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Created
Tue, 13/02/2024 - 00:00

1. Will Reba McEntire end the National Anthem by calling for a ceasefire? YES

2. Will the team kicking off first use a holder who will yank the ball away from the kicker at the last second to honor the eve of the twenty-fourth anniversary of Charles M. Schulz’s death? YES

3. Will my wife cry at the Dove commercial? NO

4. Will I cry at the Carl Weathers commercial… and the Dove commercial? NO

5. Will Usher’s “ABC Song” from Sesame Street be part of the halftime show? YES

6. Will Joe Alwyn suit up for the 49ers in a last-ditch attempt to win her back? YES

7. Will the Roman numerals be changed to binary for Super Bowl 111010? YES

8. Will the first serious injury occur in an identical manner to when I try to stand up from the couch too quickly? NO

Created
Mon, 12/02/2024 - 22:35
A new investigation by the BBC has revealed a shocking incident in which Thames Valley Police officers made “sickening” comments about a woman, filmed semi-naked with police body-worn video cameras. The woman was being filmed when her body became exposed while suffering a seizure. Later that shift, officers watched the footage, making degrading comments about […]
Created
Mon, 12/02/2024 - 12:00
Somebody’s on the hot seat again: A chief witness and onetime friend of Representative Matt Gaetz is cooperating in an unfolding House Ethics Committee investigation into whether the Florida politician had sex with an underage girl while in Congress, a lawyer for the witness said Friday. Fritz Scheller, who represents Joel Greenberg, said that he had provided documents to the committee and that Greenberg “has and will cooperate with any congressional request,” The New York Times reported. In May of 2021, Greenberg pled guilty to several charges, including sex trafficking, and is currently in his second year of an 11-year sentence. The former Florida tax collector was able to secure a more lenient punishment by agreeing to cooperate with a Justice Department investigation into Gaetz. In February of 2023, the department announced that it was closing the investigation without charging the Florida Representative with any crimes.
Created
Mon, 12/02/2024 - 11:00
Trump’s been channeling Hitler so I guess this is just par for the course. It’s still startling: Anthony D’Esposito, a congressman from New York, posted a picture on X last week of an undocumented immigrant flashing two middle fingers after being arraigned for allegedly assaulting two NYPD officers. “We feel the same way about you,” D’Esposito wrote. “Holla at the cartels and have them escort you back.” But Republican Congressman Mike Collins took it a step further: “Or we could buy him a ticket on Pinochet Air for a free helicopter ride back.” His post was flagged as violent speech, but it was allowed to stand on the grounds that “it may be in the public’s interest for the Post to remain accessible.” Collins probably considers his statement a joke intended to communicate his views of migrants, and it is best not to overreact to behavior that is designed to provoke. But his post also reflects the mainstreaming of authoritarianism in the GOP.
Created
Mon, 12/02/2024 - 09:00
Some GOP Senators behave responsibly today. Go figure: Donald Trump spent the weekend telling senators they should not pass more unconditional U.S. foreign aid. More than a dozen Republicans ignored him Sunday, moving forward on a bill to send $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The Senate voted 67-27 to advance the foreign aid supplemental spending bill that doesn’t include border provisions, moving it another step closer to passage. That still isn’t guaranteed, as leaders haven’t yet reached an agreement on GOP-demanded border amendments. The package faces some resistance from Republicans, who say they won’t back further aid to Ukraine unless it’s amended to include border policy changes. Last week, Republicans blocked a bipartisan border-foreign aid package that was negotiated for months, arguing it didn’t go far enough to limit migration. Consideration of border amendments would require unanimous consent from senators, which is still elusive. “From this point forward, are you listening U.S. Senate (?),” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Created
Mon, 12/02/2024 - 08:48

When my mother died in 2000, I inherited all her books. Sadly, after several moves and downsizings over the decades, her collection had shrunk. Still, it remains considerable and impressive in its own way. Her legacy to me included some special volumes like a first edition of Frederick W. Taylor’s The Principles of Scientific Management, a famed codification of time-management practices and an origin point for concepts that helped shape work in the last century — and this one, too. Oh, and there’s also a first American edition of E.M. Forster’s novel Howards End. On the flyleaf, she inscribed this note: “Stolen by Suzanne Gordon.” As the bookplate on the cover’s interior indicates, it was indeed stolen from (or at... Read more

Source: Banning What Matters appeared first on TomDispatch.com.