A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.
Payback Time
As the House select committee investigating the insurrection gets set to hold its first hearing Tuesday, House Republicans are more closely focused on punishing their two colleagues who have agreed to serve on the committee.
- As foreshadowed for a few days, Nancy Pelosi appointed Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) to the committee, joining Liz Cheney as the only Republicans on the now nine-member committee.
- One unnamed GOP member told CNN: “Supporting Pelosi’s unprecedented move to reject McCarthy’s picks was a bridge too far.”
- A move afoot among Freedom Caucus members to get Cheney and Kinzinger booted from their committee assignments.
- House GOP leadership may not have the appetite for a fight over the wayward GOPers: Pelosi could ultimately restore their committee assignments herself.
- GOP Frosh With A Big About-Face: Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has gone from outspoken opponent of the Big Lie to quietly falling in line with the rest of the House GOP conference.
- Weak. Outgoing Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), who is not a proponent of the Big Lie, is playing along with the politicization of the House select committee’s work:
Jake Tapper to Sen. Pat Toomey: “What does it say about your party that an investigation into a violent insurrection would reflect poorly upon it?”
Toomey: “I would argue the current POTUS’s policies & the damage he’s gonna be doing, that’s what we should be debating in 2022.” pic.twitter.com/7GoBH1cNfv
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 25, 2021
Trump Still Pumping Up The Big Lie
The former president rallied supporters in Arizona over the weekend:
- Touting the bogus Arizona election “audit,” Trump bizarrely predicted that Texas would embrace the audit movement. (Trump won Texas.)
- Vengeance was in the air, with speakers railing against Republicans insufficiently loyal to Trump: “You know the ones, the backstabbers,” GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake cried.
- A state GOP lawmaker who had opposed GOP-led changes to state’s election laws was booed off the stage.
Fringe Congressman Blames His COVID On China
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), of Crimestoppers fame, announced on Facebook Sunday that he, his wife and his son have COVID:
- Propagating conspiracy theories, Higgins called it the “CCP biological attack weaponized virus.”
- Higgins said it was the second time he has had the virus, claiming he and his family first had it in January 2020 “before the world really knew what it was.”
- It’s not clear if Higgins has been vaccinated or if his earlier illness was confirmed to be COVID via testing.
- Anthony Fauci, speaking generally about the COVID resurgence: “We’re going in the wrong direction.”
Must Read
“The Most Influential Spreader of Coronavirus Misinformation Online”
Tom Barrack In Court Today
After winning his release with a historically large $250 million bond Friday in California, former Trump confidant is expected to appear in federal court Monday in Brooklyn for his arraignment on foreign lobbying and obstruction of justice charges.
Florida Sheriff Running An … Intel Unit?
The Pasco County sheriff is sending around a four-page letter telling select citizens that they will be under enhanced police scrutiny.
- The revelation comes from the Tampa Bay Times, which had previously reported on the sheriff’s intel operation:
First the Sheriff’s Office generates lists of people it considers likely to break the law, based on arrest histories, unspecified intelligence and arbitrary decisions by police analysts.
Then it sends deputies to find and interrogate anyone whose name appears, often without probable cause, a search warrant or evidence of a specific crime.
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Separately, the TBT also revealed a separate program the sheriff runs that “uses schoolchildren’s grades, attendance records and abuse histories to label them potential future criminals.”
‘Worst Human Being Known To Man’
Tucker Carlson confronted on video by random citizen at fly fishing shop in Montana.
LOLOL
A South Korean broadcaster has apologized after totally losing its mind during the Olympic opening ceremonies, pairing hilariously inappropriate images with countries’ teams:
South Korean broadcaster MBC used images to “represent” each country during the #Tokyo2020 Opening Ceremony.
Italy: pizza
Norway: salmon
Haiti: upheaval
Ukraine: Chernobyl pic.twitter.com/KpUXATuZld— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) July 23, 2021
- Other examples:
- Romania: Count Dracula
- Mongolia: Genghis Khan
- Marshall Islands: former U.S. nuclear test site
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