Oh So Very Nerdy

I get lost in the weeds - a lot. And I'm not asking anyone to get as lost as I do.

I will, however, insist on people paying enough attention to the process so as to get some working knowledge of the tangled, fucked up mess Republicans (mostly) have been making of our "democracy".

"Fair Congressional District Maps" must not be the oxymoron it's becoming.

Law suits in ...

• Alabama
• Louisiana
• Georgia
• Florida
• Arkansas
• Kentucky
• New Mexico
• Ohio
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Utah
• North Carolina
• New York

... could square things up and add 11 Democratic seats in the House for the election in 2024.

This is not Democrat fuckery of the kind we've seen from The GOP. Republicans have gerrymandered the fuck outa things to the point where 55-65% of the votes cast for House candidates go to Democrats, while 55-60% of the seats are "won" by Republicans.

Fair Districting gets us closer to realizing "the will of the people".

Think this:

Not this:

Today's Crooked Republican

I really am trying to stay away from the sweeping generalization that all Republicans are crooked.

And they seem to be going out of their way to make it damned near impossible for me.

Former Florida lawmaker who penned "Don't Say Gay" bill sentenced to prison over COVID loan fraud

A former Florida lawmaker who penned the state's controversial "Don't Say Gay" law has been sentenced to prison for wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements in connection with obtaining $150,000 in COVID-19 relief loans.

Joseph Harding, 36, of Ocala, Florida, will serve four months in federal prison, according to a statement on Thursday from the U.S. attorney's office in the Northern District of Florida. After his release, Harding will have two years of supervised release.

An attorney for Harding, John Lauro, told CBS MoneyWatch that the $150,000 in loans were repaid to the government prior to the litigation.

"Joe cooperated completely and did everything he could to make things right," Lauro said. "These events were, needless to say unfortunate, but Joe is focused on rebuilding his life and his career, and moving forward."

Harding defrauded the Small Business Administration to obtain COVID relief funds including an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), which he submitted in the name of a business he owned that wasn't active, the U.S. attorney's office said. After receiving the money, he used the funds to pay off his credit card and transferred money to his joint bank account, as well as to the account of a third-party business.

"Instead of using thousands of dollars in federal funds to help keep struggling businesses afloat and honest workers employed, he selfishly diverted it for his own personal gain," said Sherri E. Onks, special agent in charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division, in the statement.

The Small Business Administration earlier this year estimated that fraudsters may have received more than $200 billion in federal COVID aid intended for small businesses. Because the agency sought to quickly distribute $1.2 trillion in funds through the EIDL and Paycheck Protection programs, it weakened or removed certain requirements designed to ensure only eligible businesses received funds, the SBA Office of Inspector General found.

Harding drew national attention for penning the 2022 "Parental Rights in Education" bill, known by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, which restricts teachers and school districts from discussing gender identity and topics surrounding sexuality in elementary school classrooms.

Asked about the bill in a 2022 interview, Harding defended it by saying the law was "empowering parents" and denied accusations that it was discriminatory. He also condemned protesters, some of whom he said were children, for "cussing at lawmakers" over the bill.

"That should wake us up as parents that that type of behavior ... is deemed acceptable for minors to use cuss words," he said.

Harding resigned from his lawmaker role in December, a day after he was indicted on charges for COVID loan fraud, according to USA Today.

Harding "egregiously betrayed the public trust by stealing from COVID relief funds meant to help the very people who elected him," said special agent in charge Brian J. Payne of the IRS Criminal Investigation, Tampa Field Office, in a statement.

Getting Played

In every conflict or crisis or disaster or whatever - the first reports are always wrong in one way or another. Details are missing, or numbers aren't accurate, or any of the Who What When Where Why How type questions that good journalists are supposed to live by are missing or unanswered or answered wrong.

It all has to be fact checked and cross checked and double checked. And all that takes time and skill and cooperation between colleagues and sources and competitors.

Eventually, in a few hours or a few days or a few weeks, we start to get a clearer idea of what happened - and why when who how etc.

Social media short circuits that time honored and vital process.

Maybe somebody wants it that way. And that would mean somebody wants it that way for a reason.

I may be paranoid,

but that don't mean

nobody's out to get me

Roasting

Everything the Republicans put into the Congressional Record is little more than taxpayer funded campaign content for DumFux News - which makes the activity of the House GOP one big Hatch Act violation.

Mr Romney

I really hate it when my old "conservative" shit comes back on me from somebody I know to be as phony as an acrylic merkin.

But think about what "law makers" you're familiar with.

Whose names do you recognize?

Are they moving legislation that makes things any better?

Or are they just famous for being bomb-throwers and fire-breathers - sideshow freaks whose "talent" is nothing more than attracting attention because they're so goddamned freaky?

Oh, Mr Jordan

Jim Jordan lost again - 3rd time's the charm I guess. And his losing margin got three votes bigger - so he quit the race.

House Republicans retreated into private caucus for an hour or so, where they voted by secret ballot, and Jordan was ... uhm ... de-selected as the Speaker candidate.

86 said, "Yeah, Jim - you're our guy."

112 said, "Fuck off, Jim."

It's interesting that out of those 112 who voted NO in secret, only 25 of them had the balls to vote that way on a roll call vote, on the floor of the House, where they have to say it out loud.

A couple of things to remember.

1. The MAGA strong-arm tactics got even uglier than they usually are - loud and aggressive harassment of members, and their staffers, and their families, up to and including outright death threats. But it backfired, making more people less likely to support Jordan. I'm not feeling all warm-n-fuzzy about maybe this is some kind of turning of the worm, but I may be able to hold out a bit more hope. (as always - hopeful but not yet optimistic)
2. I haven't seen anything in this yet to dissuade me from my belief that Republicans are deliberately causing dysfunction.

Oh yeah - almost forgot. Apparently god got it wrong (?)

The question is, "Why have you done this to yourself?"

A Beautiful Song

Someone on Twixter asked, "What's a beautiful song?"

There are, of course, many. This one may be something of an old chestnut, but I don't care - it rips me every time.

The Flower Duet, from Lakmé, by Delibes

Sidney Powell Bails

• 72 months probation
• ~$9,000 in fines and restitution
• Letters of apology to the people of Georgia
• Testify against co-defendants

Former Trump attorney Sidney Powell is pleading guilty to state charges in Georgia in connection with her actions taken in advance of January 6, 2021. The plea requires her to plead guilty to 6 counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with election administration.

Powell was sentenced to 6 years of probation, must pay a $6,000 fine, a $2,700 restitution to the state of Georgia, and must testify truthfully against other co-conspirators, including Donald Trump. She also must write an apology letter to the citizens of Georgia.

Powell may not have contact with other co-conspirators in the case.

Powell's plea deal is likely to lead to more guilty pleas up the chain.

This story is just breaking. We will provide an update as soon as we learn more. 

And this puts us fully inside the oval office

for the Dec 18 meeting.

The Great Karen-ing

Don't sleep on this.

Republicans want to strip away as much of our protections as possible - while gaslighting us with their spiel about "defending the real America from government tyranny".

North of 90% of the book banning that goes on right now is the work of 11 people.

This is not conservative ideology - this is Daddy State fuckery of the highest order.