News and Current Events - 2023 +

[Jeff Wrangler]

Well, I never thought I'd think this, let alone say it, but maybe if a few more people trying to commit crimes with guns, fake or otherwise, get shot dead it will start to make an impact.

The fact that the would-be robber had only a toy gun makes no difference to me.

The only thing that worries me about these situations--and it really is a worry--is that innocent bystanders will get caught in the crossfire and will be harmed and even killed. Sadly, we see this way too often. 

[Lyle (Mooska)]

You briefly heard??
It was headline news here in Aotearoa/NZ

I guess most of our national news has been pre-occupied with the Speaker of the House voting and Santos the lying Congressman. Our/my local news has been preoccupied with the rain and flooding in CA. Also, no one mentioned it here until I did and I've often found out about things here first.

[michaelflanagansf]

Progressive Rep. Katie Porter launches bid for Feinstein’s California Senate seat

California Rep. Katie Porter announced a 2024 Senate bid on Tuesday, launching her campaign for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat in what could be a bruising Democratic primary.

The 89-year-old Feinstein, a member of the Senate since 1992, has not yet made public her own plans for 2024, and her office did not respond to a request for comment on Porter’s announcement. However, many Democrats believe she is likely to retire rather than seek a sixth full term.

Porter, a former law professor who has proven to be a prolific fundraiser since first winning her Orange County-area House seat in 2018, survived a tough reelection bid in 2022, when the redistricting process placed her home in Irvine within a 47th District in which she had to newly introduce herself to about two-thirds of voters.

continues here:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/10/politics/katie-porter-california-2024-senate-race/index.html

[Lyle (Mooska)]

I like Katie Porter.

Interviewed about her decision to run on The Last Word last night: (6 mins.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXV2imE7q6I

[michaelflanagansf]

I like her too. I think I saw her on "The Last Word."

[michaelflanagansf]

So I have to say that finding out that Biden knew about the documents before the midterms makes me like him more! It shows real guile - and puts to lie the notions that he's mentally compromised. That's sharp as a tack.

[michaelflanagansf]

In news of the insane Chip Roy (not on toast) wants to defund Homeland Security.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/house-republican-calls-defunding-homeland-security-department-rcna65720

[CellarDweller115]

So I have to say that finding out that Biden knew about the documents before the midterms makes me like him more! It shows real guile - and puts to lie the notions that he's mentally compromised. That's sharp as a tack.

Hello Michael.  Can you elaborate on that, if you have the time and don't mind.

I hear people saying how it's not different from what Trump did, and that it puts Biden in a negative light.

[michaelflanagansf]

Hello Michael.  Can you elaborate on that, if you have the time and don't mind.

I hear people saying how it's not different from what Trump did, and that it puts Biden in a negative light.

I certainly don't mind, but I'm at a reference desk, so I might get interrupted.

First it's most certainly different from what Trump did, although it today's hyperpartisan environment it's not surprising that people don't want to acknowledge that. He didn't pack up a bunch of papers and take them to another state. They were in his working office building (the Vice Presidential office) that he was working in. Second, he didn't refuse to return the papers, his people were the ones who notified the National Archives that they found the papers - the day they found them. And then they let the archives return them - and immediately went to look in other spaces to see if they found additional papers - and then they returned them. Trump claimed that the papers were his and refused to give them back - that's what lead to the FBI raid. And the National Archives asked Trump to return them - repeatedly.

But what I'm talking about here is that it didn't make it into the press until after the elections. The papers were found on Nov. 2 and returned that day. Had the press gotten ahold of this before the midterms there would have been a s**tstorm then, much as there is now. It shows guile that they didn't notify the press, and that is pretty cagey.

[michaelflanagansf]

By the way Chuck, here's a good opinion piece about that very topic:

Opinion: I worked on document handling issues in government. Here’s why Biden’s and Trump’s cases are different

"We will all need to be patient now that former Maryland US attorney Robert Hur has been appointed by US Attorney General Merrick Garland as the special counsel in charge of the investigation into the classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s home and private office from his time as vice president.

But giving Hur the time to dig into the legitimate questions he must ask does not mean we should compare Biden’s legal exposure to that of Donald Trump.

Based on what we know now, Biden is unlikely ever to face charges, whereas Trump is at high risk because of his obstructive conduct and other factors absent from the Biden case. The cases have special counsels and classified documents in common — but little else."

article continues:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/13/opinions/appointment-special-counsel-biden-documents-case-eisen/index.html

[CellarDweller115]

thanks so much for this, Michael!  I really appreciate it.

[Lyle (Mooska)]

Once was bad enough finding these classified Biden documents because Maga Republicans like to equivocate everything when it comes to the Dems, and the second round or more documents made it worse. I read this article:

How White House Missteps Exacerbated Biden’s Classified Documents Headache
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN
Published 12:12 AM EST, Fri January 13.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/13/politics/white-house-missteps-biden-documents/index.html
______

Now I just read there's a third round of documents found.

It's just maddening. Frankly, if the Orange Cretin had not stolen documents in the first place and these things came up in the Biden administration it wouldn't have garnered any attention, because he and his staff are doing the right thing by this, notifying and returning them to the National Archives. I personally have no issues with this concerning Biden, except that it's becoming a recurring story which only makes trying to charge Trump for his misdeeds concerning Top Secret documents harder and harder for Merrick Garland. Will Trump ever have to pay for his lifetime of crimes?

[michaelflanagansf]

I had missed somehow that Santos was married to a woman until 2 weeks before he became an openly gay candidate in 2020.

“I am openly gay, have never had an issue with my sexual identity in the past decade, and I can tell you and assure you, I will always be an advocate for LGBTQ folks,” Santos told USA Today in October, responding to criticism about his support for Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay Bill” signed into law this year by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Less than two weeks after his divorce was finalized, Santos filed the official paperwork to launch his 2020 campaign. And while his 2022 campaign bio mentions his husband, who according to Santos lives with him and their four dogs on Long Island, he’s kept this previous marriage out of the public eye entirely.
 
https://www.thedailybeast.com/openly-gay-rep-elect-george-santos-didnt-disclose-divorce-with-woman

[fritzkep]

A first class all around mess.

[michaelflanagansf]

They're selling fixtures at Twitter today. I'm wondering how long it is before he moves it to Texas (or Florida).

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/18/1149731084/twitter-office-supplies-auction-online