This past week maybe wasn’t the best of weeks for you, if you’re a person who:
- Doesn’t support military veterans
- Loves Alex Jones, and Infowars
- Believes that the Sandy Hook massacre was made up, with “crisis actors”
- Body shames young women, in an attempt to look “pro-life”
On the other hand, if you’re not one of those people… Well, it’s been an incredible, extraordinary week.
* * *
Perhaps the greatest casualty of the Donald Trump era has been normalcy.
When did it become normal to talk about opponents with profanity?
When did “FJB” shirts and banners became acceptable?
When did an insurrection, and an attack on the U.S. Capitol become “a tourist visit”?
When did lying become “alternative facts”?
We’ve had to accept so much as “normal,” it can sometimes make you forget what real life is like.
A week like this one makes me think that, just maybe, we might get back to some sort of normal some day.
I’m just not sure that I would’ve predicted that a comedian, and a 19-year-old Texas woman would be responsible.
* * *
Veterans get healthcare, and Jon Stewart becomes an American treasure
You can say a lot of things about Jon Stewart.
You can say that you don’t find him funny.
You can say that he’s a bit too liberal for your liking.
You can say that he annoys you.
You can say he’s too theatrical.
But you can’t deny this: The man gives a damn. About good people.
And he gets things done.
Mr. Stewart, former host of The Daily Show, first entered the political arena when he took up the cause for first responders, after Congress pulled the plug on the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.
His fiery speech to Congress in 2019 was credited with saving that fund.
He stayed friends with some of the first responders.
They were aware of military vets in similar circumstances (inhaling toxins), and his connection grew to include them.
On June 16 of this year, the Senate passed the PACT Act.
It provided medical care for military veterans who served near toxic “burn pits” in the Gulf Wars, and are now suffering from cancer, or respiratory issues.
It’s hard to find anybody who had a problem with that one – it passed, 84-14.
“You don’t see scores like that in the Senate anymore,” Mr. Stewart pointed out.
But – there was a small procedural error in the bill (concerning rural providers) and it was forced to come back for a re-vote.
And this time, Senate Republicans ganged up and decided to filibuster it.
It was the exact same bill that they voted for, overwhelmingly, two months earlier.
It had the exact same wording, aside from the corrected clerical error.
So what changed?
Well, the Democrats’ agenda had been picking up steam.
They had passed a couple of bills, with the full support of the American people (and the support of some Republicans).
They passed the CHIPS Act, promoting semiconductor production, hopefully alleviating some of the supply-chain issues.
They got an assault weapons ban passed in the House.
They finally got Joe Manchin’s blessing, and passed an Inflation Reduction Act.
And that, as far as I can tell, was what changed.
It was simply too many wins for Joe Biden and his team.
This just had to stop.
But boy, did they pick the wrong bill.
And boy, did they piss off the wrong guy.
Last week, the day after the Senate filibustered the death of the PACT Act, Jon Stewart stepped up to a microphone in front of the Capitol steps, veterans standing behind him.
They had gathered to celebrate – before the rug got pulled out from under them.
“Ain’t this a bitch…” he spits out in anger, before cursing out the Senators, sitting in their air conditioned offices, refusing to meet the veterans who sweated in the Washington heat in a last-ditch to save the bill (and their lives).
“I’m used to the hypocrisy,” he shakes his head. “I’m used to the cowardice. But I’m not used to the cruelty.”
It’s a ten-minute clip – but go on. You will be transfixed by every single second.
Senator Pat Toomey (R-Penn) had to tried to explain his reversal, saying “It’s a slush fund.”
“It is not a slush fund!” Mr. Stewart roars. “You know what is a slush fund? The OCO – the Overseas Contingency Operations Fund. $60 billion – $70 billion, every year…. Unaccountable. No guardrails.”
With veterans applauding, laughing, and crying behind him, he carries on: “You don’t support the troops – you support the war machine…. They haven’t met a war they won’t sign up for, and they haven’t met a veteran they won’t screw over!”
Then, a day later, Ted Cruz decided to enter the chat…
And things became absolutely, gloriously hilarious.
The honorable Senator from Texas carefully tried to explain his reversal.
“It was a budgetary trick by the Democrats,” he says in the video below, gesturing with a Dr. Pepper, as he waits for a plane.
“You see, they changed it from discretionary spending to mandatory spending… Take that out, and the Republicans will pass it.”
The only thing he ended up demonstrating is that Ted Cruz vs Jon Stewart is just not a fair fight.
First, Jon Stewart does this for a living.
He is really, really good at this.
Just try not to laugh at this three-minute back-and-forth between Mr. Stewart and Senator Cruz.
Second, Jon knows his stuff.
As he points out, “Now I may not be a big-city, Harvard-educated lawyer… but I can read…. It’s always been mandatory spending. Been there the whole time! … And don’t take my word for it. Read it. It’s at Congress.gov.”
Mr. Stewart ends up giving us a master class in battling misinformation.
And he went on Fox News and Newsmax, so he could set the record straight, in front of the biggest offenders.
Amazingly, the Republicans changed their votes – without changing the bill – and approved it before going home for summer vacation.
As Jon describes in this revealing episode of his “The Problem With Jon Stewart” podcast, the unexpected Republican ambush hit the vets like “a gut punch.”
He said, “Two veterans that I know of committed suicide” in the time that elapsed between the filibuster, and the eventual passage of the PACT Act.
I don’t how the Republican senators would be able to sleep, if they knew that information.
As for Jon Stewart?
He drove home to New York that night, “depleted.”
He turned on the Mets game, and “listened to Jake DeGrom throwing 102 mph fastballs, and wondered why we couldn’t get Juan Soto.”
* * *
Alex Jones loses every scrap of dignity in his case against Sandy Hook parents
Maybe you don’t know who Alex Jones is.
Consider yourself fortunate.
He is one of those right-wing loudmouths, on his “Infowars” podcast/radio show.
He has crafted a very lucrative career, by spreading lies and firing up his followers.
Here’s all you need to know, about him really.
For years, he has preached that the 2012 shooting at the Sandy Hook grade school in Newtown, CT, was fake, a production orchestrated by “the Deep State.”
He says that the children who were shot, and their parents, were “crisis actors.”
(Again, this was all in the name of money. One of the revelations of his recent trial was that he made $800,000 in sponsorships in one day after his Sandy Hook “false flag” charade.)
His followers then harassed the Sandy Hook parents.
All because they were deathly afraid of losing their firearms.
They forced the parents to go into hiding.
Some families had to move. Ten times. Because the conspiracy theorists kept publishing their new addresses.
“I would love to go see my son’s grave. But I don’t do that,” explained Veronique De la Rosa, mother of six-year-old Noah.
Can you imagine that?
Going through the hell of losing your child – and then being tormented?
Finally, ten of the Sandy Hook parents sued Alex Jones for defamation, in four separate lawsuits.
They didn’t want to.
But they needed to make him stop.
Jones was found liable in every case – because he refused to provide documents that the court requested.
Last week, the first of the trials moved to determine how much Jones would pay in damages.
Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis had sued him for $150 million, in a Texas court.
(Texas is the headquarters of Infowars, and its parent company, Free Speech Systems.)
On Tuesday, Ms. Lewis (mother of six-year-old Jesse) sat in front of Jones and patiently lectured him on why truth matters.
How does she find empathy for this guy? you ask as you hear her say softly, “I am a mother. I know that you are a father.”
She continues, “Truth is so vital to our world. Truth is what we base our reality on. We have to agree on that, to have a civil society… Having a quarter of Americans doubt that Sandy Hook happened is not conducive to keeping our kids safe. This happened almost ten years ago, we’ve had over 350 school shootings since then.”
All you have to know about Alex Jones is that he sits there, shaking his head as she tells him, “Jesse was real. I am a real mom…. I know you know that… And yet, you keep saying it… Why? For money?”
Flabbergasted, she looks at him, steels him with a look of grace, and hits him with the real truth: “I know you believe me.”
But on Wednesday, everything went haywire.
Part of Jones’ defense had been, “I never sent any texts or e-mails about Sandy Hook to anybody.”
That’s what he was testifying when the parents’ lawyer threw a left hook:
He revealed that Jones’ lawyer had accidently sent the Sandy Hook lawyers the entirety of Jones’ phone records for two years – including texts and e-mails concerning Sandy Hook.
And the civil case suddenly turned itself into a potential criminal one, as Jones perjured himself.
It is the most insane, hilarious court room scene I have ever seen.
(As a bonus: Jones spoke quite frequently with Donald Trump, and members of his staff.
The January 6th House Committee has expressed interest in getting their hands on those texts.)
Between compensatory and punitive damages, the Sandy Hook parents were awarded $50 million in damages – the maximum amount allowed in Texas.
(I am not sure why the lawsuit was submitted for $150 million.)
Other cases will be held in Connecticut, where there is not a low cap on damages.
Here’s yet one more thing you need to know about Alex Jones: He is worth about $270 million.
And he shifted $62 million out of Free Speech to himself in 2019, when the judgements became imminent.
And he filed for bankruptcy last month – to delay the judgements of the other cases.
Is there anything else that you need to know about this despicable creature?
Believe me, it’s a good day when somebody like Alex Jones suffers disgrace.
But in the meantime, there is much more work to do.
As the wonderful, spell-binding singer, Adia Victoria, warns us, we have no idea of how deep this is.
The problem is not just Alex Jones, and Infowars.
The problem is that millions of people believe in him.
But, for now, we have this to hang onto.
In the words of the judge in his case: “Yes, speech is free. But your lies will cost you money.”
* * *
Olivia Julianna turns a bully into a fundraiser
Speaking of awful people suffering disgrace….
This is Matt Gaetz.
At the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa, a few weeks ago.
Giving us his opinion on the attractiveness of women at pro-choice rallies:
If you want to skip the video (and who would blame you?), his main points were:
“Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions?
Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb!
These people are odious, on the inside and out. They’re like 5’2”, 350 pounds, and they’re like, ‘Give me my abortion, or I’ll get up and march.’
And I’m thinking, ‘March? You look like you’ve got ankles weaker than the legal reasoning behind Roe v Wade!’
A few of them need to get up and march. They need to get up and march for an hour a day. Swing those arms. Get the blood pumping. Maybe mix in a salad.”
Matt, bro… Serious question: Did you bring Don Rickles back from the grave to write your jokes? Good grief…
Later, when asked what he had to say to people who were offended by his comments, his answer was, “Be offended.”
But then, Matt made a big mistake:
Like his pal Ted Cruz, Matt went after the wrong person.
Meet Olivia Julianna.
In his continuing attempt to be amusing, he tweeted a photo of Olivia, a 19-year-old woman in Texas, with the caption, “Dander raised…”
Again, it was not a fair fight.
Poor Matt. How was he to know that Olivia was an experienced activist, skilled at raised money for her favorite causes?
She could’ve just pointed out that the Florida Congressman should not be allowed anywhere near teenagers (as he is under investigation for sexual relations with minors).
She could’ve pointed out that he was one of the few Congressman to vote against sex trafficking laws.
Instead, she took Matt’s body shaming, and turned it into her own master class on how to deal with bullies.
With her hashtag, #ThanksMattGaetz, she started getting donations for the Gen-Z for Choice Abortion Fund.
In Matt’s name.
As of today, she has raised more than $2 million for nationwide abortion access.
Safe to say, that’s not what Matt Gaetz had in mind.
* * *
Kansas keeps abortion rights in their constitution
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about how the country was being held hostage by the tyranny of a minority.
Because 40 senators, from 20 rural states (representing 17% of the US population) could filibuster its way around anything.
And because Mitch McConnell blockaded President Obama’s choice for Supreme Court justice, the court became packed with right-wing Christian Conservatives.
And the Court proceeded to run roughshod over the Constitution, and the will of the American people.
When the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade in July, the thing that broke my heart was, the main reaction of friends was despair, and hopelessness.
Too many people – good people, strong people, my friends – were saying, “I give up.”
Too many people felt there was nothing they could do.
Well… I’m not above blowing my own horn.
Vote, I said.
It’s our most powerful tool.
It matters. More than ever.
And Kansas showed us why.
Kansas has a clause in its constitution, protecting the right to an abortion.
They held a referendum, a straight up Yes or No vote – Remove the clause?
The No votes won, 60% to 40%.
Boy, it sure seems like the Republicans are going after the wrong issues, doesn’t it?
* * *
The LIV Tour at Trump Bedminster
OK… One more.
Because this was the week that just kept giving.
The LIV Tour is a newly-formed competitor to the PGA Golf Tour.
Funded by Saudi interests, they have raided the PGA roster, picking off some of the brightest names – Phil Mickelson being chief among them.
I do enjoy the animosity that has grown between the competing tours – the PGA has banned LIV members from its events, and LIV is suing the PGA for that.
About the nicest thing you can say about LIV is that it’s a clear-cut money grab, by people who have more money than they know what to do with it.
Phil is getting $100 million – and Tiger Woods turned down $700-$800 million, according to his friend Greg Norman.
So, where did the LIV Tour hold their first big tournament in the US?
Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster NJ, of course.
Now, that golf club has great emotional significance for Donald Trump.
You see, he just recently buried the remains of one his ex-wives, Ivana, by the 1st hole at Bedminster.
Who knew he felt so warmly towards her?
Turns out, if you designate a piece of land as a cemetery, that land is exempt from real estate tax, business tax, sales tax, and income tax – per New Jersey tax code.
Now, Trump had been scheduled to give a deposition in the trial brought against him by the State of New York (inflating property values, tax evasion… that sort of thing).
But as he was still grieving over the loss of his ex-wife, he was unable to be deposed, and asked for a delay.
Thank goodness, he was still able to attend his LIV Tour event, where he entertained Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Greene, amid the “Let’s Go Brandon” chants.
Who cares about Saudi involvement in 9/11, or the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi… These guys got money! Let’s party with the Saudis!
Here’s where we get to my new best friends: The Good Liars.
I’ve written about them once or twice – they’re a comedy duo, who make a business of going to MAGA/Trump events and sticking their faces into places they don’t belong – to the embarrassment of the MAGA/Trumpsters.
As Jason and Davram (The Good Liars duo) reported, the LIV event was not so well attended.
But my favorite part was Jason interrupting Mickelson on the 1st hole with a mock cheer: “Do it for the royal family, Phil!”
Phil – not the most beloved player on any tour – had to back off, collect himself, question whether $100 million was enough, and take his swing.
I’ve always appreciated comedians for lightening our days.
Who knew that they’d be the ones leading us out of the dark?
Daddy Gibs 
An epic piece, Gibby. And you can add an addendum on the raid on Mar a Lago. What might the FBI find among the devils lair? Thanks for a smart, clear recap of how all this shit finally unravels. I’m happy.
Bob
Sent from my iPhone
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Thanks, Bob. Looks like this week is gonna be even more fun!!
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