe Biden.”  This link goes to a 32 miute interview with David Duke without the baggage.

I heard this on MSNBC last night and immediately thought that a lot of Israeli anger should be aimed at BiBi. It sounds just like Dubya ignoring warnings about what turned in 9-11 giving him the opportunity entangle us in Afghanistan and Iraq. This is from the New York Times.  “Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than a Year Ago. A blueprint reviewed by The Times laid out the attack in detail. Israeli officials dismissed it as aspirational and ignored specific warnings.”

Israeli officials obtained Hamas’s battle plan for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack more than a year before it happened, documents, emails and interviews show. But Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan as aspirational, considering it too difficult for Hamas to carry out.

The approximately 40-page document, which the Israeli authorities code-named “Jericho Wall,” outlined, point by point, exactly the kind of devastating invasion that led to the deaths of about 1,200 people.

The translated document, which was reviewed by The New York Times, did not set a date for the attack, but described a methodical assault designed to overwhelm the fortifications around the Gaza Strip, take over Israeli cities and storm key military bases, including a division headquarters.

Hamas followed the blueprint with shocking precision. The document called for a barrage of rockets at the outset of the attack, drones to knock out the security cameras and automated machine guns along the border, and gunmen to pour into Israel en masse in paragliders, on motorcycles and on foot — all of which happened on Oct. 7.

The plan also included details about the location and size of Israeli military forces, communication hubs and other sensitive information, raising questions about how Hamas gathered its intelligence and whether there were leaks inside the Israeli security establishment.

The document circulated widely among Israeli military and intelligence leaders, but experts determined that an attack of that scale and ambition was beyond Hamas’s capabilities, according to documents and officials. It is unclear whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other top political leaders saw the document, as well.

Former Congresswoman Liz Cheney’s book is getting lots of attention.  She will be interviewed by Rachel Maddow on Monday.  Excerpts are popping everywhere.  This is from CBS News. “Liz Cheney tells “CBS News Sunday Morning” that the U.S. is “sleepwalking into a dictatorship”.” 

JOHN DICKERSON: You say, Donald Trump, if he is re-elected, it will be the end of the Republic. What do you mean?

REP. LIZ CHENEY:  He’s told us what he will do. It’s very easy to see the steps that he will take. … People who say, “Well, if he’s elected, it’s not that dangerous because we have all of these checks and balances,” don’t fully understand the extent to which the Republicans in Congress today have been co-opted. … One of the things that we see happening today is a sort of a sleepwalking into dictatorship in the United States.

---

CHENEY: If you look

at what Donald Trump is trying to do, he can’t do it by himself. He has to have collaborators. And the story of Mike Johnson is a story of, of a collaborator and of someone who knew then – and knows now – that what he’s doing and saying is wrong, but he’s willing to do it in an effort to please Donald Trump. And that’s what makes it dangerous.

DICKERSON: The Speaker of the House is a collaborator to overthrow the last election?

CHENEY: Absolutely.

@repeat1968

She pulls no punches. Just one more and I will let you get on with your day. And, btw, Happy Birthday to BostonBoomer who is still in the hospital but much better!  She’s will be going to rehab once she gets out of Covid Isolation.

Check out the byline from this article from Slate. “The World’s Feminists Need to Show Up for Israeli Victims. Solidarity for victims of sexual assault should trump other politics. BY DAHLIA LITHWICK, MIMI ROCAH, TAMARA SEPPER, JENNIFER TAUB, JOYCE WHITE VANCE, AND JULIE ZEBRAK

Of all of the horrors coming out of the Israel-Hamas conflict, among the most horrible are the barbaric murders, rapes, sexual assaults, and kidnappings of women and young girls in Israel during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. And yet, deepening this distressing event, there has been a disheartening silence about, or worse, denial of these evils; reticence from the voices here at home in the U.S. who have, in the recent past, embraced other women who needed their support. Israeli and Jewish women find themselves isolated. For the past three decades, women have stood up for other women. When our sisters’ bodies and dignity were targeted and violated, women and allies of all ages and backgrounds organized, supported, and spoke out. Except somehow, not this time.

Since Oct. 7, there has been overwhelming evidence that Israeli women and young girls were not “just” slaughtered, but raped, assaulted, tortured, and kidnapped. This is not overstating things—from our work as prosecutors, lawyers, and feminists, we understand what it takes to build a solid criminal case for sexual assault. Here, there is voluminous evidence, more than what is typically available. While many victims cannot speak for themselves—they are either dead or being held hostage—survivor accounts and videos made by the perpetrators themselves speak for them.

Early on, Hamas circulated a video with the searing image of 19-year-old Naama Levy being dragged by her hair into the back of a truck by a group of men. Her pants were bloody. Slowly, the horror dawned upon us as we watched that she had been the victim of violent sexual assault.

A survivor recounted sexual violence she witnessed while hiding at the Nova rave. She said, “The terrorists, people from Gaza, raped girls. And after they raped them, they killed them, murdered them with knives, or the opposite, killed—and after they raped, they—they did that. They laughed.”

There is a huge list of these atrocities.  Please read the article but it is triggering so tread carefully.

I hope you have a peaceful and lovely weekend.  I love you all!!

What’s on your reading and bloggingl list today?

Happy Birthday BB!

This Warren Zevon song is one of my favorites.  This is an acoustic version done by Jackson Browne.