Andy Borowitz: Dick Cheney Offers to Shoot Down Future Balloons

Demonstrating his commitment to keeping America secure, former Vice-President Dick Cheney has offered to shoot down all future balloons that venture into U.S. airspace.

“I haven’t touched my hunting rifle in a few years, but handling a gun is like riding a bicycle,” he said. “You just pick it up, and, blammo!”

Cheney said that he was prepared to watch the skies for foreign balloons and, the moment he spots one, “I’ll use my patented hunting technique: aim, squint, fire.”

The former Vice-President said that he was honored to take part in a geopolitical struggle he called the War on Inflatables.

“Either you’re with us, or you’re with the balloons,” he said. https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report

 

RNC urges GOP candidates to ‘go on offense’ on abortion in 2024

After GOP underperformance in November’s midterm elections, the Republican National Committee is doubling down on its anti-abortion stance, formally urging GOP lawmakers and campaigns to ‘go on offense in the 2024 election cycle’ and to pass the strictest anti-abortion legislation possible. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/30/republicans-abortion-elections/

Soaring Death Toll Gives Grim Insight Into Russian Tactics

The number of Russian troops killed and wounded in Ukraine is approaching 200,000, a stark symbol of just how badly President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion has gone, according to American and other Western officials.

While the officials caution that casualties are notoriously difficult to estimate, particularly because Moscow is believed to routinely undercount its war dead and injured, they say the slaughter from fighting in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and the town of Soledar has ballooned what was already a heavy toll.

Russia analysts say that the loss of life is unlikely to be a deterrent to Mr. Putin’s war aims. He has no political opposition at home and has framed the war as the kind of struggle the country faced in World War II, when more than 8 million Soviet troops died. U.S. officials have said that they believe that Mr. Putin can sustain hundreds of thousands of casualties in Ukraine, although higher numbers could cut into his political support. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/02/us/politics/ukraine-russia-casualties.html

Republicans rally around conservatives who lost their elections

Unlike in previous decades, where losing candidates largely slunk away, many Republicans have increasingly been celebrating political losers, with certain sections of the GOP base lionizing them as wronged warriors and avatars of legitimate grievances.

Trump is the most obvious embodiment of the phenomenon — a man who lost both the electoral and popular vote to President Biden in 2020 and refused to accept the results of the election, yet has maintained a powerful, if waning, hold over his party.

Now, however, he has company in the likes of defeated far-right politicians Bolsonaro and Lake. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/03/republicans-losing-candidates/

Republicans aim to decimate abortion access in post-Roe haven states

The showdown in North Carolina reflects similar efforts underway in several conservative states that have become destinations for post-Roe abortion care. In Florida and Nebraska — where laws still allow the vast majority of abortions to continue — conservatives are also pushing for six-week bans, which, together with the same kind of ban in North Carolina, could dramatically reshape the national abortion landscape once again. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/03/north-carolina-florida-nebraska-abortion-roe-desantis/

Rep. George Santos doubles down on the claim his mother died from cancer due to 9/11

Rep. George Santos has doubled down on claims that his mother died due to 9/11 and dismissed immigration records showing that she was in Brazil when the attack occurred.

He claimed in a 2021 tweet that 9/11 claimed my mother's life, even though his mother, Fatima Devolder, died of cancer in 2016. https://www.businessinsider.com/george-santos-claim-mother-cancer-from-911-2023-2

Moscow, Tehran Advance Plans for Iranian-Designed Drone Facility in Russia

Moscow and Tehran are moving ahead with plans to build a new factory in Russia that could make at least 6,000 Iranian-designed drones for the war in Ukraine, the latest sign of deepening cooperation between the two nations.

As part of their emerging military alliance, the officials said, a high-level Iranian delegation flew to Russia in early January to visit the planned site for the factory and hammer out details to get the project up-and-running. The two countries are aiming to build a faster drone that could pose new challenges for Ukrainian air defenses. https://www.wsj.com/articles/moscow-tehran-advance-plans-for-iranian-designed-drone-facility-in-russia-11675609087

China Aids Russia’s War in Ukraine, Trade Data Shows

Taking Aim at Trump, Koch Network Will Back G.O.P. Primary Candidates

The donor network created by the billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch is preparing to get involved in the presidential primaries in 2024, with the aim of turning ‘the page on the past’ in a thinly veiled rebuke of former President Donald Trump.

The network, which consists of an array of political and advocacy groups backed by hundreds of ultrawealthy conservatives, has been among the most influential forces in American politics over the past 15 years, spending nearly $500 million supporting Republican candidates and conservative policies in the 2020 election cycle alone. But it has never before supported candidates in presidential primaries. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/05/us/politics/koch-donors-trump-campaign-finance.html

DeSantis Takes On the Education Establishment, and Builds His Brand

Gov. Ron DeSantis, as he positions himself for a run for president next year, has become an increasingly vocal culture warrior, vowing to take on liberal orthodoxy and its champions, whether they are at Disney, on Martha’s Vineyard or in the state’s public libraries.

But his crusade has perhaps played out most dramatically in classrooms and on university campuses. He has banned instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade, limited what schools and employers can teach about racism and other aspects of history and rejected math textbooks en masse for what the state called “indoctrination.” Most recently, he banned the College Board’s Advanced Placement courses in African American studies for high school students.https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/31/us/governor-desantis-higher-education-chris-rufo.html

Allen Weisselberg, Already Jailed, Could Face More Fraud Charges

Manhattan prosecutors this week warned that they might file new fraud charges against Allen Weisselberg, a longtime top executive at Donald Trump’s real estate business — increasing pressure on Mr. Weisselberg to cooperate in a broader investigation into the former presidents.

Mr. Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer, is already serving a five-month sentence in the Rikers Island jail complex after pleading guilty to unrelated tax fraud charges. While he testified against the company at its trial on the same charges last year, he has for years refused to turn on Mr. Trump directly.

But as the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, jump-starts his office’s effort to indict Mr. Trump, his prosecutors are using the prospect of additional charges to exert leverage over Mr. Weisselberg. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/02/nyregion/trump-weisselberg-fraud.html

From MAGA flamethrower to powerful committee chair: Jim Jordan’s effort to rebrand draws skepticism on Capitol Hill

Rep. Jim Jordan, one of the GOP’s most vocal partisans and now the chair of the powerful Judiciary Committee, started a recent meeting on the “weaponization” of the federal government with a surprising move: He urged caution.

Rather than issuing a series of partisan attack lines about the so-called “Deep State,” Jordan took a low-key approach – handing out binders of reading materials and cautioning members to be meticulous about who they haul in for interviews, a source familiar with the meeting told CNN.

Jordan allies have gone out of their way in recent weeks to claim the usually hyper-partisan attack dog wants to take a more methodical approach in turning up the heat on his primary target – the Biden Justice Department. The Ohio Republican, they said, believes amassing more evidence before mounting public pressure could help him squeeze more from DOJ and boost his credibility in the long run.

But around Washington, skepticism abounds over whether a longtime Trump loyalist, partisan firebrand and staunch election denier can transform into a serious committee chair – let alone someone capable of heading a bipartisan investigation.

“If he wants to turn a new leaf and be credible and methodical and try to get at the facts as opposed to wacko conspiracy theories and the latest news item propagated by right wing media – which he haunts I might add – that would be welcome,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) said before adding sarcastically, “I’m just shaking in anticipation to see it!”  https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/03/politics/jim-jordan-rebrand-weaponization-skepticism/index.html

NYC Prosecutors Had to Prove ‘Trump Was Not Legally Insane’

As they prepared to potentially indict Donald Trump for relentlessly lying to banks about his wealth, Manhattan prosecutors were forced to consider whether the former American president was a criminal mastermind or had just lost his mind, according to a new tell-all memoir by Mark Pomerantz, a member of that team. https://www.thedailybeast.com/manhattan-district-attorney-alvin-bragg-had-to-prove-trump-was-not-legally-insane

Gut spending? Slash the IRS budget? 7 GOP ideas for debt limit talks.

House Republicans are demanding that President Biden agree to policy concessions in exchange for their support in raising the nation’s $31.4 trillion borrowing limit. But it is not clear — even to leading GOP officials — what they’re asking Biden to do.

Here are seven of the emerging GOP ideas on what to demand in the debt limit fight - all of which critics think each has enormous downsides.

Big cuts to agency spending


Changes to Social Security and Medicare


Undo Biden’s IRS boost


Claw back COVID aid


Border wall funding


New work requirements for federal programs


Go over the cliff. https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2023/02/05/debt-limit-gop-proposals/

Inside the Trump Campaign’s Plan to Take Down Nikki Haley

Polls have shown Haley polling around 3 percent, compared to Trump’s 48 percent. A rival that Trump can crush early—like Alabama football going against Austin Peay in September—could allow Trump to show voters that he’s still a force in the GOP. However, there are two schools of thought about how Haley is most useful to Trump.

Some in Trump’s orbit see a chance to bury Haley early and often, using her campaign like a crash test dummy to demonstrate Trump’s dominance for anyone else willing to step in. But Haley could also be useful in splitting the Republican primary vote and allowing Trump to cruise through the primaries with his strong base of voters who aren’t going anywhere.

Still, for others, Haley’s lack of a perceived threat will allow Trump to attempt something akin to ‘coalition building’ during the primary. https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-donald-trump-campaigns-plan-to-take-down-nikki-haley

100,000 Green Jobs Announced Since US Adopted Climate Law, Study Finds

Between last August, when President Joe Biden’s  landmark climate bill became law, and the end of January, companies have announced more than 100,000 clean energy jobs in the US.

Most of those projects are in seven states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Georgia has attracted the most investment so far, the group found, with roughly $15 billion worth of projects in the pipeline that are expected to produce close to 17,000 jobs. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-06/companies-adding-100-000-green-jobs-under-new-us-climate-law

Biden or bust: Democratic insiders are all in for Biden 2024

President Joe Biden had one question for Democratic power brokers at a campaign-style rally Friday: “Are you with me?”

The roars of approval and chants of “four more years!” at the Democratic National Committee’s Winter Meeting indicated they were all in for Biden 2024.

Despite lackluster approval ratings, an ongoing classified documents scandal and polls showing most voters would like the 80-year-old to retire, Biden faces zero meaningful opposition to his leadership of the Democratic Party and an unobstructed path to renomination next year, even before he has officially declared his intention to seek it. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/biden-bust-democratic-insiders-are-biden-2024-rcna68917

Fears mount around ‘catastrophic’ abortion pills case as decision nears

Abortion rights advocates delivered a stark warning to the Biden administration’s top health official in a private meeting last week: It’s time to take seriously “fringe” threats that could wind up blocking abortion access across the country.

Driving their anxiety is a Texas lawsuit brought by conservative groups seeking to revoke the decades-old government approval of a key abortion drug.

The suit has been widely ridiculed by legal experts as rooted in baseless and debunked arguments. But in recent weeks, abortion rights advocates and some in the Biden administration have grown increasingly concerned that the case is likely to be decided entirely by conservative judges who might be eager for a chance to restrict abortion access even in Democrat-led states, where the procedure has remained legal since the fall of Roe v. Wade. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/05/abortion-pills-texas-lawsuit/

GOP’s Probe Into Hunter Biden Risks Political Blowback

The House Republican investigation into the financial dealings of President Joe Biden’s family risks turning off more voters than it attracts.

The Biden-centric investigation led by the Oversight and Accountability Committee kicks off Wednesday morning, just hours after the president delivers his State of the Union address to Congress. At the center of the probe is the contents of the laptop of Biden’s son Hunter — a topic that’s been a far-right preoccupation since 2020.

Yet a series of recent polls show the majority of Americans just aren’t that interested in what may or may not be on Hunter Biden’s hard drive. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-07/republicans-probe-into-hunter-biden-risks-political-backlash

The Fair Tax is haunting the 2024 GOP field

President Biden and Democratic allies have relentlessly attacked Republicans in recent weeks for cracking the door open to a Fair Tax, a plan to scrap the American tax code and replace it with a jumbo-sized sales tax.

They might get many more opportunities to bring it up. Several of the most prominent 2024 names on the Republican side have supported Fair Tax bills at the state and national level and enthusiastically praised the idea along the way. https://www.semafor.com/article/02/07/2023/the-fair-tax-is-haunting-the-2024-gop-field

Why the Stormy Daniels Charges Might Actually Reach Trump This Time

As a baseline matter, the evidence that the former president committed crimes seems powerful. In Cohen’s guilty plea, he stated under penalty of perjury that Trump ‘directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principal purpose of influencing an election.’ That testimony is supported by an audio recording in which Cohen and Trump discussed the hush money payment to McDougal and how it could be accomplished surreptitiously through a shell company.

Trump has also indicated more than once that he was directly involved in the payments to Clifford, including saying in 2018 that the payments ‘came from me.’ He made a further admission last week on his social media platform, Truth Social, apparently acknowledging that he coordinated with Cohen to make the payments.

And all of this is backed up by the Trump Organization’s internal business records, falsely describing the reimbursements to Cohen as ‘legal expenses.’ Trump himself signed six of the repayment checks, including while in the Oval Office. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/02/stormy-daniels-charges-trump-possible-indictment.html

McCarthy’s Horse-Trading Nightmare

McCarthy's imperiled speakership was a collaborative effort that resulted in plenty of begging and favor-trading. Now, as members expect reciprocity for loyalty in the form of committee assignments, McCarthy’s up to his eyeballs placating unhappy former allies in his slim majority. https://puck.news/mccarthys-horse-trading-nightmare/

THE DAILY GRILL

I just spoke with our GREAT America First President Trump.
He would have never allowed China to fly a spy balloon over our country and our military bases and assets.
Pres Trump would have shot it down before it entered the US.
And so would I.— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene @RepMTG
https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1622029467869667328

VERSUS

U.S. officials said Saturday that similar Chinese balloons transited the continental United States briefly at least three times during the Trump administration. https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-antony-blinken-china-b1b03193b7abeb7bbeca169bbc7c2c53
 

Rep AOC, I have repeatedly asked you to debate me, but you have been a coward and can’t even respond.
But you go on @CNN and lie about me.
When are you going to be an adult and actually debate me on policy instead of run your mouth like a teenage girl?  — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (VIDEO) https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1621334599396724737

VERSUS

Hey there! In case you forgot, we sit on the same committee, which debated for the first time this week.
I don’t blame you if you forgot. You spent almost no time there. In the few minutes you did show up, you claimed one elementary school got *$5 billion dollars* to teach CRT. — Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez@AOC https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1621378924998541313

This email (from Hunter Biden) reads as if it was cut-and-pasted from an official government briefing. An official government briefing that one would infer his father had received. And it reads as if it could easily have come from a classified briefing. We don’t know that. But the level of geopolitical and geo-strategic analysis is the sort of analysis that is often in classified briefings. — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/did-hunter-cut-paste-his-dads-classified-briefings/id1495601614

VERSUS
 
We’re fairly confident that Hunter Biden assembled this material by reading news reports and checking with contacts like Kaufman, rather than getting a special briefing from the State Department or others in the administration. Cruz and Johnson earn Three Pinocchios. They have not presented evidence to dispute our conclusions. — Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post Fact checker. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/02/laptop-email-suggests-hunter-biden-read-newspapers-not-classified-documents/

Tucker Carlson accuses Boris Johnson, through his script and in an on-screen headline, of wanting a direct war with Russia that would automatically go nuclear. The wording on screen: Millions would die in the war Boris is proposing. Carlson's move is perfect for Moscow. https://twitter.com/EHunterChristie/status/1622068851079790592

VERSUS

Carlson doesn't say that what Johnson proposes is simply more arms shipments to Ukraine, in line with the views of the current UK govt and several other European govts, as well as many US lawmakers. Are they all insane and trying to commit suicide? Of course not. https://twitter.com/EHunterChristie/status/1622068851079790592