Chaos On Capitol Hill

Musk is in charge?

We are heading closer to a government shut-down, thanks to the MAGA GOP, Trump and Musk. MAGA opposes Speaker Johnson’s attempt at a bi-partisan agreement to avoid the shut down, and then Musk tweeted: “Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Later, he added: “No bills should be passed Congress [sic] until Jan 20, when [Trump] takes office.”

Musk is unelected and serves zero consituents, I know you don’t need reminding. He is wielding his financial power. He further tweeted, after Republicans scrambled, “Your elected representatives have heard you and now the terrible bill is dead. The voice of the people has triumphed! VOX POPULI VOX DEI.”

Ron Filipkowski of Meidas News put it this way: “The owner of a car company is controlling the House of Representatives from a social media app.” Filipkowsky also reported that Representative Rand Paul is the first to suggest that Speaker Johnson be replaced with Elon Musk. All hell would break loose; our government might be run by some few questionable people, but at least enough of them respect the system and all its complexity.

Heather Cox Richardson has an excellent newsletter today that I recommend reading. In it, she reports about the attempts by Trump to rewrite the history of January 6th. But not all Republicans are being swayed, thankfully.

“Conservative former representative Joe Walsh (R-IL) wrote: ‘Trump is suing a pollster and calling for an investigation of [Liz Cheney]. Don’t you dare tell me he’s not an authoritarian. And don’t you dare look the other way. Donald Trump is un-American. The resistance to him from Americans must be steadfast & fierce.’”

President Biden released a statement about the potential government shutdown:

“Republicans need to stop playing politics with this bipartisan agreement or they will hurt hardworking Americans and create instability across the country. President-elect Trump and Vice President–elect Vance ordered Republicans to shut down the government and they are threatening to do just that—while undermining communities recovering from disasters, farmers and ranchers, and community health centers. Triggering a damaging government shutdown would hurt families who are gathering to meet with their loved ones and endanger the basic services Americans from veterans to Social Security recipients rely on. A deal is a deal. Republicans should keep their word.”

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The CEO Murder suspect is facing federal charges, which would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty. On Tuesday, state prosecutors in the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, indicted Mr. Mangione, 26, on three murder charges in the shooting of the Health Insurance executive, two of which branded him a terrorist.

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I don’t usually write about international politics here, but I have to comment on the bravery of the woman in France, Dominique Pelicot, who testified against her husband and the numerous men who drugged and raped her over a number of years. Some of them repeatedly. Ms. Pelicot is a feminist hero, as the French public is saying. The men have received their sentences, ranging from 8-10 years and 20 years— not enough time spent in jail, to my mind. These assaults are horrific. But what the case does is show how cultural attitudes towards women can lead to sick, sick behavior. This was gang rape over time.

Just to end on an upbeat note, I give you a drawing from The New Yorker. I hope you will be able to spend the holiday season eating with people and animals you love.

Thanks for being here, see you tomorrow! Hope to see some of you on zoom tomorrow eve at 7pm ET! Link below.