Archives

Stephcast 8/18/21

3 Top Senate Democrats Pledge To Probe ‘Flawed’ Afghanistan Withdrawal

Democrats in charge of three Senate committees are vowing to hold hearings on the bungled U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, a reflection of how little political cover the Biden administration is getting from its allies on Capitol Hill as chaos engulfs the Middle Eastern country.  Sen. Bob Mendendez (D-N.J.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign […]

As COVID-19 Cases Soar, More Hospitals Report ICUs Nearing Capacity, With Worst To Come

Hospitals across the nation are buckling under the surge in COVID-19 infections linked to the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus, with some states reporting their intensive care units are rapidly filling with patients, much like winter’s wave of cases before vaccines were readily accessible. More than a quarter of the nation’s ICU beds […]

Texas Governor Greg Abbott tests positive for COVID-19

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has tested positive for COVID-19, his office announced on Tuesday. Abbott is fully vaccinated and so far is experiencing no symptoms.    “The Governor has been testing daily, and today was the first positive test result,” Abbott’s communications director Mark Miner said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “Governor Abbott is in […]

Up to 15,000 Americans remain in Afghanistan after Taliban takeover

As many as 15,000 Americans remain in Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover of the country, Biden administration officials told Senate staffers Tuesday, two aides said. Two Senate aides confirmed that they were given that figure in a briefing led by national security and defense officials. The Washington Post first reported that the staffers were told […]

Stephcast 8/17/21

Tropical Storm Grace drenching Haiti as quake death toll tops 1,400

Grace regained tropical storm strength early Tuesday and was dumping extremely heavy rains and causing flooding across parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Those two nations share the island of Hispaniola.   Grace lashed earthquake-damaged Haiti as a tropical depression on Monday with up to 10 […]

Taliban announce ‘amnesty,’ urge women to join government

A Taliban official on Tuesday announced a general “amnesty” for all in Afghanistan and urged women to join the government following the movement’s lightning takeover of the country. Enamullah Samangani, member of Islamic Emirate’s cultural commission, made the comments on Afghan state television, which the militants now control. “The Islamic Emirate don’t want women to […]

U.S. To Recommend COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters At 8 Months, Sources Say

U.S. experts are expected to recommend COVID-19 vaccine boosters for all Americans, regardless of age, eight months after they received their second dose of the shot, to ensure lasting protection against the coronavirus as the delta variant spreads across the country. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated […]

Joe Biden Defends Afghanistan Withdrawal: ‘There Was Never A Good Time’

President Joe Biden said Monday that the stunning collapse of the 20-year American project in Afghanistan proved he was correct to end the U.S. mission, arguing that the Taliban’s takeover of the country vindicated his decision to bring home the U.S. troops stationed there. “I stand squarely behind my decision,” Biden said. “After 20 years, […]

Charlie Pierce: What the Hell Were We Doing There?

John F. Kennedy was very fond of the old saw that victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan. What we watched unfold in Afghanistan over the weekend, as the Afghan army dissolved, the Afghan government collapsed, and the president of Afghanistan ran for the hills, turned that mossbacked shibboleth on its head. […]

Stephcast 8/16/21

Secretary Blinken Defends Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal Amid Criticism

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday defended the Biden administration’s decision to pull out American troops from Afghanistan even as the Taliban government overtakes the country, saying that the U.S. completed its initial goal and is keeping a promise to avoid further war. “Like it or not, there was an agreement that the forces […]

COVID-19 Hospitalizations For Americans In Their 30s Hit All-Time High

COVID-19 hospitalizations for people in their 30s have reached a record high in the U.S. in the latest evidence that the dangerous delta variant of the disease poses formidable risks for younger age groups. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a total of 170,852 hospital admissions of those age 30 to 39 from […]

Texas Supreme Court temporarily blocks mask mandates in two counties

The Texas Supreme Court on Sunday temporarily halted lower court rulings that allowed local government entities and school districts to implement mask mandates in defiance of an order from Governor Greg Abbott. A hearing on the earlier temporary injunction is scheduled for Monday.   Sunday’s ruling affects Dallas and Bexar Counties, which had both reinstated […]

Taliban seize power in Kabul amid chaos in Afghanistan

One of the most stunning guerrilla campaigns in history reached Afghanistan’s capital on Sunday, forcing the country’s president to flee as countries rushed troops to the airport to evacuate their citizens. All U.S. Embassy staff in Kabul, including the mission’s top diplomat, were being evacuated to the international airport as the Taliban looming at the […]

Eric Boehlert: Traitorous GOP now the fifth column in America’s war on Covid

America is swimming in purposeful pandemic distortions:  •The Covid-19 vaccine doesn’t work.  •It’s dangerous and the government is lying about the pandemic.  • Public schools should be defunded if they offer virtual teaching.  • The CDC is run by “tyrants” and health experts are “exaggerating” the pandemic.  • Superintendents could have their pay withheld if they try to initiate a […]

The Rude Pundit: Now Abbott, DeSantis, and Other COVID Accomplice Governors Need to Resign

At some point, if vaccination rates climb in Texas and Florida and other states where the Delta variant of COVID-19 has been allowed to freely lung-fuck the residents, I’d almost expect the governors of those states who refused to do jackshit to mitigate the virus to say, “See? It took a few thousand more deaths, […]

SM Happy Hour Videocast 8/13/21 Barbara McQuade & Jen Kirkman

Stephcast 8/13/21

Glenn Kirschner: DOJ officials thwarted Trump’s coup. Next step, A criminal investigation

Recent blockbuster reporting revealed that former President Donald Trump was aggressively pushing Justice Department officials to help him overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. To those of us who previously worked at the Justice Department, this is … unfathomable. The good news is that these revelations have inspired swift governmental action in at least some […]

Matt Gaetz’s Wingman Has Reportedly Given ‘Thousands Of Photos And Videos’ To Feds

In yet another unpromising turn for Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), ABC News reported Thursday that his former wingman Joel Greenberg has been providing extensive information to federal authorities as he cooperates with the sprawling investigation of the Florida lawmaker. Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector, has handed over “years of Venmo and Cash App […]

Supreme Court rejects challenge to Indiana University’s vaccination requirement

The Supreme Court refused Thursday to block Indiana University’s requirement that students be vaccinated against Covid-19 to attend classes in the fall semester. It was the first legal test of a Covid vaccination mandate to come before the justices. A challenge to the policy was directed to Amy Coney Barrett, the justice in charge of […]

U.S. to evacuate most staff from embassy in Kabul as Taliban sweep across Afghanistan

President Joe Biden is deploying about 3,000 troops to Afghanistan to help secure the withdrawal of most staff from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul amid growing alarm over a Taliban military offensive, officials said Thursday. One Army and two Marine battalions will head to the Hamid Karzai airport in Kabul “within the next 24 to […]

FDA overnight OKs third vaccine dose for immunocompromised people

The Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations for the Moderna and the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines Thursday to allow some people with compromised immune systems to get a third dose. The change in FDA regulation is specific to patients who have been unable to mount an adequate immune response against the virus, even […]

Stephcast 8/12/21

Florida Requests Hundreds Of Ventilators Amid COVID-19 Surge

The federal government has sent hundreds of ventilators and other oxygen devices to the state of Florida following a request from local health officials as coronavirus cases and related hospitalizations continue to rise across the state. The Strategic National Stockpile sent 200 ventilators, 100 high-flow nasal cannula kits and related medical supplies to the state […]

School Districts In Texas And Florida Are Defying Their Governors’ Anti-Mask Orders

Republican governors in Texas and Florida have imposed bans on mask mandates despite a spike in COVID-19 infections among children, but that’s not stopping an increasing number of school districts from defying them. In May, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order banning any sort of mask mandate, including in schools. In July, Florida […]

Rand Paul discloses, 16 months later, wife’s purchase of stock in company behind Remdesivir

Sixteen months late, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday filed a disclosure with the Senate revealing that on Feb. 26, 2020, his wife, Kelley, purchased stock in Gilead Sciences, a company that produces an antiviral drug used to treat COVID-19. Under the STOCK Act, which prohibits members of Congress from using information not available to […]

California requires vaccines, tests for teachers and staff

California will become the first state in the nation to require all teachers and school staff to get vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing, as schools return from summer break amid growing concerns about the highly contagious delta variant, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday. The new policy applies to both public and private schools and […]

Dr. Irwin Redlener: Enough already — it’s time to follow New York’s lead on vaccine mandates

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio stepped out on the national stage last week and declared that as of Aug. 16, the city will require proof of at least one dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine for anyone who wants to eat inside any of the city’s more than 24,000 restaurants, workout in a gym, […]

Stephcast 8/11/21

Texas House Speaker Signs Arrest Warrants For Democrats Who Fled State Over Voting Bill

Texas’s Republican House speaker, Rep. Dan Phelan, signed arrest warrants Tuesday night for 52 House Democrats who fled the state last month in protest of GOP plans for restrictive new voting rights legislation. The Dallas Morning News first reported that the warrants had been issued, adding that they will be delivered to the Texas House […]

Biden praises Senate passage of bipartisan infrastructure bill

President Joe Biden on Tuesday marked the Senate’s passage of a bipartisan infrastructure plan earlier in the day with a White House speech touting the political win and thanking Republican senators who voted with Democrats for what he said was their “courage” to come together to strike a deal for the American people. “After years […]

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigns after sexual harassment allegations, investigation

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that he will resign from office following accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct from a number of women, including former staffers and one current staffer. His resignation will be effective in 14 days, Cuomo said. After a five-month investigation, New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced […]

Senate passes Dems’ $3.5T budget resolution in latest win for Biden

Democrats pushed their expansive $3.5 trillion framework for bolstering family services, health, and environment programs toward Senate passage early Wednesday, as Republicans unleashed an avalanche of amendments aimed at making their rivals pay a price in next year’s elections. Congressional approval of the budget resolution, which seems assured, would mark a crucial first step by […]

Stephcast 8/10/21

Senate Judiciary interviewing former DOJ officials about Trump post-election efforts

The Senate Judiciary Committee has interviewed former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue in its investigation into whether former President Donald Trump tried to enlist the Justice Department in his effort to overturn the 2020 election results. A spokesperson for the committee confirmed that it held a closed-door […]

Senate Dems unveil $3.5T budget for social, climate efforts

Senate Democrats unwrapped a budget resolution envisioning a massive $3.5 trillion, 10-year cascade of federal resources, aiming historic sums at family support, health and education programs and an aggressive drive to heal the climate. The measure is a pivotal first step in what will likely be a tumultuous, months-long Democratic legislative march toward a progressive […]

Florida Still Sees Record COVID-19 Surge As School Year Begins, But DeSantis Digs In

Florida continues to be the COVID-19 epicenter of the highly transmissible delta variant, with record new cases and rising hospitalizations as some schools start their new year ― but the deadly dilemma does not seem to faze the state’s Republican governor. Florida recorded an alarming 157,388 new cases between Aug. 2 and Aug. 8, bringing […]

Pentagon Issues COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate For All U.S. Military Members

Members of the U.S. military will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine beginning next month under a plan laid out by the Pentagon and endorsed by President Joe Biden. In memos distributed to all troops, top Pentagon leaders said the vaccine is a necessary step to maintain military readiness. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said […]

Stephcast 8/9/21

Senate advances bipartisan infrastructure bill in key test vote

With multiple Republicans joining Democrats in the effort, the bipartisan infrastructure bill cleared another hurdle on its way to passing the Senate on Saturday afternoon. By a vote of 67-27, the Senate voted to advance the bill toward final passage. It’s not yet clear when the bill will receive a final vote, but Saturday’s vote […]

Homeland Security warns of ‘increasing but modest’ threat of violence from Trump conspiracy

The Department of Homeland Security said Friday they have observed “an increasing but modest level of activity online” by people who are calling for violence in response to baseless claims of 2020 election fraud and related to the conspiracy theory that former President Donald Trump will be reinstated. “Some conspiracy theories associated with reinstating former […]

Vaccine mandates would make a difference: NIH director

National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins said Sunday he believes vaccine requirements could make a difference in slowing the rapid spread of COVID-19 and acknowledged how politics has polarized public opinion on pandemic mitigation strategies. “Why is it that a mandate about a vaccine or wearing a mask suddenly becomes a statement of […]

Top aide to embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigns

A top aide to embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned Sunday, saying in a statement that the last two years have been “emotionally and mentally trying.” Melissa DeRosa resigned as secretary to the governor as Cuomo faces calls to step down after New York’s attorney general released a report less than a week ago […]

Eric Boehlert: New York Times demands Cuomo resign — in four years they never called for Trump to step down

Rushing in to inform readers that in the wake of damning investigation into his history of sexual harassment, New York’s Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo is no longer suited for office, the New York Times editorial page waited barely 24 hours to reach its sweeping conclusion — “Governor Cuomo, You Should Resign.”   “Regardless of what may happen in […]

The Rude Pundit: Maybe We’re Just Sick of Ignorance and This Time We Can Do Something About It

The easiest way to describe the genuine anger at the anti-vax idiots is that we’re fucking sick of their shit. We’re tired of having the direction of our lives decided by the most credulous and easily manipulated motherfuckers in the population. We’ve reached the end of our proverbial ropes and, goddamnit, we’re done buying longer […]

SM Happy Hour Videocast 8/6/21 Hal Sparks and Mia Bloom

Stephcast 8/6/21

Tickets On Sale NOW!!

Get your tickets for the Sexy Liberal Survivors’ Tour in Madison WI on October 23rd NOW by going to SexyLiberal.com or BarrymoreLive.com! All FOUR Sexy Liberals will be there!  Stephanie Miller, John Fugelsang, Hal Sparks, and Frangela!!  And if you can’t make it to Madison, a LIVE pay per view of the event will be […]

Senators struggle to amend, finish $1T infrastructure bill

Nearing decision time, senators were struggling to wrap up work on the bipartisan infrastructure plan despite hopes to expedite consideration and voting on the nearly $1 trillion proposal. The package had appeared on track for eventual Senate passage, a rare accord between Republicans and Democrats joining on a shared priority that also is essential to […]

Education secretary warns DeSantis, Abbott on masks: ‘Don’t be the reason why schools are interrupted’why schools are interrupted’

With only weeks before schools reopen in much of the country, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said Thursday at the White House that while the Delta variant of the coronavirus is “providing new challenges,” he still anticipates a return to in-class instruction. “We expect our students to be in the classroom every day,” Cardona said […]

FDA Working On Booster Vaccine Strategy, Could Release Next Month

The Food and Drug Administration could unveil a nationwide strategy on COVID-19 booster vaccines as early as next month amid the ongoing surge in new infections linked to the highly transmissible delta variant of the virus, according to reports. The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the agency’s discussions, first reported that the administration […]

Stephcast 8/5/21

Justice official accused Trump of using DOJ to push election fraud claims in draft resignation letter

House investigators have interviewed a former Justice Department official who drafted – but never sent – a resignation letter over what he said were former President Donald Trump’s “direct instructions” to use the department to support his false election fraud claims. Patrick Hovakimian, chief of staff to then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, wrote the resignation […]

DeSantis turns his ire on Biden instead of Covid-19 as it rages in Florida

Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has a message for President Joe Biden: He’s not getting out of the way even as his rejection of masking and public health guidance risks fueling his state’s raging Covid-19 cases. DeSantis relished the chance to climb on a national stage to battle Biden on Wednesday, after the President accused […]

Majority of New York state Assembly support beginning process to impeach Cuomo

Over 80 New York state Assembly lawmakers said they would support starting the process of impeaching Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) if he decides not to resign, one day after an independent inquiry found that the governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women. Of the legislative body’s 150 members, at least 86 lawmakers told The Associated Press […]

Dr. Irwin Redlener: How Trump’s ‘World of Bullsh**’ Unleashed Today’s Delta Surge

The latest data is showing us something very important: that with the new Delta variant, the viral load, the amount of virus carried by an infected person, is the same whether or not that person has been vaccinated. This is a different situation than we understood before, with previous variants and the original virus, because […]

Stephcast 8/4/21

After Biden proposes, CDC issues new 60-day eviction moratorium

Under heavy pressure from progressive Democrats to extend the eviction moratorium as millions of Americans faced being forced out of their homes, President Joe Biden on Tuesday said his administration would announce a new “safety valve” action. Shortly afterward, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order barring evictions for 60 days in […]

Fauci hopes Pfizer vaccine will get full FDA approval in weeks

Dr. Anthony Fauci said he hopes Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine receives full approval from the Food and Drug Administration within the next couple of weeks. Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, appeared on CNN Tuesday evening to react to the news the FDA was speeding up its timetable for giving final approval to the two-dose […]

10 of the biggest findings from the Cuomo sexual harassment probe

The report issued Tuesday by the New York attorney general’s office graphically detailed numerous accusations of sexual harassment by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The governor forcefully denied the allegations and ignored renewed calls for his resignation after the report was released. To read the rest of the story and see the list, go to NBC News

Biden Calls Out Texas, Florida GOP Govs Over COVID-19: ‘Get Out Of The Way’

President Joe Biden on Tuesday criticized the Republican governors of Florida and Texas for hindering public health measures to control a surging strain of the coronavirus, asking them “to get out of the way” if they are not willing to help. “What are we doing? COVID-19 is a national challenge,” he said in prepared remarks […]

Stephcast 8/3/21

Biden Administration Seeks to Blunt Effects From End of Eviction Moratorium

With the federal moratorium on evictions having expired over the weekend, the White House on Monday sought to limit the impact, demanding that states speed up disbursement of billions of dollars in bottled-up rental aid while pleading with local governments to enact their own extensions. President Biden — under fire from the left of his […]

Delta variant drives nationwide COVID surge, prompting new mandates

Healthcare workers in Missouri are bearing the brunt as hospitalizations among people with COVID-19 have nearly doubled in a month.     The hardest hit area includes Springfield, where there’s been a dramatic rise of COVID-19 patients in one hospital system since mask mandates were lifted before two big holiday weekends. CoxHealth brought in a […]

Fourth police officer who responded to Capitol insurrection dies of suicide

A Washington, DC police officer who responded to the deadly riot at the US Capitol on Jan. 6 took his own life last month, making him the fourth law enforcement officer who took part in the events of that day to die by his own hand. Officer Kyle DeFreytag helped enforce the curfew put in […]

Sen. Lindsey Graham Says He’s Tested Positive For COVID-19

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) announced Monday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is showing symptoms of the disease, while expressing gratitude that he has been vaccinated. “I feel like I have a sinus infection and at present time I have mild symptoms,” he tweeted. “I am very glad I was vaccinated because without […]

David Gosar: Our brother Paul Gosar backed Trump’s lie and betrayed America. Has he no shame?

In 1954, the Boston lawyer Joseph Welch famously asked Wisconsin Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy, “At long last, sir, have you left no sense of decency?” It was a question that marked the beginning of the end for McCarthy’s madness, and the senator died a disgraced and despised opportunist. We are not surprised to see him […]

Charlie Pierce: This Pandemic Has Turned Our Historical Reaction to Epidemic Disease on Its Head

On the electric Twitter machine, the kidz have this “Shot…Chaser” meme thing that seems to be wildly popular. Last week, and you may have seen the video on the Intertoobz, a meeting of the county council of St. Louis County was set to discuss a new mask mandate for indoor public places and all public transportation. (As […]

Stephcast 8/2/21

Rudy Giuliani Is Reportedly Almost Broke And Trump’s Shutting Him Out

Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani is almost broke and Trump doesn’t seem to care all that much, sources have told The New York Times. Giuliani is currently struggling under a mountain of legal fees as he attempts to fend off a major federal investigation and answer a $1.3 billion lawsuit. Trump, meanwhile, isn’t […]

Evictions Expected To Spike As Federal Moratorium Ends

Evictions, which have mostly been on pause during the pandemic, are expected to ramp up on Monday after the expiration of a federal moratorium as housing courts take up more cases and tenants are locked out of their homes. Housing advocates fear the end of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moratorium could result […]

Anthony Fauci Warns ‘Things Are Going To Get Worse,’ Shares COVID-19 Projections

With coronavirus cases continually rising and millions of Americans remaining unvaccinated, Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday said he expects “things are going to get worse” in the U.S., while stopping short of predicting future lockdowns. “We’re looking not, I believe, to lockdown but we’re looking to some pain and suffering in the future because we’re […]

Senate introduces text of bipartisan infrastructure package

Senators introduced the long-awaited text of their bipartisan infrastructure bill Sunday, aiming to pass the massive measure this week. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would push forward with amendments to the legislation, which senators were finalizing through the weekend. “Given how bipartisan the bill is, and how much work has already been […]

Eric Boehlert: Chuck Todd and the myth of Liberal Media Bias

Surveying the media landscape and seeing a Beltway press corps that’s constantly on the run from Republican attacks, Meet The Press moderator Chuck Todd this week urged his colleagues to stand up to the right-wing bullies, who have spent decades demonizing journalists.  “We should have fought back better in the mainstream media. We shouldn’t [have] accepted the […]

The Rude Pundit: The Trumpist Right Wants to Emasculate Any Male Who Has Emotions About January 6

The first hearing of the House Select Committee on the January 6 terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol ran the way every hearing on a national tragedy should run. It was emotional, informative, and unifying (yes, unifying – I’ll get to that at the end). By refusing to allow the participation of Rep. Jim Jordan, who is […]

SM Happy Hour Videocast 7/30/21 Eric Holder & Dr. Wendy Walsh

Stephcast 7/30/21

House passes $2 billion Capitol security bill in response to insurrection, clearing it for Biden’s signature

The House voted 416 to 11 on Thursday to approve a roughly $2 billion Capitol Hill security spending bill in response to the deadly January 6 insurrection, clearing the measure for President Joe Biden’s signature. The House vote came shortly after the Senate voted unanimously to pass the measure by a tally of 98-0. The […]

House Republicans spar with Pelosi over return of mask requirements

A number of House Republicans, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, are wrestling with Speaker Nancy Pelosi over the return of a mask mandate in the House, protesting the requirement and even calling for her removal from office. “That is not a speaker for America. That’s a speaker only concerned about her own wealth, her own […]

With eviction moratorium expiring Saturday, Biden calls on Congress to act

The Biden administration on Thursday called on Congress to extend a federal freeze on evictions set to expire on Saturday, arguing its hands are tied by the Supreme Court. The new statement comes as the country grapples with a COVID-19 surge fueled by the highly contagious delta variant. The moratorium, essentially a nationwide ban on […]

Biden Calls On States To Give $100 To Every Newly Vaccinated Person

President Joe Biden has called on state and local governments to give $100 to those who opt to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The White House announced the new plan Thursday as the dangerous delta variant continues to spread across the U.S. and some states lag behind in vaccination rates. The White House said the new plan […]

Stephcast 7/29/21

Kinzinger says ‘a lot’ of Republicans have privately conveyed support for his January 6 stance

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of just two Republicans on the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, said Wednesday that “a lot” of GOP lawmakers have privately conveyed support to him, as he stressed that “nobody actually believes” the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. “There’s a lot of people, you know. […]

Biden will announce vaccination requirement across federal government on Thursday

President Joe Biden will announce on Thursday a requirement that all federal employees and contractors be vaccinated against Covid-19, or be required to submit to regular testing and mitigation requirements, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. The announcement will come in remarks where Biden is also expected to lay out a […]

Pelosi calls GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy a “moron” for criticizing mask mandate

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy “a moron” for criticizing the reinstitution of a mask mandate in the House of Representatives.   “He’s such a moron,” Pelosi said as she entered an SUV outside the Capitol Wednesday morning, after a reporter asked her to react to McCarthy’s claim that the mandate was […]

Senate votes to move forward with bipartisan infrastructure bill

The Senate voted to move forward on a bipartisan infrastructure bill after weeks of negotiations on Wednesday, clearing a key procedural hurdle on a bill that includes $550 billion in new spending for infrastructure projects around the country.   The vote to advance the legislation Wednesday night was 67 to 32, with 17 Republicans joining […]

Stephcast 7/28/21

Simone Biles Withdraws From Women’s All-Around Final At Tokyo Olympics

Gymnast Simone Biles will not compete in the women’s individual all-around final at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, USA Gymnastics said. “After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition,” USA Gymnastics stated. “We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. Her courage shows, yet […]

Biden Says Vaccine Mandate For Federal Employees ‘Under Consideration’

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that his administration was mulling the possibility of requiring COVID-19 vaccines for all federal employees. Asked during a press conference whether he would impose a vaccine mandate on the federal workforce, Biden said, “That’s under consideration right now.” “But if you’re not vaccinated, you’re not nearly as smart as I thought […]

‘Partisan Pageantry’: Republican Senators Dismiss Emotional Jan. 6 Hearing

Senate Republicans waved off police officers’ emotional accounts Tuesday of battling a violent mob of Donald Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as a partisan escapade not worth paying attention to. “Just more of [House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s] partisan pageantry. She loves drama,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), who did not view the testimony. “Just […]

7 Key Takeaways From The First Day Of Jan. 6 Commission Testimony

Tuesday marked the first meeting of the House select committee charged with investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, with hours of emotional testimony about the mob of angry Donald Trump supporters who stormed the building and terrorized its occupants.  Four law enforcement officers delivered prepared remarks before the panel and answered questions: U.S. Capitol Police […]

Stephcast 7/27/21

Pfizer And Moderna To Expand Studies Of Vaccines In 5- To 11-Year-Olds

Pfizer and Moderna are expanding the size of their vaccine trials for children 5 to 11 years old, seeking to better detect very rare heart issues among those vaccinated.  The major vaccine makers are increasing the number of children enrolled in their studies at the prompting of the federal Food and Drug Administration, first reported […]

Former Sen. Barbara Boxer Assaulted, Robbed In California

Former U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer was assaulted and robbed Monday in Oakland, California, her son said. The assault happened in the Jack London Square neighborhood, according to a tweet on Boxer’s verified Twitter account. “The assailant pushed her in the back, stole her cell phone and jumped in a waiting car,” the tweet said. “She […]

California Will Require State Employees, Health Care Workers To Get Vaccinated

Californians who work for the state, in health care, or in a handful of other high-risk settings will be required to show proof they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing, the governor announced Monday. The policy will take effect for state employees on Aug. 2. Staffers at what the state has deemed “high-risk […]

Democrats look to move past partisan rancor and set serious tone for Jan. 6 investigation today

House Democrats on Tuesday will attempt to move past the partisan rancor that has engulfed their effort to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by highlighting what they expect to be emotional testimony from police officers on the scene that day and giving prominent roles to two panel Republicans during the special committee’s […]

Charlie Pierce: The FBI’s Brett Kavanaugh Probe Always Smelled Like a Sham

Anyone who sat through the extended hearings into the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court realized that the whole business was completely off at its center. Christine Blasey Ford was so believable that the blasts of outrage from the likes of Lindsey Graham, and from the nominee himself, smacked of ludicrous overkill, particularly […]

Stephcast 7/26/21

Growing group of GOP members wants McCarthy to punish Kinzinger and Cheney for joining January 6 committee

A growing group of rank-and-file House Republicans wants House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and GOP leadership to punish Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for accepting a position from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to serve on the select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. The push to seek punishment rose to a new level on […]

Kevin McCarthy Says Pelosi Picking 1/6 Committee Members ‘Who Share Her Pre-Conceived Narrative’ After She Appoints Kinzinger

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy decried the 1/6 select committee after Speaker Nancy Pelosi added a second Republican to it. McCarthy announced five Republicans for the committee last week. Pelosi rejected two of them — Jim Banks and Jim Jordan — so McCarthy pulled all five of them. One of Pelosi’s appointments was Republican Liz […]

Fauci: U.S. Headed In ‘Wrong Direction’ On Coronavirus, Delta Variant

The United States is in an “unnecessary predicament” of soaring COVID-19 cases fueled by unvaccinated Americans and the virulent delta variant, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert said Sunday. “We’re going in the wrong direction,’’ said Dr. Anthony Fauci, describing himself as “very frustrated.” He said recommending that the vaccinated wear masks is “under active […]

GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger Says He’ll Serve On Jan. 6 House Committee

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger has confirmed he will serve on the select panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol shortly after receiving an invite from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). “Let me be clear, I’m a Republican dedicated to conservative values, but I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution ― […]

Dean Obeidallah: Fox News’ Covid vaccine denials can’t go unpunished

Typically, when Fox News spews lies or misinformation on political issues, my response is a mix of fact-checking and eye rolls. But the current misinformation campaign about the Covid-19 vaccine from some of Fox News’ most popular hosts demands more than a typical response given lives are on the line. That’s why I filed a complaint this […]

Eric Boehlert: Remember when Politico said DeSantis “won the pandemic”?

Florida has become a Covid-19 debacle, again.  Now accounting for one-in-every five new cases nationwide, the Sunshine State under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has emerged as a beacon of irresponsibility. Not that he seems to care.  Off visiting Texas recently to take part in more GOP photo-ops at the border, DeSantis often brushes off the […]

The Rude Pundit: Answering the Dumb Responses to “Why We’re So Fucking Angry at the Unvaccinated”

n response to my post from earlier this week, a number of skeevy anti-vax taint-huffers wrote to inform me of how wrong I am. Some were of the polite “have you considered this?” variety. Others were more along the line of “Fuck you, you fucking asshole.” My favorite was the one person who accused me of being […]

SM Happy Hour Videocast 7/23/21 Hal Sparks

Stephcast 7/23/21

Tokyo new virus cases near 2,000 a day before Olympics open

Tokyo hit another six-month high in new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, one day before the Olympics begin, as worries grow of a worsening of infections during the Games. Thursday’s 1,979 new cases are the highest since 2,044 were recorded on Jan. 15. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is determined to hold the Olympics, placed Tokyo […]

Mississippi asks Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade

The state of Mississippi formally asked the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday to uphold its ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that gave women the unfettered right to end a pregnancy before a fetus is viable outside the womb. “Under the Constitution, may a State […]

Pelosi says other Republicans “expressed their interest” in serving on January 6 select committee

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that some Republican lawmakers have “expressed their interest” in serving on the select committee investigating the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy threatened to pull his picks from the panel.   Pelosi has not said whether she would appoint other GOP lawmakers […]

CDC Director Says Delta Variant Of COVID-19 Among ‘Most Transmissible’ Viruses Known

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued a stark warning Thursday about the spread of the delta strain of COVID-19, saying the variant is one of the “most infectious respiratory viruses” scientists know of. The dire message comes amid urgency from public health officials that Americans get vaccinated. The […]

Stephcast 7/22/21

US virus cases nearly triple in 2 weeks amid misinformation

COVID-19 cases nearly tripled in the U.S. over two weeks amid an onslaught of vaccine misinformation that is straining hospitals, exhausting doctors and pushing clergy into the fray. “Our staff, they are frustrated,” said Chad Neilsen, director of infection prevention at UF Health Jacksonville, a Florida hospital that is canceling elective surgeries and procedures after […]

Infrastructure vote fails as senators try to salvage bipartisan deal

Senate Republicans blocked moving forward on a bipartisan infrastructure bill that’s still being negotiated on Wednesday. Surprisingly, members of the group insist they’re unbothered. The vote amounted to a setback to a key priority of President Joe Biden, although members of both parties expect at least one more try in the coming days. GOP centrists […]

Biden Predicts F.D.A. Will Give Final Vaccine Approval by the Fall

President Biden said on Wednesday that he expected the Food and Drug Administration would give final approval quickly for coronavirus vaccines, as he pressed for skeptical Americans to get vaccinated and stop another surge of the pandemic. Speaking to a town hall audience in Ohio, Mr. Biden said he was not intervening in the decisions […]

McCarthy threatens to pull Jan. 6 committee choices after Pelosi rejects GOP Reps. Jordan and Banks

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., rejected two of Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s picks for the select committee formed to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, prompting McCarthy to threaten to pull all of his proposed appointees. Pelosi spoke with McCarthy, R-Calif., on Wednesday morning “about the objections raised” to his decision to […]

Stephcast 7/21/21

Senate Republicans warn Schumer they won’t help on Wednesday’s high-stakes infrastructure vote

As the Senate barrels toward a key test vote Wednesday on a bipartisan infrastructure deal, some Senate Republicans involved in trying to nail down the deal are pleading with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to delay the vote until next week. Key Republican negotiators in the bipartisan group of senators who have been trying to work […]

Delta Variant Now Makes Up 83% Of New U.S. COVID Cases: CDC Director

The more transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus now makes up about 83% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S., with the majority of deaths occurring in unvaccinated people, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. “This is a dramatic increase up from 50%, the week of July 3,” Dr. […]

Fourth Oath Keeper in Capitol riot pleads guilty, cooperates with FBI

A fourth person who joined with members of the far-right Oath Keepers during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot pleaded guilty Tuesday and was cooperating with federal investigators. The man, Caleb Berry, 20, of Tampa, Florida, admitted in federal court in Washington, D.C., that he and other group members planned for Jan. 6 and entered the […]

Tom Barrack, Trump’s inaugural committee chair, charged with acting as agent of UAE

Tom Barrack, who chaired former President Donald Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee, was arrested Tuesday on charges that he unlawfully influenced the foreign policy positions of the campaign and administration to advance the interests of the United Arab Emirates, the Department of Justice said. In a seven-count grand jury indictment, unsealed in a New York federal […]

Stephcast 7/20/21

Delta variant fears send Dow tumbling more than 700 points in worst one-day decline of 2021

Global stock markets swooned Monday, with the Dow slumping more than 700 points, as investors grow increasingly anxious about a delta-led resurgence in coronavirus cases and its potential to derail the economic recovery. Oil prices also fell sharply. The delta variant is now the dominant strain worldwide and surging rapidly, even in countries with high […]

Biden tries to clarify comment that Facebook is ‘killing people’

Days after Facebook publicly rejected President Joe Biden’s message to the platform that it’s “killing people” by allowing the spread of vaccine misinformation, even as COVID-19 infections rise and vaccinations fall around the U.S., he tried to clean up his comment about the social media giant Monday, saying he hopes Facebook doesn’t take it “personally.” […]

GOP leader Kevin McCarthy makes his picks for Jan. 6 select committee

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has selected five members to join the select committee charged with investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, two Republican aides said Monday. McCarthy tapped Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Rodney Davis of Illinois, Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota and Troy Nehls of […]

Southern surge: Hospitals brace for wave of Covid cases not seen in months

For doctors at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, a rush of new Covid-19 cases and a dwindling availability of beds feels like the hospital is backsliding to how it was at the end of 2020. The latest projections from the school’s college of public health suggests statewide Covid hospitalizations will triple in the […]

Stephcast 7/19/21

Dr. Irwin Redlener: To Save American Lives, Biden Needs to Ask Trump For His Help

“I doubt that either POTUS 45 or 46 would be anxious to admit that it was complementary efforts by both presidents that allowed the U.S. to create, manufacture, and distribute Covid-19 vaccines in record time and with startling efficiency. But it was after Operation Warp Speed that President Biden was able to focus on upping […]

Social media must do more to support vaccination, surgeon general says

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Sunday dismissed the idea that the Biden administration is looking for a scapegoat and using Facebook misinformation as an excuse for missing its vaccination goals. “This is about the health of Americans and the reality is that misinformation is still spreading like wildfire in our country, aided and abetted by […]

3 Texas Dems test positive for coronavirus while in D.C.

Three Texas House Democrats who fled the state have tested positive for coronavirus while in Washington, D.C., the Texas House Democratic Caucus said in a statement on Saturday. Over 50 House Democrats from the state left on Monday to break quorum in the chamber. In doing so, they prevented Republicans from advancing proposals to change […]

Biden says DOJ to appeal DACA ruling he calls ‘deeply disappointing’

President Joe Biden said it’s “deeply disappointing” that a federal judge in Texas has ruled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program as unlawful, and said the Department of Justice will appeal the decision. “While the court’s order does not now affect current DACA recipients, this decision nonetheless relegates hundreds of thousands of […]

Bipartisan infrastructure negotiators scramble for deal as key funding option dropped

The group of 10 bipartisan infrastructure negotiators was already having trouble coming up with ways to pay for nearly $600 billion in planned new spending, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer setting a Wednesday deadline for a key test vote on their bill turned up the heat and pressure significantly. “That’s pretty aggressive. That means […]

Eric Boehlert: Complete failure — the media’s critical race theory debacle gets worse

Did you know the entire “country” is now “panicked” about critical race theory? That absurd claim was laundered in a New York Times headline this week, as the newspaper tried to unpack the current, manufactured outrage being fueled by conservatives in their never-ending bid to wage cultural wars.  The ginned-up moral crisis continues to rage because news outlets […]

The Rude Pundit: Republicans Loved the Covid Vaccine Before They Hated It

I have seen a lot of cynical shit when it comes to the way that conservative politicians and media whores manipulate their fucking ignorant followers, from the Cadillac-driving welfare queens to drug hysteria to birtherism and so very much more. But I cannot wrap my head around the exploitation of fear and the selfish hyping […]

SM Happy Hour Videocast 7/9/21 Glenn Kirschner & Dr. Irwin Redlener

Stephcast 7/16/21

Ex-Trump Official Calls The GOP America’s ‘Number One National Security Threat’

A former Homeland Security official under Donald Trump says his own party is a national security threat. Miles Taylor, who served as the agency’s deputy chief of staff and then chief of staff from 2017 to 2019, told MSNBC’s Jason Johnson that he’s not a political operative, just someone who works in national security. “And […]

Trump denies coup attempt in latest attack on Milley

Former President Donald Trump attacked Gen. Mark Milley again on Thursday, this time over new reports that the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff sought to prevent Trump from perpetrating a government takeover reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the aftermath of the 2020 election. In a more than 400-word statement issued from his post-presidential […]

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) Arrested During Protest For Voting Rights

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) was detained by U.S. Capitol Police on Thursday while protesting for voting rights alongside other Black women at a Senate office building in Washington, D.C.  Beatty, who is chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, tweeted a photo of herself being zip-tied by police with the message: “Let the people vote. Fight […]

Los Angeles County reinstates indoor mask mandate as delta variant spreads

Public health officials will reinstate an indoor mask mandate for residents of the most populous county in the nation as coronavirus cases rise just one month after the state reopened its economy. Fueled by the quickening spread of the delta variant, the mask ordinance will go into effect late Saturday and will apply to everyone […]

Stephcast 7/15/21

Dispiriting setback: COVID deaths, cases rise again globally

COVID-19 deaths and cases are on the rise again globally in a dispiriting setback that is triggering another round of restrictions and dampening hopes for a return to normal life. The World Health Organization reported Wednesday that deaths climbed last week after nine straight weeks of decline. It recorded more than 55,000 lives lost, a […]

Liz Cheney Reportedly Tore Into Jim Jordan At The Capitol On Jan. 6

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) reportedly called out Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to his face on Jan. 6 as the insurrection unfolded and lawmakers were forced to flee as supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol.  “You fucking did this,” she told him, according to an upcoming book, “I Alone Can Fix It: Donald […]

Top General Feared Trump Would Use Military To Stay In Power, Compared Him To Nazis: Book

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was deeply worried that then-President Donald Trump would refuse to leave the White House and warned colleagues he was afraid the man would try to use the military to stay in office, according to book excerpts published Wednesday. Milley, the nation’s top military officer, […]

Child tax credit payments will start hitting bank accounts today. Here’s what you need to know.

Most eligible families in the U.S. will get their first monthly payments of the expanded child tax credit Thursday. The payments, which were included in the American Rescue Plan, change an existing tax credit by expanding the eligibility pool and increasing the money families get. Under the expanded credit, the IRS, also for the first […]

Stephcast 7/14/21

Texas Democrats defy arrest threats after fleeing to block voting law

More than 50 Democrats flew to Washington DC on Monday, in a move intended to paralyse the state’s House of Representatives ahead of the vote. At least two-thirds of the chamber’s 150 members must be present for a vote. On Tuesday, Republican Governor Greg Abbott threatened the missing politicians with arrest. He said they would […]

Democratic senators move toward ending the federal prohibition on cannabis

For the first time in Senate history, Democrats on Wednesday will move toward ending the federal prohibition on cannabis, removing it from the federal list of controlled substances. It’s a move sponsors hope will also end the disproportionate harm that has been done to communities of color. To date, some 18 states have legalized the […]

Biden blasts GOP voting restrictions push: ‘The big lie is just that — a big lie!’

President Joe Biden on Tuesday decried Republican efforts to limit ballot access across the country as a “21st century Jim Crow assault,” while warning Americans that the GOP push to restrict voting and “selfish” challenge of the 2020 election results were “the most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War.” “There is an […]

Senate Democrats reveal $3.5 trillion plan to invest in health care, climate change and more

Senate Democratic leaders announced an agreement Tuesday evening to advance a $3.5 trillion spending plan to finance a major expansion of the economic safety net. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the $3.5 trillion would be in addition to the $579 billion in new spending in the bipartisan infrastructure agreement. He said the deal […]

Stephcast 7/13/21

Facing possible sanctions, Sidney Powell defends 2020 election lawsuit during heated hearing

Former Trump attorney Sidney Powell and her legal team clashed repeatedly with a federal judge Monday during a hearing to determine if sanctions are warranted against her and other attorneys who filed a lawsuit in Michigan based on false claims of election fraud in an unsuccessful attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. […]

After meeting with Pfizer, U.S. health agency reiterates that Covid vaccine booster not necessary

U.S. health officials, after meeting with vaccine maker Pfizer, reiterated on Monday that Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need to get a booster shot, a spokesperson for the Health and Human Services Department said. Pfizer said last week it planned to ask U.S. regulators to authorize a booster dose of its COVID-19 […]

Texas Democrats leave state to prevent vote on GOP election bill

Democratic lawmakers from Texas declared Monday night that they were “determined to kill this bill” after they left the state earlier in the day to prevent a vote in the state Legislature on Republican election bills.    By leaving the state, lawmakers are preventing a quorum during the special legislative session that is being held […]

Indicted Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg removed from top roles at subsidiaries

Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization chief financial officer indicted on tax fraud charges this month, has quietly been removed from top positions at more than two dozen Trump subsidiaries, NBC News has confirmed. Weisselberg, 73, was removed from positions with at least 28 Trump subsidiaries, according to filings with the Florida State Department that were […]

Charlie Pierce: Sidney Powell Is Going Down With the Ship

I am not a lawyer, and I play one here in the shebeen only occasionally, but there is one thing about the law that I know. If you are an attorney before the bar, representing your client, it is far better to piss off the judge than to piss off the court reporter, and this […]

Stephcast 7/12/21

Texas GOP advances voting restrictions as hundreds push back

Texas Republicans advanced bills Sunday that would make voting harder in a state that already has some of the nation’s toughest restrictions after hundreds spoke against the proposals — with some waiting to speak for almost 24 hours. Republicans made clear they intended to advance a new election bill — which would prohibit 24-hour polling […]

Weapons cache at Denver hotel near MLB All-Star game venue uncovered by police

A tip from a housekeeper led police to uncover a large arsenal of weapons at a hotel in downtown Denver about a block from Coors Field, where Major League Baseball‘s All-Star Game is set to be played on Tuesday. Three men and a woman were arrested and 16 long guns, body armor, hundreds of rounds […]

Trump Wins CPAC Straw Poll As Conservatives Urge Him To Run Again In 2024

Former President Donald Trump handily won the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday as attendees said they would overwhelmingly like to see him run for another term in the White House in 2024.  The poll, a hypothetical survey asking respondents who they would vote for in the Republican primary if it […]

Fauci Says It’s ‘Horrifying’ To See CPAC Crowd Cheering Anti-Vaccine Remarks

The nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Sunday he was horrified to see attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference cheering that the U.S. hadn’t reached its vaccination goals. “It’s horrifying. I mean, they are cheering about someone saying that it’s a good thing for people not to try and save their […]

Eric Boehlert: Tucker Carlson’s NSA spying story gets dumber and dumber

Spinning his way through an incoherent, headline-grabbing allegation that the U.S. Intelligence Community has been “spying” on him and releasing his emails to journalists in an effort to get his show cancelled, Tucker Carlson detailed this week how “the Biden administration” had big plans to take him down. Conceding that he’s been in contact with […]

The Rude Pundit: Hey, Fellow White People, We Should Be Ashamed and Angry About Racism in American History

When I was applying for jobs in academia years ago, I figured that, depending where I was applying, my whiteness and maleness would work against me or in my favor. It never occurred to me to resent the idea that I might lose out to an equally qualified non-white person or a woman because I […]

Stephcast 7/9/21

Kamala Harris announces DNC investing additional $25 million in voting rights initiative

Vice President Kamala Harris announced on Thursday that the Democratic National Committee is investing an additional $25 million in its voting rights initiative, underscoring the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to a cause that has become a rallying cry for the party. “This campaign is grounded in the firm belief that everyone’s vote matters — that your […]

Biden announces U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will end August 31

President Biden said the withdrawal from Afghanistan of U.S troops after 20 years of war will conclude on August 31, ahead of the September 11 deadline he announced in mid-April.    “We are ending the nation’s longest war,” the president said in remarks at the White House Thursday. At the time he announced the September […]

Fully vaccinated people don’t need Covid boosters, U.S. health agencies say

People who are fully vaccinated do not need Covid-19 boosters, health and drug officials said Thursday. “We are prepared for booster doses if and when the science demonstrates that they are needed,” the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a joint statement. The agencies said those who […]

Stephcast 7/8/21

Dr. Irwin Redlener: South Florida collapse shows infrastructure is a persistent threat to public health

The deadly building collapse in South Florida is a searing reminder that fragile infrastructure can have tragic public health consequences. Although exceptions can and have occurred, 72 hours is considered the essential rescue window for people trapped in rubble following the collapse of a building. After that, without an ongoing source of oxygen and water, […]

Biden pitches bipartisan infrastructure deal along with his plan to boost spending on education, child care and health care

President Biden on Wednesday pitched the bipartisan infrastructure deal along with his plan to boost spending on education, child care and health care during a trip to Crystal Lake, Ill., a conservative area in a liberal state. The White House is angling to pass the latter with the support of only Democrats. In a dig […]

Finding survivors in Florida condo collapse ‘no longer possible’; search and rescue halted

Officials announced Wednesday evening that the search and rescue efforts at the collapsed Miami Beach-area condo building would shift to a recovery operation, signaling the formal end of the search for survivors. With 86 people still unaccounted for, crews have not found anyone alive since shortly after half of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, […]

‘Stupid On So Many Levels’: Trump’s Social Media Lawsuits Raked Over The Coals

Lawyers, reporters and other people who still have access to social media went to town Wednesday on former President Donald Trump’s moonshot lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter and Google. Trump announced he’s seeking class-action lawsuits against the tech giants for what he claims is an infringement of his First Amendment rights. He says the companies violated his […]

Stephcast 7/7/21

Biden calls for more urgency for Covid vaccinations as new variant spreads

President Joe Biden on Tuesday called for a renewed urgency to get more Americans vaccinated against Covid-19as a variant of the virus is contributing to case surges in parts of the country. “We can’t get complacent now,” Biden said. “You can do this. Let’s finish the job.” In a brief speech at the White House, […]

Stephcast 7-6-21

Being our semi-regular weekly survey of what’s goin’ down in the several states where, as we know, the real work of governmentin’ gets done, and where if you go down in the flood, it’s going to be your fault. We begin in the state of Washington, where a state representative did his Dennis The Peasant […]

Stephcast 7/5/21

SM Happy Hour Videocast 7-2-21 (Vintage) Carol Burnett

StephCast F 7-2-21

Pelosi taps GOP Rep. Liz Cheney for House select committee to investigate Jan. 6

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced Republican Rep. Liz Cheney will serve on the House select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. “We are very honored and proud she has agreed to serve on the committee,” Pelosi said Thursday. At her press conference on Capitol Hill, Pelosi also announced House Homeland […]

Surfside building collapse: Search and rescue efforts resume following structural concerns

One week after a 12-story residential building partially collapsed in South Florida‘s Miami-Dade County, at least 18 people have been confirmed deadwhile 145 others remain unaccounted for, officials said. The massive search and rescue operation, now in its eighth day, was halted for much of Thursday due to structural concerns, as officials worried about the […]

Supreme Court Allows Arizona To Keep Voting Restrictions

The Supreme Court dealt another blow to the Voting Rights Act on Thursday, ruling in favor of Republicans that Arizona can maintain restrictions that critics say discriminate against nonwhite voters.  The ruling was a 6-3 vote and written by Justice Samuel Alito. Alito’s opinion was joined by the five other conservative justices. Justice Elena Kagan […]

Trump Organization Is Charged With Running 15-Year Employee Tax Scheme

The Trump Organization, the real estate business that catapulted Donald J. Trump to tabloid fame, television riches and ultimately the White House, was charged Thursday with running a 15-year scheme to help its executives evade taxes by compensating them with fringe benefits that were hidden from the authorities. The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which has […]

StephCast Th 7-1-21

President Biden to visit site of Florida building collapse today

President Joe Biden will visit Surfside, Fla., on Thursday following the collapse of a condo building in the coastal suburb, a departure from the White House’s position a day earlier that the president had no immediate plans to visit the site of the disaster. The president told reporters of his plans to visit South Florida […]

Donald Rumsfeld, Defense Secretary During Iraq War, Is Dead at 88

Donald H. Rumsfeld, the secretary of defense for Presidents Gerald R. Ford and George W. Bush, who presided over America’s Cold War strategies in the 1970s and, in the new world of terrorism decades later, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, died on Tuesday at his home in Taos, N.M. He was 88. The cause […]

Bill Cosby released after assault conviction overturned by Pennsylvania Supreme Court

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the indecent assault conviction of Bill Cosby on Wednesday and ordered his release from prison after finding that he was denied protection against self-incrimination. The court said that a prosecutor’s decision not to charge Cosby, 83, in an earlier case opened the door for him to speak freely in a […]

Charges against Trump Organization and CFO Allen Weisselberg to be unsealed Thursday

Charges are expected to be unsealed Thursday against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, related to a criminal tax investigation in connection with an array of perks and benefits awarded to employees. A Manhattan grand jury filed the indictments Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter, but it was not […]

SM Happy Hour Videocast 7/16/21 Malcolm Nance & Glenn Kirschner

StephCast W 6-30-21

BREAKING: Trump Organization, CFO Allen Weisselberg Reportedly Set to Be Charged for Tax Crimes on Thursday

A new report indicates that the Trump Organization, as well as its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg are about to be charged with tax-related crimes. The Wall Street Journal reports that Manhattan district attorney’s office will charge Weisselberg and the Trump Organization at large on Thursday. This corroborates previous reports suggesting criminal charges would be […]

Trump Alabama Rally Canceled Over ‘Partisan’ Concerns

If Donald Trump is to hold his “Save America” rally in Alabama on Fourth of July weekend, he’ll need to find a different venue. Citing “partisan” concerns, Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile has nixed the event, which was to be held on Saturday. The U.S.S. Alabama memorial and museum is docked in Mobile Bay. “After […]

House Votes To Remove Confederate Statues From Capitol

The House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to remove statues and busts of Confederate leaders, white supremacists and supporters of slavery from the Capitol. Only Republicans voted against the measure, which passed 285 to 120.  Even though opposition to the bill came from within their own party, Republicans took it as an opportunity to attack […]

Tucker Carlson claimed the NSA is spying on him. Even his own colleagues don’t seem to believe it

Fox News host Tucker Carlson made an explosive claim on his show Monday night: That he had learned through a whistleblower that the National Security Agency is spying on him and planning to leak his communications in a bid to take him off the air. “The Biden administration is spying on us,” Carlson declared to […]

Condo board president warned of deterioration, need for repairs months before collapse

A letter sent in April to residents of the Miami Beach-area condo that collapsed last week said the building’s “concrete deterioration is accelerating” and warned that damage “would begin to multiply exponentially.” The letter, sent by Champlain Towers South Board President Jean Wodnicki, explained to residents why a renovation that had originally been estimated to […]

StephCast T 6-29-21

Court says FTC hasn’t provided evidence Facebook is a monopoly, dismisses lawsuit

A Washington federal judge on Monday handed Facebook a major victory in its battle against government regulators, dismissing two antitrust lawsuits against the social media giant and questioning assertions that Facebook is a monopoly. In dismissing one of the lawsuits, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg said the Federal Trade Commission had failed to offer […]

Transgender student wins bathroom battle after Supreme Court rejects school board appeal

A transgender man from Virginia has won a years-long legal battle against his former high school over its refusal to let him use boys bathrooms when he was a student. The U.S. Supreme Court Monday rejected the Gloucester County School Board’s appeal of a lower court decision that found its transgender bathroom ban is unconstitutional. […]

Nancy Pelosi Unveils Legislation Creating Select Committee On U.S. Capitol Riot

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) introduced legislation Monday to establish a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. “January 6th was one of the darkest days in our nation’s history. It is imperative that we establish the truth of that day and ensure such an attack cannot again happen,” Pelosi […]

Collapsed Florida building residents told it was safe, despite ‘major structural damage’

Officials assured residents of the Miami Beach-area condo that collapsed last week that their building was safe, despite a report that strongly indicated otherwise, while also disregarding residents’ concerns that nearby construction might compromise the stability of the beachside high-rise. The revelations come as the official death toll in the collapse climbed to 11 and […]

Charlie Pierce: This Is the Upside of Merrick Garland’s ‘Institutionalism’

This is the upside of Garland’s “institutionalism” that has driven so many of his progressive supporters so batty. He may believe that the ethics of his job require him to, say, fight the E. Jean Carroll lawsuit, or even defend the previous administration* against any lawsuit emanating from the January 6 insurrection. But he also knows […]

StephCast M 6-28-21

Biden seeks to walk back perceived veto threat on bipartisan infrastructure deal

The road to passing the bipartisan infrastructure deal negotiated by senators and agreed to by the White House this week is already proving to be a rough one. On Saturday, President Joe Biden issued a statement seeking to walk back his perceived ultimatum that his support for the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal was dependent […]

Surfside building collapse latest: Death toll climbs to 9, more victims identified

The death toll has climbed to nine from the partial collapse of a 12-story condominium building in Surfside, Florida, as a massive search and rescue mission continued into its fourth day on Sunday, officials said. Four more bodies were recovered overnight from the rubble of the Champlain Towers South condominium that buckled and gave way […]

Trump Organization attorneys given Monday deadline to persuade prosecutors not to file charges against it

Prosecutors in New York have given former president Donald Trump’s attorneys a deadline of Monday afternoon to make any final arguments as to why the Trump Organization should not face criminal charges over its financial dealings, according to two people familiar with the matter. That deadline is a strong signal that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus […]

U.S. launches airstrikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq, Syria

U.S. military forces carried out what a Pentagon official called “defensive” airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on Sunday against Iran-backed militia groups that were behind drone attacks on American personnel. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said in a statement that the airstrikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one […]

Rude Pundit: Manchin and Sinema Made Promises to Their Voters That They Refuse to Keep

After yesterday’s 50-50 vote killing the For the People Act because a Republican filibuster prevented it from even being debated, let alone voted on, I was ready to write another piece raging about feckless Democrats and their inability to get things done, even when they have both houses of Congress and the presidency. But every […]

SM Happy Hour Videocast 6/25/21 Jen Kirkman & Frank Figliuzzi

Stephcast 6/25/21

Court Suspends Giuliani’s Law License, Citing Trump Election Lies

Rudolph W. Giuliani, a former top federal prosecutor, New York City mayor and lawyer to a president, had his law license suspended after a New York court ruled on Thursday that he made “demonstrably false and misleading statements” while fighting the results of the 2020 election on behalf of Donald J. Trump.

Pelosi Announces House Select Committee On Jan. 6 Attacks

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Thursday that she will create a House select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol attack after Senate Republicans blocked legislation to create a 9/11-style bipartisan commission last month. The announcement comes with “great solemnity and sadness,” Pelosi told reporters. Investigators will have “as long as it takes.” “Again, January […]

Biden Announces Agreement for Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal

After weeks of talks, a bipartisan group of 10 Senators, including Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Susan Collins (R-ME), have come to an agreement about a historic infrastructure package. In a press conference outside the White House, President Joe Biden announced that there were “serious compromises on both ends” and that he had signed on […]

Trump urged military to ‘crack skulls’ while suppressing George Floyd protests at White House: book

  On Thursday, CNN reported that an upcoming book on former President Donald Trump by Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender alleges he demanded that military and law enforcement groups “crack skulls” during efforts to control the George Floyd protests last summer. “Titled “Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump […]

Stephcast 6/24/21

Garland Says Watchdog Is Best Positioned to Review Trump-Era Justice Dept., Not Him

  WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick B. Garland backed away on Tuesday from doing a broad review of Justice Department politicization during the Trump administration, noting that the department’s independent inspector general was already investigating related issues, including aggressive leak hunts and attempts to overturn the election. Democrats and some former Justice Department employees have […]

Oath Keeper Reaches Plea Deal, Will Cooperate In Major Jan. 6 Conspiracy Case

  A Florida man who went into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as part of a group of Oath Keepers pleaded guilty on Wednesday in a large criminal conspiracy involving more than a dozen other defendants charged in connection with the Capitol attack.  Graydon Young is the first Oath Keeper charged in the large […]

White House to announce strategy to tackle gun violence amid sharp increase in crime

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday will lay out his plan for addressing the surge in gun violence that has impacted cities around the country in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The president’s strategy will address five key areas: stemming the flow of firearms used to commit violence; providing law enforcement with more […]

Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley Fiercely Defends Teaching Critical Race Theory

Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley used his Wednesday congressional appearance to defend teaching critical race theory to members of the military, saying that he found criticism of it “offensive.” “I do think it’s important for those of us in uniform to be open-minded and be widely read,” Milley said, responding to a request from […]

Stephcast 6/23/21

CDC: Nearly every adult COVID-19 death is now “entirely preventable” thanks to vaccines

  Adult deaths from COVID-19 are “at this point entirely preventable” thanks to vaccines, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said during a White House coronavirus briefing on Tuesday. Why it matters: Deaths from the virus have dramatically decreased since their peak in early 2021, but the U.S. is still currently reporting […]

Harris to preside over Senate for voting rights debate

Vice President Harris will preside over the Senate when the chamber votes Tuesday on whether to proceed with a sweeping voting rights bill that is guaranteed to fail to advance, a White House official said. The Senate will vote Tuesday night on the For the People Act, which would overhaul federal elections and comes as GOP-led state legislatures […]

Biden’s Justice Dept may defend Trump in Capitol riot lawsuits

  WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump may have an unlikely ally to defend him against lawsuits alleging he incited the U.S. Capitol insurrection: President Joe Biden’s Justice Department. The Biden administration paved the way for that possibility, say constitutional scholars and lawyers in the cases, by arguing in an unrelated […]

Senate Republicans block debate on elections bill, dealing blow to Democrats’ voting rights push

Senate Republicans banded together Tuesday to block a sweeping Democratic bill that would revamp the architecture of American democracy, dealing a grave blow to efforts to federally override dozens of GOP-passed state voting laws. The test vote, which would have cleared the way to start debate on voting legislation, failed 50-50 on straight party lines […]

Stephcast 6/22/21

Donald Trump’s Former Bodyguard Under Scrutiny in New York Probe

New York prosecutors are investigating whether a top Trump Organization executive, Matthew Calamari, received tax-free fringe benefits, as part of their probe into whether former President Donald Trump’s company and its employees illegally avoided paying taxes on such perks, according to people familiar with the matter. Prosecutors’ interest in Mr. Calamari, once Mr. Trump’s bodyguard, […]

FBI agent acknowledges in court filing that Trump backers discussed ‘revolution’ before Jan. 6

WASHINGTON — The FBI director and other senior officials have consistently downplayed the intelligence value of social media posts by Trump supporters prior to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, suggesting the bureau had no “actionable” warning that the Capitol would be targeted by a mob. But according to a document entered into court records last […]

They’ve Done Some Extensive Renovations on the Conservative Puke Funnel

Within days, a conspiracy theory went from the lunatic fringe to the White House and the Department of Justice. By Charles P. Pierce Jun 21, 2021 The problem with running a successful freak show is that your customers continually ask for more, and you end up slouching toward human sacrifice or gluing horns onto the heads […]

Donald Trump’s Chances of Staying Out of Prison Are Not Improving

If you asked Donald Trump what he thinks the next several months will hold for him, he’d likely tell you that he’ll be holding some rallies, playing some golf, and getting ready to head back to the White House. He’d tell you that because he’s a disturbed man who apparently thinks that a president who […]

How Democrats are ‘unilaterally disarming’ in the redistricting wars

Oregon Democrats had finally secured total control of redistricting for the first time in decades. Then, just months before they were set to draw new maps, they gave it away. In a surprise that left Democrats from Salem to Washington baffled and angry, the state House speaker handed the GOP an effective veto over the […]

Stephcast 6/21/21

How the Justice Department swept up records of two congressional Democrats and Trump’s lawyer

(CNN) — The subpoena that swept up the records of two Democratic congressmen, their staff and family members in 2018 appears to have been the result of a leak investigation that initially included scrutinizing a senior aide on the House Intelligence Committee, and not the lawmakers themselves, sources told CNN. The Justice Department’s original secret […]

President Biden’s dog, Champ, passes away

The White House Saturday announced the passing of their dog Champ. “He was our constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family,” the Biden family said in a statement. “He loved nothing more than curling up at our feet in front of a fire at the end […]

The New York Times creates another Both Sides fiasco

Republicans want to make it harder for people to vote and easier for the GOP to invalidate election results. That’s the distressing, historic truth as the party fully embraces an anti-democratic agenda.  Hiding behind Both Sides journalism, which portrays all political skirmishes as being the product of each party, the D.C. press continues to struggle to be […]

Conservatives Believe That Critical Race Theory Will Teach Our Children Too Much Truth (Part 2: Fear of a Non-White Country)

The Citizens for Renewing America have a booklet for you: Combatting Critical Race Theory In Your Community (yeah, they use the British spelling of “combating”). As the subtitle says, it’s “An A to Z Guide On How To Stop Critical Race Theory And Reclaim Your Local School Board,” although it doesn’t actually go from A to Z on anything. […]

Mike Pence Pilloried After Heckling Incident: ‘Still Clinging to His Dream of Leading the Hang Mike Pence Party’

Former Vice President Mike Pence is being roundly mocked on Twitter after he was heckled by attendees of Friday’s Faith & Freedom Coalition Summit — a conference that once welcomed him with open arms. Forbes political reporter Andrew Solender posted a video of Pence’s summit speech to Twitter, in which audience members can be heard booing and chanting […]

Matt Gaetz goes off the deep end in latest unhinged Newsmax rant

  Rep. Matt Gaetz — banned from Fox News — headed straight to Newsmax Thursday night with a conspiracy theory that’s unhinged even by his standards, and that of the network. “The FBI might have had a role in “organizing and participating in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot,” Newsmax quoted Gaetz as spewing on air […]

The Delta Variant Could Soon Become the Dominant COVID-19 Strain. Here’s What You Need to Know

The COVID-19 pandemic is increasingly becoming an arms race among the emerging variants of the virus, and at the moment, there’s no question which one is winning: the Delta variant—formally known as B.1.617.2—one of four strains to have emerged originally in India. It was just last month that the World Health Organization labeled Delta a […]

SM Happy Hour Videocast 6/18/21 Jill Sobule & Rob Reiner

Stephcast 6/18/21

1 dead, 12 people injured stemming from drive-by shooting spree in Arizona: Police

One person is dead and a dozen people injured after an apparent drive-by shooting spree near Phoenix, authorities said. Police are investigating at least eight different shooting incidents that occurred over the course of a 90-minute period Thursday morning throughout the West Valley, according to Sgt. Brandon Sheffert, a spokesperson for the Peoria Police Department, […]

House repeals 2002 Iraq War authorization

The House voted to repeal the 2002 authorization for the use of military force in Iraq on Thursday, a rare and historic effort by lawmakers to rein in presidential war powers. Thursday’s vote brings the U.S. one step closer to ending the so-called Forever Wars in the Middle East that have defined the post-9/11 presidential […]

Obamacare Survives Again, Supreme Court Rejects Latest GOP Lawsuit

The Supreme Court has rejected the latest constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act, which means that 31 million Americans won’t lose their health insurance and protections for people with preexisting conditions won’t go away. Yes, Obamacare has survived again. This time, the threat was a lawsuit that 20 state Republican officials originally filed in 2018 and […]

Joe Biden Signs Juneteenth Holiday Bill Into Law

President Joe Biden signed a rare piece of legislation on Thursday: a bill creating the first new federal holiday since 1983, when Ronald Reagan signed Martin Luther King Jr. Day into law.  Juneteenth Independence Day commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S., institutionalizing a holiday that most states already recognize and that African Americans […]

Stephcast 6/17/21

11 GOP senators back infrastructure deal as Democrats plot two-track approach to passage

Bipartisan support for an infrastructure deal grew Wednesday, as 21 senators — including 11 Republicans — publicly backed the proposal, a signal that talks have progressed as the White House-imposed deadline looms. “We support this bipartisan framework that provides an historic investment in our nation’s core infrastructure needs without raising taxes,” the group said in […]

Cop Beaten In Capitol Riot Slams ‘Coward’ GOP Lawmaker Who Refused His Handshake

Michael Fanone, a D.C. police officer who was repeatedly beaten and electroshocked by the insurrectionist mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, called Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) a “coward” on CNN Wednesday for refusing to face him about the ordeal. Clyde famously tried to characterize the deadly riot as “a normal tourist visit,” even though he was […]

Biden-Putin summit: Key takeaways from their high-stakes meeting

After tight smiles and a firm handshake that made for an image both men wanted the world to see, followed by a chaotic photo op and about three-and-a-half hours of tense talks, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged to spin their summit at dueling news conferences Wednesday. Both men called their […]

Congress passes legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday

For the first time in nearly 40 years, Congress has moved to establish a new national holiday, this time for Juneteenth, and just in time for Saturday’s156th anniversary of the day which marks the last African American slaves being freed in Texas in the wake of the Civil War. The House voted Wednesday night to […]

Stephcast 6/16/21

Democrats plot a path forward on infrastructure — with or without Republicans

Democrats set a timeline Tuesday to move ahead with a sweeping infrastructure and jobs bill that wouldn’t require Republican support, making it clear that they believe a bipartisan deal wouldn’t sufficiently deliver on President Joe Biden’s top legislative priorities. The process would allow Democrats to avoid the 60-vote threshold in the Senate, but it wouldn’t […]

No. 3 Senate Republican John Barrasso vows to make Biden a ‘one-half-term president’

The No. 3 Senate Republican, John Barrasso of Wyoming, told a group of voters that he wants to make President Joe Biden a “one-half-term president.” “Mitch McConnell’s come under a lot of criticism for saying, at one point, he wanted to make sure that Barack Obama was a one-term president,” Barrasso said last Thursday at […]

Trump Executive Allen Weisselberg Could Face Charges as Soon as This Summer

The Manhattan district attorney’s office appears to have entered the final stages of a criminal tax investigation into Donald J. Trump’s long-serving chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg, setting up the possibility he could face charges this summer, according to people with knowledge of the matter. In recent weeks, a grand jury has been hearing […]

President Biden puts decades of experience to the test in high-stakes meeting with Vladimir Putin today

President Joe Biden convenes the highest-stakes talks of his long career Wednesday when he joins Russia’s Vladimir Putin for a summit, an encounter set to test his decades of experience on the world stage and lay down an early marker of his diplomatic skills. Depending on its outcome, the meeting could shadow Biden as he […]

Stephcast 6/15/21

Charlie Pierce: Mitch McConnell Just Fired on Fort Sumter and Shot the Archduke

Something interesting happened on Hugh Hewitt’s electric radio program. (I know, if you need to sit down, feel free.) Mitch McConnell fired on Fort Sumter, shot the Archduke, and bombed Pearl Harbor. In the figurative political sense, of course. From MSN: “I think it’s highly unlikely – in fact, no, I don’t think either party, if […]

McConnell: I’d block Biden SCOTUS nominee in 2024

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made clear Monday that he would block a Supreme Court nominee in 2024 if Republicans take back the chamber — a comment certain to increase liberal pressure on Justice Stephen Breyer to step down before next fall. In an interview with conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt, McConnell vowed that […]

Biden declines to preview what he wants from Putin in brief press conference

President Biden wouldn’t say much about his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, though it was the topic of several questions posed by reporters at his news conference Monday after meetings with NATO leaders in Brussels.   The president’s meeting Wednesday is perhaps the most-anticipated aspect of his week-long foreign trip to the United […]

Cashier Killed After Mask Dispute At Georgia Supermarket, Authorities Say

A cashier was killed and three others injured following a dispute over face masks at a Georgia supermarket, according to authorities. The shooting took place on Monday afternoon at the Big Bear Supermarket in Decatur, a suburb east of Atlanta, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said in a news release.  Authorities said a man […]

House Judiciary Committee Will Probe Trump Subpoenas Against Media, Democrats

The House Judiciary Committee will immediately open an investigation into former President Donald Trump’s efforts to obtain the phone and email records of journalists and Democratic lawmakers during his administration, the panel’s chairman announced Monday. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said recent reports detailing the Justice Department’s aggressive use of subpoenas under the former president suggested […]

Stephcast 6/14/21

Biden says Putin is right about US-Russia relations being at ‘a low point’ ahead of summit

President Joe Biden said Sunday he agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin that relations between the US and Russia are at a “low point,” days before the two leaders are scheduled to hold a highly anticipated summit in Geneva. “I think he is right, it’s a low point. And it depends on how he responds […]

Apple Tells Ex-White House Counsel McGahn That Trump DOJ Sought His Records In 2018: Reports

Apple informed former White House counsel Don McGahn and his wife last month that their records were sought by the Justice Department in February 2018 while McGahn was still serving as then-President Donald Trump’s top lawyer, The New York Times and CNN reported Sunday. The U.S. government barred Apple from telling McGahn about the move at […]

Biden at NATO today: Ready to talk China, Russia and soothe allies

President Joe Biden makes his entrance at a NATO summit aiming to consult European allies on efforts to counter provocative actions by China and Russia while highlighting the U.S. commitment to the 30-country alliance that was frequently maligned by predecessor Donald Trump. The summit Monday comes as Biden tries to rally allies for greater coordination […]

Biden says U.S. is “back at the table” as G-7 summit comes to close

President Biden on Sunday declared that “America is back to the table” after leaving his first Group of Seven summit, where world leaders vowed to confront China, boost global infrastructure and donate 1 billion vaccine doses to the rest of the world.    “I conveyed to each of my G-7 counterparts the U.S. is going […]

Eric Boehlert: Stop calling the Arizona charade an “audit”

Now in its seventh week, the pointless review of two million ballots in Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous outpost, has not only emerged as a dishonest, partisan circus, it’s also a blueprint for how right-wing conspiracists want to treat future GOP election losses. Along the way, they’re deliberately destroying faith in the democratic process. As the “fraudits” […]

The Rude Pundit: Conservatives Believe That Critical Race Theory Will Eat Our Children (Part 1)

Today, Thursday, in Florida (motto: “America’s laboratory of backwards ass fucknuttery”), the state Board of Education voted that, when it comes to American history, “Instruction on the required topics must be factual and objective, and may not suppress or distort significant historical events, such as the Holocaust, slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the civil rights movement […]

SM Happy Hour Videocast 6/11/21 Comedy Legends

Stephcast 6/11/21

Biden touts ‘monumental commitment’ to send 500M Covid vaccine doses abroad

President Joe Biden on Thursday formally announced U.S. plans to procure and donate 500 million Covid-19 vaccine doses while making his first overseas trip, as part of a speech steeped in the imagery of World War II and other eras defined by their need for urgent collective action. “This is a monumental commitment by the […]

G-7 leaders to discuss Covid, global minimum tax rate at first day of summit

President Joe Biden and other world leaders are expected to focus on the global response to the coronavirus pandemic Friday, the first day of the G-7 meeting in Cornwall, England, while making the case for democratic institutions’ unique ability to respond to economic crises and disparities, senior administration officials said. The Group of Seven, an […]

Bipartisan negotiators strike tentative agreement on infrastructure deal; difficult pitch to White House, Congress remains

Bipartisan Senate negotiators have reached an agreement on an infrastructure deal that would spend hundreds of billions in new federal dollars while also not increasing taxes, a key GOP red line. But lawmakers face an uphill struggle as they work to sell this to the White House and their fellow lawmakers. Conservatives previously opposed the […]

Trump DOJ Seized Records Of House Intelligence Dems In Search For Leaks: NYT

As the Justice Department investigated who was behind leaks of classified information early in the Trump administration, it took a highly unusual step: Prosecutors subpoenaed Apple for data from the accounts of at least two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, aides and family members. One was a minor. All told, the records of at […]

Stpehcast 6/10/21

Biden administration buys 500 million Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses for global use

The Biden administration is purchasing 500 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to donate to the global supply, the White House said Thursday. That will provide enough shots to fully vaccinate 250 million people.   The U.S. is donating 200 million doses this year and 300 million doses in the first half of 2022, the […]

Biden arrives in U.K. to press a message: ‘The United States is back’

President Joe Biden arrived Wednesday in Britain for a series of meetings with world leaders intent on stressing the message of his first foreign trip as president: “The United States is back.” “We’re going to make it clear that the United States is back and democracies of the world are standing together to tackle the […]

Beef supplier JBS paid ransomware hackers $11 million

JBS, the largest beef supplier in the world, paid the ransomware hackers who breached its computer networks about $11 million, the company said Wednesday. The company was hacked in May by REvil, one of a number of Russian-speaking hacker gangs, leading meat plants across the U.S. and Australia to shut down for at least a […]

Stephcast Free Version 06-09-2021

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Stephcast 6/9/21

Delta Variant On The Rise In U.S., Prompting New Warnings To Get COVID-19 Vaccination

The highly transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19 is quickly spreading throughout the United States, the Biden administration said on Tuesday in a renewed effort to persuade Americans to get vaccinated. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told reporters that the Delta strain, which was first identified in India, now accounts for about 6% […]

Biden’s infrastructure talks with GOP collapse amid irreconcilable differences

President Joe Biden’s infrastructure talks with Republicans collapsed Tuesday, the lead GOP negotiator said. “I spoke with the president this afternoon, and he ended our infrastructure negotiations,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said in a statement. The end of the talks will increase pressure on Democrats to pass a sweeping package using a special process […]

Richest Americans pay almost no income taxes, report finds

The 25 richest Americans paid little to no federal income taxes, according to a report released Tuesday by the nonprofit news organization ProPublica, a claim that has reignited debate about the tax code and sparked an investigation by the IRS into the leak of private tax documents. NBC News has not independently verified the documents, […]

Biden heads for Europe to meet Putin, a pandemic and skeptical allies

President Joe Biden will touch down in Europe on Wednesday looking to repair relations with America’s closest allies in an effort to counter growing threats from China and Russia in his first big moment on the world stage since taking office. In many ways, it will be familiar turf for Biden. Few presidents have had […]

Stephcast 6/8/21

Kamala Harris Tells Migrants ‘Do Not Come’ To U.S. Border In Guatemala Speech

Vice President Kamala Harris offered an optimistic outlook for improved cooperation with Guatemala on addressing the spike in migration to the U.S. after her meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Monday. She also delivered a direct warning to migrants considering making the trek: “Do not come. Do not come.” Her comments, during a press conference after […]

Biden’s Justice Department Has Decided To Defend Trump In E. Jean Carroll Rape Case Defamation Suit

President Joe Biden’s Justice Department has made the surprising decision to continue the previous administration’s efforts to defend Donald Trump against a defamation suit brought by woman he’d accused of lying about being raped by him. As a presidential candidate, Biden had criticized the agency’s involvement in the case. In its latest brief on Monday, Justice […]

New Audio Shows Aggressive Giuliani Trying To Pressure Ukraine For Biden Investigation

Newly released audio shows how Rudy Giuliani repeatedly suggested Ukraine could have a “better relationship” with the United States if the country’s president opened an investigation into Joe Biden and his son in 2019. CNN said Monday it obtained audio of the July 2019 phone call between Giuliani and U.S. diplomat Kurt Volker, and Andriy […]

Senate Report Details Sweeping Failures Around Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol Attack

A Senate investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has uncovered broad government, military and law enforcement missteps before the violent attack, including a breakdown within multiple intelligence agencies and a lack of training and preparation for Capitol Police officers who were quickly overwhelmed by the rioters. The Senate report released Tuesday is the […]

Charlie Pierce: Mike Pence Wants the Votes of His Own Hangmen

It is said that, immediately before the ax fell, Sir Thomas More told the headsman not “to fear your office, you send me to God.” I always thought that was just a tad too generous, but hey, different strokes for different martyrs. Anyway, up in New Hampshire on Thursday, former Vice President Mike Pence took […]

Stephcast 6/7/21

VP Harris heads to Guatemala, Mexico to address migration and manage expectations for quick results

Vice President Harris will depart Sunday for Guatemala and Mexico, a two-day trip crafted to highlight the Biden administration’s efforts to remedy what it calls the “root causes” of mass migration from Central America to the United States. Traveling abroad for her first time as vice president, Harris will arrive Sunday evening in Guatemala bearing […]

Energy secretary says adversaries have capability of shutting down US power grid

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Sunday warned in stark terms that the US power grid is vulnerable to attacks. Asked By CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” whether the nation’s adversaries have the capability of shutting it down, Granholm said: “Yeah, they do.”   “There are thousands of attacks on all aspects of […]

Liz Cheney: Trump inciting January 6 riot ‘the most dangerous thing’ a president has ever done

Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney accused former President Donald Trump of having committed the worst violation of a president’s oath of office by inciting the January 6 Capitol insurrection — and taking a jab at House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy over his subsequent visit to Trump at Mar-a-Lago. “I was stunned. I could not imagine […]

Manchin says he’ll vote against Democratic elections bill, defends stance on filibuster

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who holds the key Democratic vote in the evenly divided Senate, said Sunday he will oppose a sweeping election and campaign finance reform bill and instead encouraged his colleagues to pass voting rights legislation that can garner bipartisan backing.   In an op-ed for the Charleston Gazette-Mail published Sunday, Manchin […]

Eric Boehlert: How Trump became an online flop in 2021

After less than a month of postings, Trump’s blog was officially taken offline this week, after drawing an embarrassingly small audience. Loyalists will no longer be able to check on “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump” to read his latest, bitter musings.   The sudden move to unplug the aging Florida blogger comes as Trump continues […]

The Rude Pundit: A Couple of Observations on the Republican War on Democracy

Observation 1: Most religions have a great tautological scam going: Faith means believing in God, Jesus, Allah, or another invisible sky wizard even in the absence of evidence. Oh, sure, you can say that your book of faith that was written centuries ago by drunk monks proves some things, but it doesn’t, any more than […]

SM Happy Hour Videocast 6/4/21 Allison Gill & Kimberley Johnson

Stephcast 6/4/21