Andy Borowitz: Millions of Americans Who Have Paid Off Porn Stars Feel Under Attack

The approximately forty million Americans who have paid off porn stars feel “embattled and persecuted” as a result of recent events, a prominent psychologist reports.

Harland Dorrinson, who has treated countless people who have paid off porn stars, said that many of his patients have been experiencing “acute anxiety and stress” during the past week.

The porn-star compensators, who represent roughly twelve per cent of the U.S. population, believe that their basic constitutional right to silence an adult-film performer with a financial emolument “is in jeopardy like never before,” he said.

“These are individuals who have taken great comfort in their ability to pay off porn stars, and suddenly they feel as though the rug has been pulled out from under them,” he said. “They’re in a lot of pain right now.”

“As the country heads into a Presidential-election year, the millions who have paid off porn stars could emerge as a force to be reckoned with," a leading political scientist warns.

“Republicans have been casting around for a kitchen-table issue that can energize a wide swath of voters,” Davis Logsdon, of the University of Minnesota, said. “The God-given right to pay off your porn star could be that issue.” https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/

GOP Seeks To Shield Trump From All Future State Prosecutions

New legislation from House Republicans aims to prevent local district attorneys from pursuing charges against former presidents.

The symbolic bill is yet another show of support for Donald Trump, who faces the possibility of criminal charges in Georgia and was arraigned in Manhattan last week for allegedly violating state law with false business records. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-political-prosecutions-2020-election_n_6436d332e4b0a75926241b45
 

Why Ron DeSantis Is Taking Aim at the Federal Reserve

Gov. Ron DeSantis appears to have discovered something that populists throughout history have found to be true: Bashing the Federal Reserve is good politics.

Mr. DeSantis has begun to criticize Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, in speeches and news conferences. He has alleged without evidence that the Biden administration is about to introduce a central bank digital currency — which neither the White House nor the politically independent Fed has decided to do — in a bid to surveil Americans and control their spending on gas. He has quoted the Fed’s Twitter posts disparagingly.

His critiques echo a familiar playbook from the Trump administration. Former President Donald J. Trump often blasted the central bank during the 2016 campaign and while he was in office, as policymakers lifted interest rates and slowed economic growth. Mr. Trump at one point called Mr. Powell — his own pick for Fed chair — an “enemy,” comparing him to President Xi Jinping of China. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/11/business/economy/desantis-federal-reserve-powell.html

How the ‘Tennessee Three’ Backlash Fits Into Dems’ 2024 Plan

To Democrats who have toiled for years to rebuild state level power, the reaction to what unfolded in Tennessee not only crystallizes the party’s recent shift, but signals the increased investment they believe is coming to states where Democrats hope to make gains in the 2024 election cycle. https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-tennessee-three-backlash-fits-into-dems-2024-plan

Trump’s Favorability Plummets

A new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds Donald Trump’s favorable rating at just 25%. https://twitter.com/AaronBlake/status/1645400022807191552

The Racial Element of Trump’s Attacks on His Prosecutors

With his trademark self-owning projection, Trump has attacked all three black prosecutors investigating him as “racist.” In his post-arraignment Mar-a-Lago rant, he referred to Fulton County DA, Georgia Willis as “a local racist Democrat district attorney in Atlanta who is doing everything in her power to indict me over an absolutely perfect phone call.” NY Attorney General Letitia “Tish” James, he added, is “another racist in reverse.” He spared Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg that particular word that night, but he had already called him an “animal” and warned of “potential death and destruction” if he were to be charged. He was back at it Sunday night with a Truth Social post that started, “Just like New York, the Racist District Attorney in Atlanta . . . ” https://www.thebulwark.com/the-racial-element-of-trumps-attacks-on-his-prosecutors/

Judge Limits Fox’s Options for Defense in Dominion Trial

A judge ruled on Tuesday that Fox News could not argue that it broadcast false information about Dominion Voting Systems on the basis that the allegations were newsworthy, limiting a key line of defense for the network as it faces the beginning of a potentially costly defamation trial next week. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/11/business/fox-news-dominion-trial.html

GOP embraces a new foreign policy: Bomb Mexico

A growing number of prominent Republicans are rallying around the idea that to solve the fentanyl crisis, America must bomb it away.

In recent weeks, Donald Trump has discussed sending “special forces” and using “cyber warfare” to target cartel leaders if he’s reelected president and, per Rolling Stone, asked for “battle plans” to strike Mexico. Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) introduced a bill seeking authorization for the use of military force to “put us at war with the cartels.” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said he is open to sending U.S. troops into Mexico to target drug lords even without that nation’s permission. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/10/gop-bomb-mexico-fentanyl-00091132

California's floods may be 'only a taste' of what's to come in a warmer world

Climate scientists warn that what Californians have lived through in recent months — atmospheric river after atmospheric river, catastrophic flooding, and one of the largest winter snowpack in years — is just a preview of what's to come, with exponentially worse flooding predicted in future years. When atmospheric rivers reach land, they act like a hose dumping heavy moisture on the land, which can cause issues like flooding, landslides and power outages.

"As disruptive as this year's events have been, we're nowhere near to a plausible worst-case storm and flood scenario for California," said UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain. https://www.kpbs.org/news/environment/2023/04/08/why-californias-floods-may-be-only-a-taste-of-whats-to-come-in-a-warmer-world/

Democrats push abortion rights to the ballot in 2024, using an old GOP playbook

Key Democrats hoping to keep abortion access a central part of the 2024 campaign are looking to the 2004 playbook of an old Republican nemesis: Karl Rove.

Rove was the architect of ballot initiatives to ban gay marriage placed in swing states to boost turnout for George W. Bush. Now Democrats are pushing ballot measures and an array of other moves to try to capitalize on a backlash to last year’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which they say was instrumental in many of their wins in last year’s midterms. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/07/politics/democrats-abortion-ballot-measures-2024/

Gov. Greg Abbott backs call for pardon for Daniel Perry, who killed Austin protester in 2020

Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to consider recommending a pardon for Daniel Perry on Saturday, one day after a Travis County jury convicted the U.S. Army sergeant in the 2020 murder of Austin protester Garrett Foster.

After 17 hours of deliberations and an eight-day trial, jurors Friday found Perry guilty of murder for shooting and killing Foster, who was armed with an AK-47 as part of a group protesting police brutality. Perry, an Uber driver, had encountered the protest a few blocks from the Capitol in downtown Austin.

Under pressure from conservatives, Abbott announced Saturday that he asked the parole board to review Perry’s conviction on an expedited basis. The Texas Constitution, he said, requires the parole board to recommend a pardon before a governor could act.

“I look forward to approving the Board’s pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk,” Abbott said in a statement posted to Twitter.

Several Republicans praised Abbott's promise to work "as swiftly as Texas law allows" to pardon Perry, including Attorney General Ken Paxton, who tweeted that he agreed with Abbott "on this 100%."

But state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, called Abbott's move "a stunning and dangerous abrogation of the rule of law that will embolden more armed confrontations and inevitable tragedies.” https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/08/greg-abbott-pardon-daniel-perry/
 

GOP's stormy 2024 outlook

This week marked a low point for Republicans as they prepare for the 2024 elections: Former President Trump is once again the dominant force in the party, which is showing little indication of trying to appeal to swing voters.

We're a deeply divided and polarized country, split closely between left and right, but Trump’s legal predicament combined with the GOP’s exposure on abortion is giving the Democrats a small but important advantage heading into a pivotal election year.”

By aligning with Trump's grievances and promoting tougher abortion restrictions, it's increasingly difficult for the GOP to win outside of deep-red strongholds.

Until Republican voters show they’re capable of moderating when necessary, Democrats will hold the edge in 2024. https://www.axios.com/2023/04/09/republicans-2024-storm-trump
 


Tennessee vote marks latest GOP move to stifle dissent

Tennessee Republicans’ dramatic expulsion of two Democrats who agitated for gun control in the state Capitol after a mass killing is the latest move by Republican state leaders around the country to stifle dissent and expand their power base, free speech experts say.

In Montana, Texas, Florida and elsewhere, Republicans have moved in other ways to silence opposition in recent months, actions that might ultimately erode the country’s democratic ideals, they said. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/07/tennessee-republicans-protest-dissent/

DC Circuit Decides Case About Obstruct[ing] Official Proceedings

A divided three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit, siding with almost all of the district court decisions considering the question, has held that some of those who invaded the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 could be charged under a federal statute that makes it a crime to, among other things ‘corruptly….obstruct…or impede any official proceeding, or attempts to do so.'

This case has implications not only for hundreds of January 6-related prosecutions, but also potentially against Donald Trump, should DOJ choose to charge him with election-subversion-related activities after the 2020 election. https://electionlawblog.org/
 

Kevin McCarthy’s blame game sweeps Capitol Hill

Soon after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy cliched the speakership, some of his allies began to fret: "How the hell was he going to live up to all the promises he’d made to conservatives to win their support?"

How, in particular, would the California Republican pass a budget that would balance within 10 years — a tricky feat even before he took cuts to Social Security and Medicare off the table?

Now, McCarthy’s chickens are coming home to roost. Under pressure from President Joe Biden and a rapidly approaching debt limit deadline, Republicans are struggling to unite behind a fiscal blueprint. Some worry they may not release any budget — let alone one that balances in a decade, let alone one that can pass.

Instead of owning up to failure, McCarthy appears to be looking for a scapegoat. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/07/kevin-mccarthy-debt-limit-blame-00090979

Early struggles of new House Republican majority raise anxiety over high-stakes fights to come

The intense whipping effort and internal drama on a messaging bill that is dead-on-arrival in the Senate has become a recurring theme of the House GOP’s first 100 days in office. With little room for error in their razor-thin majority, Republicans have so far struggled to deliver on key priorities like the border and the budget amid their internal divisions – though they have notched some symbolic victories on energy and education, while actually succeeding in overturning a DC crime bill.

Despite the handful of successes, the party’s more vulnerable members are frustrated with how the House Republican majority has so far spent its time in power, which has also included a heavy focus on investigations and running defense for former President Donald Trump. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/07/politics/house-gop-growing-pains/index.html

The GOP Civil War That’s Already Making 2024 Awkward

Behind the scenes, the Club for Growth has been pressuring members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus to not endorse Trump for president. Some Republicans worry that the power struggle will only cause collateral damage that could contribute to more disappointing election results and needless feuding. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-gop-civil-war-between-trump-and-club-for-growth-thats-already-making-2024-awkward

Kyrsten Sinema Is Preparing for a 2024 Re-Election Campaign as an Independent

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the De­mo­c­rat-turned-in­de­pen­dent, is pre­paring for a re-elec­tion cam­paign, set­ting the stage for what could be an un­pre­dictable three-way con­test in the highly com­pet­i­tive state.

A re-elec­tion cam­paign by Ms. Sinema would have im­pli­ca­tions for the bat­tle for the Sen­ate in 2024 and test whether a sen­a­tor who has spurned a tra­di­tional party iden­tity can build a win­ning cen­trist coali­tion. Ms. Sinema left the De­mo­c­ra­tic Party last year to be­come an in­de­pen­dent af­ter be­ing a reg­u­lar thorn in the side of De­mo­c­ra­tic lead­ers and pro­gres­sive ac­tivists. She still cau­cuses with the De­moc­rats, how­ever, and re­mains a piv­otal vote in the par­ty’s 51-49 ma­jor­ity. https://www.wsj.com/articles/kyrsten-sinema-is-preparing-for-a-2024-re-election-campaign-23edb2fb

E.P.A. Lays Out Rules to Turbocharge Sales of Electric Cars and Trucks

The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed the nation’s most ambitious climate regulations to date, two plans designed to ensure two-thirds of new passenger cars and a quarter of new heavy trucks sold in the United States are all-electric by 2032.

If the two rules from the Environmental Protection Agency are enacted as proposed, they would put the world’s largest economy on track to slash its planet-warming emissions at the pace that scientists say is required of all nations in order to avert the most devastating impacts of climate change.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/12/climate/biden-electric-cars-epa.html

Georgia Looms Next After Trump’s Indictment in New York

While nothing is certain, there are numerous signs that Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) may go big, with a more kaleidoscopic indictment charging not only Mr. Trump, but perhaps a dozen or more of his allies.

Her investigation has targeted a wide range of conduct centered around efforts to subvert the democratic process and overturn Mr. Trump’s 2020 election loss. Nearly 20 people are already known to have been told that they are targets who could face charges, including Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer, and David Shafer, the head of the Georgia Republican Party.

For Mr. Trump, the possibility of a second and potentially more complex criminal indictment in another state underscores the blizzard of legal challenges he is facing, even as he emerges as the clear front-runner among Republican presidential candidates. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/08/us/trump-georgia-election-fani-willis.html

Wisconsin Rout Points to Democrats’ Enduring Post-Dobbs Strength

The commanding victory on Tuesday by a liberal candidate in a pivotal race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court showed the enduring power of abortion rights and issues of democracy as motivators for Democratic voters, as well as a continuing struggle among conservatives to put forward candidates who can unite Republicans and win general elections.

The liberal candidate, Janet Protasiewicz, swept onto the bench by 11 percentage points, a staggering margin in an evenly divided battleground state that signaled just how much last summer’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade has transformed American politics. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/05/us/politics/wisconsin-supreme-court-abortion-protasiewicz.html

Governor Whitmer repeals Michigan's 1931 abortion ban

With a stroke of her pen, Gov. Gretchen repealed an unenforceable Michigan law that makes it a felony to administer most abortions with no exception for rape or incest. https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/05/michigan-abortion-ban-repeal-1931-law-whitmer/69990549007/

Record number of anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced this year

At least 417 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures across the United States since the start of the year — a new record.

That’s already more than twice the number of such bills introduced all of last year. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/06/politics/anti-lgbtq-plus-state-bill-rights-dg/index.html

The House GOP's shadow speaker

Former President Trump — now a criminal defendant — has consolidated control over the House GOP, scrambling the majority's agenda and cementing his status as the true power behind the gavel.

Trump's allies had already ensured that the central themes of his 2024 campaign — victimhood and vengeance — would permeate the House GOP's priorities. Trump's indictment has kicked that dynamic into overdrive — unnerving some vulnerable Republicans in the process.

Trump on Wednesday called for Republicans to "defund" the Justice Department and the FBI "until they come to their senses," throwing his support behind an effort championed by House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). https://www.axios.com/2023/04/05/trump-house-republicans-shadow-speaker
 

Inside the 3 so-called 'catch and kill' payments in Trump's indictment

In August 2015, shortly after announcing his candidacy for president, Donald Trump convened a meeting at his namesake Manhattan skyscraper to hatch a plan to "suppress negative stories" that might threaten to derail his White House bid, prosecutors claimed in charging documents on Tuesday.

Two of the candidate's most trusted allies joined him at the Trump Tower confab, according to prosecutors: his longtime attorney Michael Cohen, and a tabloid executive named David Pecker.

The trio agreed to an arrangement in which Pecker would act as the campaign's "eyes and ears" to identify negative stories, according to prosecutors, after which he would procure their exclusive rights and never publish. Prosecutors claim Trump and Cohen agreed to then "reimburse" Pecker's company, National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc., known as AMI.

Over the course of the 2016 presidential campaign, prosecutors claim that Trump, Cohen and Pecker collaborated on at least three occasions to execute this so-called "catch and kill" scheme -- to silence a onetime doorman at a Trump-owned property, a former Playboy model, and adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

After securing the presidency, Trump summoned Pecker back to Trump Tower, where the president-elect "thanked" the publishing executive "for handling the stories," prosecutors wrote. As a token of his gratitude, according to charging documents, Trump invited Pecker to his inauguration in Washington, and later, in 2017, hosted Pecker for dinner at the White to "thank him for his help during the campaign."

The three "catch and kill" accusations comprise the pattern of behavior underpinning Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's 34-count indictment of the former president. To carry out the hush payments to Stormy Daniels, Bragg claims, Trump falsified dozens of business records. https://abcnews.go.com/US/inside-3-called-catch-kill-payments-trumps-indictment/story

'Just the way the Nazis did': Evidence suggests Russians are stealing art from Ukraine on a World War II scale

A growing body of evidence suggests Russian forces are systematically stealing art and cultural artifacts from Ukraine on a scale not seen in Europe since the Nazi plunder of World War II, according to researchers and experts documenting the damage.

The theft includes precious Scythian gold jewelry dating to the fourth century B.C., ancient coins and thousands of paintings from museums and private collections, researchers said. Some art and cultural sites have been severely damaged and destroyed, including centuries-old Orthodox Christian churches, libraries and paintings by one of Ukraine’s most beloved artists, Maria Prymachenko, whose work was hailed by Pablo Picasso as an ‘artistic miracle.’ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-stealing-art-ukraine-nazi-level-world-war-2-rcna77879

How Trump Could Talk Himself Into a Gag Order

Six hours after a New York judge warned former President Trump he could be penalized for any remarks that endangered others, Trump stepped to a microphone in Florida — and practically dared the judge to do just that.

Trump was somber in court, but after flying back to Mar-a-Lago he unleashed a rambling, bitter attack that singled out Judge Juan Merchan and his family — hours after Trump’s elder son, Don Jr., had tweeted a story with a photo of Merchan’s daughter. https://www.axios.com/2023/04/06/how-trump-insults-gag-order

Kansas lawmakers override governor’s veto to enact anti-trans sports ban

Transgender women and girls in Kansas will no longer be allowed to compete on sports teams from kindergarten through college consistent with their gender, after state lawmakers on Wednesday overrode a veto from their governor to enact the restriction. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/05/politics/kansas-veto-override-transgender-sports-ban/index.html

Gov. Newsom rips DeSantis during Sarasota visit with New College students

California Gov. Gavin Newsom made a surprise visit to Sarasota Wednesday near the New College of Florida campus, ripping Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a meeting with students grappling with his conservative higher education experiment.

“I want you to know you’re not alone, you matter, we care," Newsom told New College students upset about DeSantis' effort to transform their school. https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/05/gavin-newsom-rips-ron-desantis-during-new-college-florida-visit/70083923007/

VP Harris announces huge Qcells solar panel deal during Georgia visit

Vice President Kamala Harris visited an expanding solar panel factory in northwest Georgia on Thursday where she announced an order for millions of Peach State-built panels as she touted how federal climate and economic efforts are combining to create jobs in rural areas.

The $2.5 billion expansion, which will result in 2,500 additional jobs, is the type of investment Harris and the White House are highlighting in its “Investing in America” tour to promote President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda ahead of a likely 2024 re-election campaign. https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/vice-president-harris-visits-georgia-today-to-laud-clean-energy-growth/5XTFH26WLVHFJJ5KQ5ULPASZVU/

Biden administration proposes tighter health privacy rules around abortion

The Biden administration proposed new health privacy protections to prevent protected health information from being used to investigate or sue people who facilitate abortions, senior administration officials said.

The changes, proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights, would create a “federal floor” for medical privacy, a senior administration official said on a call with reporters previewing the proposal. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/biden-administration-propose-tighter-health-privacy-rules-abortion-rcna79257

Putin Approved Arrest of US Reporter on Spying Charges

Russian President Vladimir Putin personally approved the arrest of a US reporter on espionage charges for the first time since the Cold War, according to people familiar with the situation.

The Russian president’s endorsement of the move reflects the growing influence of Kremlin hardliners who push for deepening a confrontation with Washington they view as irreversible, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters that aren’t public. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-12/putin-approved-arrest-of-us-reporter-as-hardliners-clout-grows
 

White House accuses GOP of helping Mexican drug cartels by targeting ATF

The White House is opening a new line of attack on Republicans — as former President Donald Trump demands his party defund federal law enforcement — by arguing that threatening firearm-control agencies would help arm Mexican drug cartels that traffic fentanyl into the country.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a perennial target of gun rights supporters, risks a funding reduction or even outright elimination as House Republicans look for places to cut spending in government funding negotiations. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/white-house-accuses-gop-helping-mexican-drug-cartels-targeting-atf-rcna78422

THE DAILY GRILL
 
Like many other wealthy Americans, Elon Musk has spoken out against a proposed "billionaires' tax" writing on Twitter in October that "eventually, they run out of other people's money, and then they come for you.” More recently, he spoke out against government subsidies and tax incentives for US businesses. In a recent interview with TIME, he said the government was not a good "steward of capital." https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-list-government-subsidies-tesla-billions-spacex-solarcity-2021-12

VERSUS

Musk’s companies — Tesla Motors, SpaceX, and SolarCity — have received billions of dollars from government loans, contracts, tax credits, and subsidies. According to a Los Angeles Times investigation, Musk's companies had received an estimated $4.9 billion in government support by 2015, and they've gotten more since.


Tennessee House Speaker Sexton describing the efforts of three House representatives to disrupt the session with a megaphone to ‘incite riots or violence’ as comparable to the siege at the U.S. Capitol.  https://www.wsmv.com/2023/04/04/speaker-sexton-compares-gun-protest-january-6-insurrection-draws-backlash/

VERSUS

That is a blatant lie, and it’s offensive. You show me the broken windows. You show me anyone who went into the Speaker’s office and put the chair up on his desk and trashed his office. You show me where a noose was hanging anywhere on the Legislative Plaza...to refer to yesterday as an insurrection is an offense.- Tennessee House Rep. John Ray Clemmons responding to Speaker Sexton’s comparison with Jan. 6. https://www.wsmv.com/2023/04/04/speaker-sexton-compares-gun-protest-january-6-insurrection-draws-backlash/