From Politico:
Inside Mike Johnson’s Ties to a Far-Right Movement to Gut the Constitution
The new House speaker has longstanding ties to the evangelical inspired Convention of States cause.
By LAURA JEDEED
11/10/2023 05:00 AM EST
As the interregnum without a speaker of the House came to an end last month, people from across the political spectrum came together, in a rare show of unity, to ask a single question: Who in the world is Mike Johnson? But amidst the general bewilderment, one group of conservative evangelicals with a radical cause immediately recognized the new speaker’s name.
For the last 10 years, the “Convention of States” movement has sought to remake the Constitution and force a tea party vision of the framers’ intent upon America. This group wants to wholesale rewrite wide swaths of the U.S. Constitution in one fell swoop. In the process, they hope to do away with regulatory agencies like the FDA and the CDC, virtually eliminate the federal government’s ability to borrow money, and empower state legislatures to override federal law.
As far-fetched as this idea might sound, the movement is gaining traction — and now, it believes, it has a friend in the speaker of the House.
“Speaker Mike Johnson has long been a supporter of Convention of States,” Mark Meckler, co-founder of Convention of States Action (COSA), told me when I asked about Johnson’s ascension. “It shows that the conservative movement in America is united around COS and recognizes the need to rein in an out-of-control federal government which will never restrain itself.
“I would never have dreamed we would end up with Mike Johnson of Louisiana as speaker of the House,” Rick Green, the founder of evangelical education outfit Patriot Academy, which heavily promotes COS, gushed on his “Wallbuilders” podcast the day after Johnson was elevated to his new role. “It feels like, to me, a potential real turning point.” His co-hosts, Tim and David Barton, agreed. “This is literally the kind of guy that we’ve been praying for to be in that position,” Tim replied. “We’ve known this guy for years. He’s been a friend for years.”
…………………
Like most congressional hearings, the meeting was quite dull. Johnson, the subcommittee chair responsible for final approval and scheduling for such hearings, used his opening statement to briefly explain the two processes for amending the Constitution. The first is the one you probably learned sometime in grade school: Two-thirds of Congress must approve a potential amendment, which then goes to the states for consideration. If three-fourths of the states approve it, the amendment is added into the Constitution.But Article V of the Constitution provides a second path: If two-thirds of the states petition Congress, it must call a constitutional convention, where multiple amendments could be proposed at the same time. The Constitution does not specify how to select delegates from states to this convention, provides no limit on the scope of such a convention, and offers no guidance on how the convention would ratify these new amendments. Once the convention developed a method to pass amendments, the slate of amendments they selected would return to the states for consideration. In order to become law, three-fourths of states would need to approve the slate of amendments, either through their legislatures or through statewide conventions — at least in theory.
You can read the rest of the article at the link above.
My bottom line is this.
All progress that this country has made for anyone who isn’t a White Heterosexual Male is based in Brown v Board.
The foundation of Brown v Board is the 14TH AMENDMENT.
I have said this repeatedly and will continue to say this.
The attack on birthright citizenship is the shiny object that the right-wing throws out there. It’s the Trojan Horse.
They want to dismantle the 14th Amendment because of BROWN.
They want to get rid of the 14th Amendment because of BROWN.
When you are part of a group of people who only has rights because of Constitutional Amendments, a Constitutional Convention, considering who wants one, doesn’t inspire confidence. These right-wing lunatics are clear that they want to strip away my rights. You need to be aware of it too.
Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) posted at 10:05 AM on Fri, Dec 01, 2023:
Gov. Cooper: The Affordable Care Act has provided health insurance for millions of Americans and we’re about to get 600,000 more working people insured in North Carolina. These are the people Donald Trump wants to rip away insurance from https://t.co/DiQwzbRBbx
(https://x.com/BidenHQ/status/1730619011396731250?t=VNq3PD29IzFoVRKfyERP-Q&s=03)
Sean Garrette (@seangarrette) posted at 0:45 PM on Fri, Dec 01, 2023:
Have y’all seen this? I’m actually appalled. A slavery themed bathroom? https://t.co/CqSJCyx2By
(https://x.com/seangarrette/status/1730659304091287920?t=UIA5IzgMuWVud8lw2u2oUg&s=03)
Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) posted at 6:05 PM on Thu, Nov 30, 2023:
This is INCREDIBLE:
Rep. Stacey Plaskett BRILLIANTLY schools Jim Jordan about the hypocrisy of chairing a weaponization committee, but not being interested in Trump’s open threats to weaponize the government. https://t.co/VLEo4CTHO1
(https://x.com/ReallyAmerican1/status/1730377419335352713?t=LSqY9dfuqDC5mVHRXrY3Vg&s=03)
Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) posted at 11:53 AM on Fri, Dec 01, 2023:
Yesterday, the GOP threw a hissy fit and showed their whole entire ass in an effort to block the subpoenas of Supreme Court sugar daddies, Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo.
I explain how it went down in my latest for @thenation
https://t.co/SHiDJPyUYo
(https://x.com/ElieNYC/status/1730646416408605035?t=QtHxfF0yIkRKAffbz-_Euw&s=03)
UH HUH
UH HUH
Pagan Trelawney 🐘🐘🐘 (@PaganTrelawney) posted at 11:51 AM on Fri, Dec 01, 2023:
What’s driving me nuts is people pretending they were just discussing features, when the couple said clearly that people expressed CONCERNS about how their child might look & Harry said the comments were bad enough that going any further will be very damaging to the person(s)
(https://x.com/PaganTrelawney/status/1730645713653059899?t=2gPgQBN5RlkWAc0LVL1uhA&s=03)
Half Red/ Half Blue
Half female/Half Male
Lobster named Bowie.
Been there since it was captured
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8PuoeQE/
YEAH
ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
Oscars 2024 ceremony to start one hour earlier, special ‘Abbott Elementary’ episode will follow telecast
By Clayton Davis
Variety
•
Published: Nov 30, 2023 at 12:33 pm
The Oscars will start one hour earlier for the first time.
To ensure the show wraps within primetime hours, the Academy announced this year’s telecast, set to air live on Sunday, March 10, will be programmed from 7:00-10:30 p.m. EST / 4:00-7:30 p.m. PST. A 30-minute pre-show will lead into the live ceremony, and immediately following the ceremony, ABC will air a new episode of its Emmy-winning comedy series, “Abbott Elementary.” (it’s got to be an Oscars-themed episode, right?)
When Don and Barbara Rickles met Bob and Ginnie Newhart, they became friends for life — as told in Judd Apatow’s latest film
By Rick Kogan
Chicago Tribune
•
Published: Nov 29, 2023 at 5:00 am
Here, ladies and gentlemen, is Bob Newhart:
“Somebody called me up and they said, ‘Look, Don Rickles is looking for a best friend … and none of us wanna do it. Would you?’
“And I said, ‘How long?’
“They said, ‘A year at the most’.”
Bob Newhart and Don Rickles were friends for nearly 60 years and that unlikely pairing has been captured, the above joke included, in the latest film from Judd Apatow, the acclaimed director/producer of such hit movies as “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “The King of Staten Island,” and TV’s “Freaks and Geeks.
This movie, codirected by Michael Bonfiglio, is titled “Bob and Don: A Love Story.” It is only 20 minutes long and playing not in theaters or on any streaming service. But it is on The New Yorker magazine’s website, accompanied by a fine story by Bruce Handy, in which Apatow tells him, “I don’t think there are two comedians that most comedians like more than Don Rickles and Bob Newhart. They’re just completely beloved characters. You might not notice it on the surface, but their influence is very deep in how people try to be funny.
“Bob and Don: A Love Story” is, flat out, one of the best movies of this or any year, an affectionate and admiring film that entertainingly uses archival footage, home movies, selected performance bits and interviews to tell its story. Filmed after the deaths of Don Rickles (in 2017) and his wife Barbara (2021), it features recent interviews with both Newharts, Bob and Ginnie. Children Mindy Rickles and Tim Newhart offer charming anecdotes and enlightening observations.
There are ample examples of the wildly different styles of the two men. Even those too young to have seen and watched and laughed along with Newhart and Rickles in their prime will delight in these clips and will likely dive deep into the hundreds of internet repositories of their lengthy careers.
Here, ladies and gentlemen, is Don Rickles, on the difference between his and Newhart’s comedic styles:
“Well, yeah. Bob’s a brainy kind of comedian and I’m a kind of guy that gets laughs.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ent-bob-newhart-don-rickles-documentary-kogan-20231129-6dcz3jzxbncwhpqamoocrp5bxa-story.html
RIP Sandra Day O’Connor
The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) posted at 3:49 PM on Wed, Nov 29, 2023:
BREAKING: A court-ordered financial auditor has caught Donald Trump quietly moving $40 million from the Trump Organization into a personal bank account—seemingly so Trump could pay his whopping $29 million tax bill. https://t.co/7TorN42r8k
(https://x.com/thedailybeast/status/1729980882734268612?t=agltPzZ0OxvcG5hnlurMsQ&s=03)
Slowly Boiled Frog 🏳️🌈 ✡️ (@davidcaryhart) posted at 6:20 PM on Wed, Nov 29, 2023:
That $40 million would then be taxed as ordinary income. I am of the opinion that all of those legal fees paid by the PAC are taxable income to Trump.
Dr. Virgo (@DrVirgo1981) posted at 7:54 AM on Thu, Nov 30, 2023:
You know that one meme that was going around: what is classy to do when you’re rich but not when you’re poor. Fake crying on the Internet.
Like y’all would never let a poor person do that. There are actual homeless people on TikTok and they never go viral like that nurse did.
(https://x.com/DrVirgo1981/status/1730223883087655417?t=6xhNv5sF6cwwyDL9bBzQHQ&s=03)
Senator Laphonza Butler (@Senlaphonza) posted at 8:00 AM on Thu, Nov 30, 2023:
As the daughter of a caregiver, I know firsthand the stresses caregivers in our country experience. During National Family Caregivers Month and every day, I want to celebrate our caregivers for their selflessness and remind them just how extraordinary they are. https://t.co/7YNbQvs9MR
(https://x.com/Senlaphonza/status/1730225168142962845?t=cewi5pDwlmkzdBkQZkDSDA&s=03)
Ambiguous Brown Emotional Support Canadian (@GammaReigh) posted at 7:58 AM on Thu, Nov 30, 2023:
It felt really dumb starting a car maintenance budget with just $5. But I added $5 more each week. Then when something happened, it didn’t have to come out of my weekly cash flow.
It was so empowering the first time I was able to pay for an emergency without affect my week.
(https://x.com/GammaReigh/status/1730224832892047583?t=KClU5t8_KmXnQD14_4415A&s=03)
Opinion
A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending.
By Robert Kagan
Editor at large
November 30, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. EST
Let’s stop the wishful thinking and face the stark reality: There is a clear path to dictatorship in the United States, and it is getting shorter every day. In 13 weeks, Donald Trump will have locked up the Republican nomination. In the RealClearPolitics poll average (for the period from Nov. 9 to 20), Trump leads his nearest competitor by 47 points and leads the rest of the field combined by 27 points. The idea that he is unelectable in the general election is nonsense — he is tied or ahead of President Biden in all the latest polls — stripping other Republican challengers of their own stated reasons for existence. The fact that many Americans might prefer other candidates, much ballyhooed by such political sages as Karl Rove, will soon become irrelevant when millions of Republican voters turn out to choose the person whom no one allegedly wants.
For many months now, we have been living in a world of self-delusion, rich with imagined possibilities. Maybe it will be Ron DeSantis, or maybe Nikki Haley. Maybe the myriad indictments of Trump will doom him with Republican suburbanites. Such hopeful speculation has allowed us to drift along passively, conducting business as usual, taking no dramatic action to change course, in the hope and expectation that something will happen. Like people on a riverboat, we have long known there is a waterfall ahead but assume we will somehow find our way to shore before we go over the edge. But now the actions required to get us to shore are looking harder and harder, if not downright impossible.
The magical-thinking phase is ending. Barring some miracle, Trump will soon be the presumptive Republican nominee for president. When that happens, there will be a swift and dramatic shift in the political power dynamic, in his favor. Until now, Republicans and conservatives have enjoyed relative freedom to express anti-Trump sentiments, to speak openly and positively about alternative candidates, to vent criticisms of Trump’s behavior past and present. Donors who find Trump distasteful have been free to spread their money around to help his competitors. Establishment Republicans have made no secret of their hope that Trump will be convicted and thus removed from the equation without their having to take a stand against him.
All this will end once Trump wins Super Tuesday. Votes are the currency of power in our system, and money follows, and by those measures, Trump is about to become far more powerful than he already is. The hour of casting about for alternatives is closing. The next phase is about people falling into line.
In fact, it has already begun. As his nomination becomes inevitable, donors are starting to jump from other candidates to Trump. The recent decision by the Koch political network to endorse GOP hopeful Nikki Haley is scarcely sufficient to change this trajectory.And why not? If Trump is going to be the nominee, it makes sense to sign up early while he is still grateful for defectors. Even anti-Trump donors must ask whether their cause is best served by shunning the man who stands a reasonable chance of being the next president. Will corporate executives endanger the interests of their shareholders just because they or their spouses hate Trump? It’s not surprising that people with hard cash on the line are the first to flip.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/30/trump-dictator-2024-election-robert-kagan/
Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) tweeted at 2:18 PM on Mon, Nov 27, 2023:
BREAKING: U.S. Supreme Court rules Arizona lawmakers must produce documents and testify about two voter suppression laws requiring strict citizenship proof for voting. The lawmakers sought to escape having to release records and submit to depositions. https://t.co/pkdPZMqJzQ
(https://twitter.com/DemocracyDocket/status/1729233357538795911?s=02)
Prez🌊🌊🌊🌹🌻👀👀🌎❄️🥃🥂🧉🌈 (@PrezLives2022) tweeted at 10:04 AM on Mon, Nov 27, 2023:
The Washington Post is concerned about political consequences and the effects on the institution of marriage.
It appears that Democratic women are rejecting Republican suitors for both marriage and dating. They find their views, attitudes, and values abhorrent, and incompatible with someone they’d want to share their life with.
As the editors note
“The problem with polarization … is that it has effects well beyond the political realm, and these can be difficult to anticipate. One example is the collapse of American marriage. A growing number of young women are discovering that they can’t find suitable male partners. As a whole, men are increasingly struggling with, or suffering from, higher unemployment, lower rates of educational attainment, more drug addiction and deaths of despair, and generally less purpose and direction in their lives. But it’s not just that. There’s a growing ideological divide, too. Since Mr. Trump’s election in 2016, the percentage of single women ages 18-30 who identify as liberal has shot up from slightly over 20 percent to 32 percent. Young men have not followed suit. If anything, they have grown more conservative.”
Bottom line is that Liberal Women are just not into MAGA…
Seriously who wakes up and says I’d like to date a fake Christian who worships false deities, treats their weapon as a phallic symbol, lacks rationality, and is incapable of self thought. Not to mention racist and misogynistic.
Women have a right to be happy and if not marrying MAGA accomplishes that then so be it😂😂😂
(https://twitter.com/PrezLives2022/status/1729169221991432661?s=02)
Walter M. Kimbrough (@HipHopPrez) posted at 9:33 PM on Tue, Nov 28, 2023:
Losing SCOTUS continues to be costly. They are now coming after McNair programs. Essentially trying to assist underrepresented groups is now under attack meaning permanent under representation is the goal. https://t.co/2SbmEsv88D
(https://x.com/HipHopPrez/status/1729705119220994291?t=jFMnz8NZoNW11T5H_32ZOg&s=03)
Jen Fifield (@JenAFifield) posted at 0:04 PM on Wed, Nov 29, 2023:
BREAKING: Arizona Attorney General @krismayes announces state Grand Jury indicts Cochise County supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd for refusing to certify the county’s 2022 election on time. One count of conspiracy, one count of interference with an election officer. https://t.co/Qol33kfdlZ
(https://x.com/JenAFifield/status/1729924309978902748?s=03)
Houston,
Keith Lee is in town.
Reviewed a bakery owned by a Black woman.
No lie ..Imma ready to fly to Texas to get that cheesecake on a stick🤤🤤🤤
https://twitter.com/tamberlands/status/1729692954476835297?t=DSWKQ1U_T7R2o_fC71QuMg&s=19
Good Morning Everyone 😊😊😊