Normalization Might Be Our Undoing

"Lesser black women," disinformation, and confessing

• The clock seems to be ticking a little faster for Matt Gaetz. Joseph Ellicott, a Florida radio host, is the third person—after an ex-girlfriend and Joel Greenberg, former Florida tax official and fellow Venmo user—to cooperate with the DoJ in its investigation into Gaetz and his alleged sex-trafficking of a minor. Ellicott pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and distribution of a controlled substance. According to his attorney, he has shared information relating to allegations against Gaetz.

• Since Neil Young took a stand against Spotify over its support of Joe Rogan and his COVID disinformation, Joni Mitchell, Yuzima Phillip, and Nils Lofgren have joined him in pulling their catalogs from the streaming platform. In the ensuing days, Spotify has lost $4 billion in market value. Good. Let’s hope many other musicians and podcasters join the exodus.

• I’m not shocked that the allegedly unvaccinated Sarah Palin, performative scumbag, flouted COVID quarantine procedures after testing positive by eating out at a New York City restaurant. I am surprised that even New York fails to punish those who skirt quarantine rules. As a result of Plain’s despicable behavior, the mayor’s office urged anybody who has come into contact with the grifter to get tested. Then they released the following statement:

  “By repeatedly flouting C.D.C. guidelines, Ms. Palin has shown a complete disregard for the health and safety of small business workers and her fellow patrons. The city offers multiple resources to support isolation for those who test positive for Covid-19, and we encourage Ms. Palin to join the 98 percent of New Yorkers who report they have followed guidance on isolation.” First, let’s take note that an extraordinary 98% of New Yorkers who test positive for COVID follow isolation guidelines. Second, Palin continues to be a stain we can’t wipe clean. Thanks, John McCain.

• President Biden was caught on a hot mic calling Peter Doocy (failson of Fox’s Brian Doocy) a “stupid son of a bitch” after Doocy asked him, “Do you think inflation is a political liability in the midterms?” I object to Biden’s language because I hate that word. “Stupid asshole” would have worked just fine.

• During the Democrat primary then-candidate Joe Biden promised he would appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court (as, similarly, Ronald Reagan promised in 1980 that he would appoint the first woman). Not surprisingly, Republican Senators are having a hard time hiding their hypocrisy, racism, and misogyny, Just kidding—they’re not trying to hide these things at all.

  Back-bencher Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., descried Biden’s pledge and claimed that any Black woman nominated would be the “beneficiary” of affirmative action.

  Ted Cruz called Biden’s promise "offensive" and "an insult to Black women” (?!)

  "The fact that he is willing to make a promise at the outset that it must be a Black woman I've got to say that's offensive," Cruz said on his podcast (ugh, he has a podcast). "Black women are what, 6 percent of the U.S. population? He's saying to 94 percent of Americans 'I don't give a damn about you, you are ineligible.’"

  Cruz seems not to be aware that over the course of the Supreme Court’s 232-year history 100% of its justices have not been black women. In other words, we have some catching up to do.

  It isn’t just elected officials who have obnoxious takes on the potential nominees—including the exceptionally qualified Ketanji Brown Jackson, Eunice Lee, Wilhelmina Wright, Sherrilyn Ifill, J. Michelle Childs, Leondra Kruger, Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, Melissa Murray, Holly A. Thomas, Tiffany P. Cunningham, Arianna Freeman, and Anita Earls. lya Shapiro, a recently appointed Georgetown Law administrator, tweeted “Objectively best pick for Biden is Sri Srinivasan, who is solid [progressive] and [very] smart. Even has identity politics benefit of being first Asian (Indian) American. But alas doesn’t fit into last intersectionality hierarchy so we’ll get lesser black woman. Thank heaven for small favors?”

  First of all, there is no such thing as an “objectively” best pick for almost anything. Secondly, Ilya Shapiro can fuck right off. Third, thankfully Georgetown has placed him on administrative leave.

• Dan Bongino has been permanently banned from YouTube for violating the platform’s misinformation policy. Spotify might want to take a page out of YouTube’s book.

• In a statement released over the weekend, Donald confessed to a crime by admitting Mike Pence “could have overturned the Election!” And yet Senator Susan “perpetually concerned” Collins (R-ME) said yesterday that, although it’s “not likely” she’ll support Donald if he runs in 2024, she would not rule it out. This is yet another reminder that there is no such thing as a moderate Republican!

• It’s hard to describe how dangerous it is that The New York Times seems hell-bent on normalizing the January 6th insurrectionists who attempted to overthrow our government.  Dean Banquet has so much to answer for. Why does he still have a job? Luckily we have Eric Boehlert over at Press Run to put the Times malpractice in perspective:

  NY Times fawns over Trump's insurrection "community"

  “Portraying the deadly coup attempt as a spiritual rebirth for right-wing activists, one that ‘has given them new purpose’ and a sense of ‘community,’ the Times’ front-page piece detailed how insurrection participants had returned home renewed and committed to the Trump cause — how the attack on the Capitol ‘became a galvanizing new beginning.’

  Terrifying stuff from the newspaper of record.

UNDER THE RADAR AND ON THE HORIZON

• “Terror, despair, and trauma.” That’s what’s being inflicted upon pregnant people in Texas who are seeking abortions.

  Justice Sotomayor’s critique of SB8 sums it up, ““Because our precedents are clear that Texas cannot directly ban abortion before viability, the state legislature enacted a convoluted law that instills terror in those who assist women exercising their rights between 6 and 24 weeks.”

  Women in Texas are now second-class citizens. They are being terrorized, held hostage, and subjugated.

  Thanks to the illegitimate conservative majority on the Supreme Court this will be true in at least half of the states in this country in the not too distant future. It is long past time that we add at least four seats to the Court in order to counter this extremist, anti-American faction that doesn’t even pretend to represent the will of the American people.

• The fact that the U.S. economy grew 5.7 percent in 2021—the fastest since 1984—and 6.9 percent in Q4—is good news. But there’s more—consumer spending rose 7.9% in 2021 (the largest increase in 75 years). So why is this excellent news about the Biden economy under the radar? Because the mainstream media chooses instead to focus instead on inflation, which is a world-wide phenomenon and largely out of the president’s control. As a result, 48% of Americans say they’re hearing mostly negative stories about the economy.

  Part of the problem is that the press attaches Biden’s name to its dire reporting on inflation but leaves his name out when discussing the very positive economic news. The media also act as if the current administration exists in a vacuum and seem to forget that many of the current challenges were foisted upon it by the previous administration.