Mikey Likes It!

Tuesday, October 03, 2023

Kim Brown, Sharon Osbourne, Roger Waters, Aaron Rodgers

Let's start with BURN IT DOWN WITH KIM BROWN.

There are good programs on YOUTUBE -- like Kim Brown's. There's also a lot of crap on there.

Yeah, Katie Halper. She long ago turned her very bad YOUTUBE program into an infomercial for Roger Waters. Sharon Osbourne knows him.

Sharon Osbourne is weighing in on allegations that Roger Waters is antisemitic.

"I’m Jewish …I know him … I know his reputation that precedes him in our industry," Osbourne said on a recent installment of TalkTV's The Talk. recently. "He laughs, he’s always telling jokes about Jews, always making comments about money; the cliché, you know, old-time opinion."

She added, "You have got to remember; this man is 80 years of age. If you were to ask anybody in the street that’s under 40, and you showed them a picture of him, and said, 'Do you know who this is?' Nobody would know."

She went to suggest that the Pink Floyd co-founder does not have the influence he once did.

"So in today’s music industry, yes he’s got his old fans from early days, but he's not relevant as far as anybody cares about him, to know what he is doing or anything like that," said Osbourne.

Sharon's married to Ozzy. She's encountered Roger Waters many times over the years. But, hey, airhead's like Katie always know best, right?

While we're covering celebrities, NBC NEWS notes:

We'll soon find out whether Aaron Rodgers has been immunized from an attack by the Swifties.

Appearing with Pat McAfee, Rodgers snidely referred to Chiefs tight end/Taylor Swift love interest Travis Kelce as "Mr. Pfizer." Kelce appears in a new COVID vaccine commercial, which advocates getting both the COVID shot and the flu shot at the same time.

Poor Aaron. He's not that good on the field anymore. It's almost as though when he and his boyfriend Kevin lived together and he just had to hide who he really was, he could still play a good game of football. But without Kevin and forced to find one beard after another, his game's gone down the toilet. I hope he knows that when he finally comes out, a lot of people are going to be angry with him. And should be.

The only loser bigger than Aaron these days? Kevin McCarthy. He lost his post as Speaker of the House. Wow. That was something to see, wasn't it?

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Tuesday, October 3, 2023. It's Banned Books Week so grab ahold of your freedom and don't let anyone censor your reading, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to float 'big news' and notice how when elderly White men call out Junior, they ignore his anti-woman rhetoric and his anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.

At COMMON DREAMS, Brett Wilkins writes:

A coalition of publishers, teacher and librarian groups, and other advocates on Sunday kicked off this year's Banned Books Week by rallying behind the freedom to read amid an alarming surge in right-wing book bans across the United States.

For over 40 years, the annual Banned Books Week—whose theme this year is Let Freedom Read—has united writers, publishers, booksellers, educators, librarians, and readers "in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular," as the American Library Association (ALA) put it.

"When we ban books, we're closing off readers to people, places, and perspectives. But when we stand up for stories, we unleash the power that lies inside every book," the ALA said. "We liberate the array of voices that need to be heard and the scenes that need to be seen. Let freedom read!"

As of August 31, the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom has documented 695 attempts this year to remove a total of 1,915 titles from public and school libraries. Last year, the group counted 1,269 attempts to censor library books and other resources—the highest number of ban efforts since the ALA started tracking them over 20 years ago and nearly double the previous year's tally.

ALA said that of the record 2,571 unique titles targeted for censorship, most were by or about LGBTQ+ people and Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

"This is a dangerous time for readers and the public servants who provide access to reading materials," ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom director Deborah Caldwell-Stone said in a statement. "Readers, particularly students, are losing access to critical information, and librarians and teachers are under attack for doing their jobs."

At READER'S DIGEST, Heather Hill notes:

Book banning and censorship are nothing new, but you may have noticed more discussion on the topic lately in the news and on social media. Maybe you’ve even joined a debate over why some of the best books are now off limits. It’s important to note that while schools and libraries—or even a store—may ban books, it does not make banned books illegal to acquire or read. Of course, sometimes a ban on a book makes it just that much more, well, intriguing. Some teens, whose literary access is significantly challenged by many of the bans, have even created their own banned books clubs.

Book banning and censorship often lead to a suppression of minority voices and an erasure of reality. In fact, among the top 11 banned books on our list, 10 of the authors and illustrators are women or nonbinary individuals, while four of the books were written by authors of color and four by LGBTQ individuals. Many recently banned books touch on violence and abuse, health and well-being, grief and death—topics that are crucial for kids and teens to explore.

As parents and school boards lead the effort to erase uncomfortable interpretations of reality (such as the Holocaust book Maus), discussions of gender identity (as with George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue) and provocative stories that could lead to political questioning (The Handmaid’s Tale, anyone?), they are not only limiting access but also perpetuating inequalities and dictating what stories have the right to be heard. Ready to see which of these books you have already read—and which you need to get your hands on ASAP? Read on for our countdown of the 50 most banned books in America.

How we came up with our banned books list

We created a list of America’s 50 most banned books from the first half of the 2022–2023 school year using data from PEN America, a nonprofit organization that keeps a comprehensive index of school book bans. (Data from the entire school year has yet to be released.) We mined the data so you don’t have to—and boy was there a lot of data. In the first half of the school term alone, PEN America found 874 different banned books and more than 1,477 instances of individual books banned (because some titles are restricted in multiple places).

So what counts as a banned book? PEN America’s definition here includes books that were challenged and temporarily removed, as well as those fully removed from school libraries and classrooms. These represent a range of genres, and as the organization notes, such censorship impacts a diverse set of identities, topics, concepts and stories.

Here, we’re listing them from the 50th most banned book in America to the No. 1 banned title (in alphabetical order where there were ties). How many have you read?

Use the link to find out how many of the 50 books you've read. It's your right to read those books or not to read those books. Your right. You don't need a gestapo over your shoulder telling you what you can and cannot do. That's not freedom, that's not democracy.

Want to order a banned book online? Barnes & Noble has a webpage for you. Are you in Nashville? Got an even better place to steer you. Angele Latham (THE TENNESSEAN) reports:

One Nashville bookstore is stepping in support of First Amendment access to information by hosting the Banned Book Wagon on Tuesday: a partnership with PEN America, the Freedom to Read Foundation, the Little Free Library and Penguin Random House Publishing.

The wagon will make a stop on its maiden voyage at The Bookstore in East Nashville and give out 500 free copies of 12 commonly-banned books. Titles like "The Kite Runner," "The Handmaid’s Tale" and "The Bluest Eye," along information about censorship, will be given out to customers while supplies last.

The book wagon will be open from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at The Bookshop, located at 1043 W. Eastland Ave, with the shop closing at its normal 7 p.m.

When the wagon runs out of books, it will pack up and head off to its next destination -- New Orleans -- dropping banned books in Little Free Libraries along the way.

This is your world, make it better. The American Library Association compiles a list of books banned over the years -- books now considered classics:

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Challenged at the Baptist College in Charleston, SC (1987) because of "language and sexual references in the book.

I re-read THE GREAT GATSBY every October. Love to tell you that it was because of banned books. But this year, that will be one of the reasons I re-read it.

Let's go back to the list of banned classics:

The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck

Burned by the East St. Louis, IL Public Library (1939) and barred from the Buffalo, NY Public Library (1939) on the grounds that "vulgar words" were used. Banned in Kansas City, MO (1939).
Banned in Kern County CA, the scene of Steinbeck's novel (1939).
Banned in Ireland (1953).
On Feb. 21, 1973, eleven Turkish book publishers went on trial before an Istanbul martial law tribunal on charges of publishing, possessing and selling books in violation of an order of the Istanbul martial law command. They faced possible sentences of between one month's and six months' imprisonment "for spreading propaganda unfavorable to the state" and the confiscation of their books. Eight booksellers were also on trial with the publishers on the same charge involving The Grapes of Wrath.
Banned in Kanawha, IA High School classes (1980).
Challenged in Vernon Verona Sherill, NY School District (1980).
Challenged as required reading for Richford, VT (1981) High School English students due to the book's language and portrayal of a former minister who recounts how he took advantage of a young woman.
Banned in Morris, Manitoba, Canada (1982).
Removed from two Anniston, Ala. high school libraries (1982), but later reinstated on a restrictive basis.
Challenged at the Cummings High School in Burlington, NC (1986) as an optional reading assignment because the "book is full of filth. My son is being raised in a Christian home and this book takes the Lord's name in vain and has all kinds of profanity in it." Although the parent spoke to the press, a formal complaint with the school demanding the book's removal was not filed.
Challenged at the Moore County school system in Carthage, NC (1986) because the book contains the phase "God damn."
Challenged in the Greenville, SC schools (1991) because the book uses the name of God and Jesus in a "vain and profane manner along with inappropriate sexual references."
Challenged in the Union City, TN High School classes (1993).

[. . .]

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

Challenged as appropriate reading for Oakland, CA High School honors class (1984) due to the work's "sexual and social explicitness" and its "troubling ideas about race relations, man's relationship to God, African history, and human sexuality." After nine months of haggling and delays, a divided Oakland Board of Education gave formal approval for the book's use.
Rejected for purchase by the Hayward, CA school's trustee (1985) because of "rough language" and "explicit sex scenes."
Removed from the open shelves of the Newport News, VA school library (1986) because of its "profanity and sexual references" and placed in a special section accessible only to students over the age of 18 or who have written permission from a parent. Challenged at the public libraries of Saginaw, MI (1989) because it was “too sexually graphic for a 12-year-old.”
Challenged as a summer youth program reading assignment in Chattanooga, TN (1989) because of its language and "explicitness."
Challenged as an optional reading assigned in Ten Sleep, WY schools (1990).
Challenged as a reading assignment at the New Burn, NC High School (1992) because the main character is raped by her stepfather.
Banned in the Souderton, PA Area School District (1992) as appropriate reading for 10th graders because it is "smut." Challenged on the curricular reading list at Pomperaug High School in Southbury, CT (1995) because sexually explicit passages aren’t appropriate high school reading.
Retained as an English course reading assignment in the Junction City, OR high school (1995) after a challenge to Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel caused months of controversy. Although an alternative assignment was available, the book was challenged due to "inappropriate language, graphic sexual scenes, and book's negative image of black men."
Challenged at the St. Johns County Schools in St. Augustine, FL (1995). Retained on the Round Rock, TX Independent High School reading list (1996) after a challenge that the book was too violent.
Challenged, but retained, as part of the reading list for Advanced Placement English classes at Northwest High Schools in High Point, NC (1996). The book was challenged because it is "sexually graphic and violent."
Removed from the Jackson County, WV school libraries (1997) along with sixteen other titles. Challenged, but retained as part of a supplemental reading list at the Shawnee School in Lima, OH (1999). Several parents described its content as vulgar and "X-rated."
Removed from the Ferguson High School library in Newport News, VA (1999). Students may request and borrow the book with parental approval.
Challenged, along with seventeen other titles in the Fairfax County, VA elementary and secondary libraries (2002), by a group called Parents Against Bad Books in Schools. The group contends the books "contain profanity and descriptions of drug abuse, sexually explicit conduct, and torture.”
Challenged in Burke County (2008) schools in Morganton, NC by parents concerned about the homosexuality, rape, and incest portrayed in the book.

Ulysses, by James Joyce

Burned in the U.S. (1918), Ireland (1922), Canada (1922), England (1923) and banned in England (1929).

Beloved, by Toni Morrison

Challenged at the St. Johns County Schools in St. Augustine, FL (1995). Retained on the Round Rock, TX Independent High School reading list (1996) after a challenge that the book was too violent.
Challenged by a member of the Madawaska, ME School Committee (1997) because of the book's language. The 1987 Pulitzer Prize winning novel has been required reading for the advanced placement English class for six years.
Challenged in the Sarasota County, FL schools (1998) because of sexual material. Retained on the Northwest Suburban High School District 214 reading listing in Arlington Heights, IL (2006), along with eight other challenged titles. A board member, elected amid promises to bring her Christian beliefs into all board decision-making, raised the controversy based on excerpts from the books she’d found on the Internet.
Challenged in the Coeur d’Alene School District, ID (2007). Some parents say the book, along with five others, should require parental permission for students to read them.
Pulled from the senior Advanced Placement (AP) English class at Eastern High School in Louisville, KY (2007) because two parents complained that the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about antebellum slavery depicted the inappropriate topics of bestiality, racism, and sex. The principal ordered teachers to start over with The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne in preparation for upcoming AP exams.

The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

Challenged at the Dallas, TX Independent School District high school libraries (1974).
Challenged at the Sully Buttes, SD High School (1981). Challenged at the Owen, NC High School (1981) because the book is "demoralizing inasmuch as it implies that man is little more than an animal."
Challenged at the Marana, AZ High School (1983) as an inappropriate reading assignment.
Challenged at the Olney, TX Independent School District (1984) because of "excessive violence and bad language." A committee of the Toronto, Canada Board of Education ruled on June 23, 1988, that the novel is "racist and recommended that it be removed from all schools." Parents and members of the black community complained about a reference to "niggers" in the book and said it denigrates blacks.
Challenged in the Waterloo, IA schools (1992) because of profanity, lurid passages about sex, and statements defamatory to minorities, God, women and the disabled.
Challenged, but retained on the ninth-grade accelerated English reading list in Bloomfield, NY (2000).

1984, by George Orwell

Challenged in the Jackson County, FL (1981) because Orwell's novel is "pro-communist and contained explicit sexual matter."

Banned Books Week concludes on October 7th with Let Freedom Read.

Remember not only does reading enrich your life and add to your knowledge and comprehension, it's also said that every time you read a book one of those closeted Moms For Bigotry have to endure sex with their husbands who they loathe.

Speaking of Moms For Bigotry, they came out early and strong for crazy Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Junior couldn't make his target goal in donations for the quarter -- those e-mails on the last day got increasingly pathetic -- especially the 'three hours until the deadline' begging for even ten dollars. But supposedly Junior's geared up to make (what passes for him to be) a big announcement. As Ava and I concluded last night in "Media: The week of WTF?:"

And you can't talk WTF moments and leave out RFK Junior. Robert Junior is a big whiner. He wants the Democratic Party's presidential nomination but Democratic voters don't want him. Nor should they as he pursues one right-winger after another and distances himself from the center -- let alone the left. His anti-vax for COVID stance doesn't really appeal to anyone outside MAGA. His statements, since becoming a candidate, that big business can regulate climate change destroy whatever legal achievements he had earlier in his life. His fawning over Donald Trump is just disgusting. His own family is ashamed of him and repeatedly distances itself from him. That's his siblings, that's the grandchild of JFK, that's the whole family.

Recently, Junior thought he had stumbled on a winning campaign tactic: Tax taxpayers even further.

If you missed it, the millionaire had a gun nut (he attracts them by his refusal to advocate for gun control) at one of his rallies. The gun nut supports Junior and was not there to threaten Junior. But Junior tried to parlay it into proof that he needed protection. The natural response to that request from a millionaire is for taxpayers to say, "Sure, hire whomever you wish to pay." But it wasn't about security. It was about trying to look presidential. Barack Obama did that in 2007 -- but he had actual threats against him. Junior didn't and Junior wanted the US taxpayers to spend money providing him with Secret Service agents for a run for office that people weren't calling for.

Things got worse last week. Junior is expected, anytime this week, to announce that he will be running for president as an independent.

You read that right. The man who declared at the start of his campaign that he would not run for the presidency unless it was on the Democratic Party ticket is now supposed to announce an independent run for the presidency (some say a third party run).

Junior's nothing but a disgrace and a disappointment. We feel for his wife Cheryl but he's made the bed she's going to have to sleep in.

Most of all, we feel for the country as so many people who are clearly not qualified for the presidency step forward to make vanity runs. It's as though, in 2016, Donald Trump proved that anyone -- anyone -- truly could end up president and a thousand lunatics were encouraged.

From the right-wing, Zachary Faria (WASHINGTON EXAMINER) observes:

Kennedy was initially propped up by some right-wing pundits as a challenger to President Joe Biden, as Kennedy had thrown himself into the thus-far nonexistent Democratic primary. It was indeed newsworthy, as Kennedy was pulling a significant minority of Democrats in polls. Yet many on the Right began promoting Kennedy for his views on the COVID vaccine (which stem from his embrace of conspiracy theories against vaccines of all types) and his more centrist stance on immigration.

That led many on the Right to claim, for example, that Kennedy is “principled and understands the Constitution and its guarantee to protect the rights of Americans.” GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy floated Kennedy as a running mate, and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) entertained the idea of putting him in charge of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Now Kennedy has apparently decided that he will drop out of the Democratic primary and instead run an independent campaign. That campaign would not harm Biden, as many on the Right hoped his Democratic primary campaign would. In fact, if it takes votes from anyone, it would be from Republicans, who have a far more favorable view of Kennedy (plus 28 points, according to an average of July polls) than Democrats (negative 5 points).

From the left (Jeffrey Cohen) and the faux left (Norman Solomon), we get:

Kennedy’s positions on domestic policies – from the climate crisis to economics to his extreme anti-vaccination views – are often at odds with progressivism. In a thorough critique, Naomi Klein exposes his faux populism and support from high-tech billionaires. Besides debunking many of his claims about vaccines, Klein points out that Kennedy asserts the climate crisis is being overhyped by “totalitarian elements in our society” and has said that he’d leave energy policy to market forces.

Klein makes clear that RFK Jr. is no economic populist: “On Fox, he would not even come out in favor of a wealth tax; he has brushed off universal public health care as not ‘politically realistic’; and I have heard nothing about raising the minimum wage.”

Kennedy does not have a systemic, class analysis of what’s wrong in U.S. society. Instead, he has a conspiratorial view. And through his use of social media and other outreach, he’s attracted considerable support from the conspiracy-minded right wing. In April, Steve Bannon – seen as the brains behind Donald Trump – commented that “Bobby Kennedy would be an excellent choice for Trump to consider” as a VP running-mate. Both Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Trump acolyte Roger Stone said in late July that it might be good to put Kennedy in the next Republican cabinet.

That coming from an article whose authors want to influence your vote requires that I note every word of it may be a lie. We're noting it for Jeffrey. Otherwise, we wouldn't note it because, when it comes to elections, Norman Solomon is a known liar.

In 2008, he went on every radio program and TV show he could (not just PACIFICA RADIO) as an 'independent analyst' just calling strikes and balls with no skin in the game when it came to the people running for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Of course, in reality, he was already a pledged delegate for Barack Obama -- the person his analysis repeatedly just happened to praise. He didn't disclose on air that he was a pledged delegate for Barack. If he had, listeners could have factored that in when hearing his opinions. He's supposed to disclose it, it's basic journalism.

And he knew that. He had a rag tag column that he used to write which some of the lower and lesser newspapers around the country sometimes carried. In those columns? He disclosed he was a pledged delegate for Barack. He knew he'd lose his syndicated column without that disclosure. But he didn't care enough about listeners and viewers to make that disclosure on air when he was posing as someone with no dog in the fight.

That's not the only thing I need to point out about the above. Three men weighed in. Did you notice what they didn't talk about?

That's right, abortion.

Apparently, it's not important. Junior's said it should be the woman's decision -- one moment -- he's said there should be a federal ban at 15 weeks -- in another moment. He's been all over the map. Is that not supposed to be a concern?

He's real vocal about how people should have control over their own bodies -- when "people" just means men.

And why is it that three men don't give a damn about the impact Junior would have on women's lives?

The conservative from THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER is most likely anti-choice so no surprise on his silence. But old men, Cohen and Solomon, check your sexism and your stupidity.

2022 defied all previous election models. And Nancy Pelosi called it correctly ahead of the elections: Abortion would be a key issue. DOBBS would result in Democratic voters turning out.

That's the only reason the Dem losses weren't great.

Yet you two men of the left can't even touch the issue when clearly Junior's no friend t- reproductive rights. Forget that he 'reversed' his comments, you don't call for a federal ban on abortion to begin with -- as he did -- unless you're not in favor of a woman's right to determine her health care choices.

And how did you avoid his homophobia? Is it because you're both over 70? Are you afraid some of your life choices might look suspect if you defended LGBTQ+ people, is that it? Because you're not helping anyone with your tired ass comments.

This is from Victoria A. Brownworth's report for PHILADELPHIA GAY NEWS:

Vaccine disinformation isn’t Kennedy’s only conspiracy he promotes. On June 19, YouTube removed a video in which Kennedy made the claim that water tainted with endocrine disruptors are making children transgender.

In an interview with controversial right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ podcaster Jordan Peterson, Kennedy repeated another conspiracy theory, this one popularized by notorious right-wing commentator Alex Jones, best known for claiming the Sandy Hook shooting was a false flag operation by the federal government. Jones also asserted that chemicals in the water were “turning the frogs gay.”

“If you in a lab put atrazine and a tank full of frogs, it will chemically castrate and force forcibly feminize every frog in there, and 10 percent of the frogs, the male frogs will turn into fully viable females able to produce viable eggs,” Kennedy said as he embraced Jones’ theory.

Kennedy then shifted focus to transgenderism, saying, “I think a lot of the problems we see in kids — and particularly boys — it’s probably under-appreciated how much of that is coming from chemical exposures, including a lot of the sexual dysphoria that we’re seeing.”

Kennedy asserted that trans children were “being overwhelmed by a tsunami; they’re swimming through a soup of toxic chemicals today and many of those are endocrine disruptors.”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) describes endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) as “natural or human-made chemicals that may mimic, block, or interfere with the body’s hormones, which are part of the endocrine system. These chemicals are associated with a wide array of health issues.”

Transgenderism is of course not mentioned in any of the NIH data.

Peterson argued that by removing the interview with Kennedy, which the site asserted violated their Terms of Service on misinformation, YouTube had “taken upon itself to actively interfere with a presidential election campaign.”

On Twitter, Kennedy queried, “Should social media platforms censor presidential candidates?” and then posted a link to the interview which he said Musk had made possible to air on the platform, adding, “thank you @elonmusk.”

Kennedy has nearly two million followers and Peterson has more than four million, but Musk has the most on Twitter — 144 million. Tagging him in increased viewership for Kennedy’s anti-LGBTQ views by millions.

New content at THIRD:

The following sites updated:

Monday, October 02, 2023

Is the end finally in sight?

Let me kick things off with BURN IT DOWN WITH KIM BROWN.

Now for campaign news. So Doo-Doo Ron Ron DeSantis got more bad news:

In a recent New Hampshire poll conducted by CNN and the University of New Hampshire, Florida governor Ron DeSantis found himself in fifth place. He was not only behind the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination— Donald Trump— but also trailing Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, and Chris Christie.

This poll marks another cause for concern for DeSantis, whose hard-right campaign has encountered numerous setbacks since its launch in May with Elon Musk on social media.

Trump is currently facing a staggering 91 criminal charges. These include allegations of election subversion, as well as accusations of retaining classified information and making hush-money payments. Additionally, the former president is facing a number of civil threats— including a defamation case in which he has been found guilty of being a rapist.

Poor Doo-Doo, he continues to drop and droop. He was supposed to be the sure thing. Now he's the nothing. I can't wait for the announcement that he's closing shop and ending his campaign. It can't come soon enough.

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Monday, October 2, 2023. In Iraq, a report on the fire that left over 100 dead was issued Sunday and is already being called out today as a whitewash, in the US Congressional skirmishes take place on both sides, an elderly woman and her fan base want her appointed to the Senate because they believe the country needs more almost 80 year olds in elected office, and much more.

Over the weekend, a stop-gap measure was passed to avoid a government shutdown. This was a kick-the-can measure that only funds the government until November 17th. Which means, it could again come down to a nail biter right before Thanksgiving.

Many things took place over the weekend having to do with Congress -- and all more consequential than a pulled fire alarm. In the House, Corbin Boiles (DAILY BEAST) notes:

Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota will step down from his post in Democratic leadership over his public statements that another Democrat should challenge Joe Biden for president next year, according to Axios. “My convictions relative to the 2024 presidential race are incongruent with the majority of my caucus, and I felt it appropriate to step aside from elected leadership,” he told Axios reporter Andrew Solender. Phillips has expressed his interest in a challenger, not ruling out the possibility of his own run as recently as last month.

When you hear the name Matt Gaetz, it generally means he's having another tantrum or dating another high school girl. Over the weekend, you heard his name because of a tantrum. He wants to take down the Speaker of the House. Aaron Parnas (MEIDAS TOUCH NETWORK) notes:

Hours after the House of Representatives narrowly avoided a government shutdown, talks on Capitol Hill have now turned to the possible (dare we say, bipartisan) expulsion of Congressman Matt Gaetz. As you may be aware, Gaetz is currently facing an ethics investigation into several allegations including sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, and others. Now, the rumor on Capitol Hill is that if the Ethics Committee comes back and has findings of guilt, House GOP leadership will seek to quickly expel Matt Gaetz. Such a decision would likely face little opposition from House Democrats, and only half of the House Republican Caucus would have to join this resolution.

This ethics investigation was reopened weeks after the United States Attorney's Office declined to prosecute Gaetz for actions related to the possible sex trafficking of minors. But, a declination by a U.S. Attorney does not automatically end an ethics investigation on Capitol Hill. Quite the contrary actually. For example, when Senator Bob Menendez was first indicted and later acquitted, he did not face criminal accountability but was admonished by the Ethics Committee.

Covering the same story, FOX NEWS adds:

The House Republican members will seek to expel Gaetz if the ethics committee report comes back with findings of guilt, Fox News has learned. One member told Fox News the report is mostly written but does not know what it contains. Yet following threats to vacate McCarthy, the member said of Gaetz, "No one can stand him at this point. A smart guy without morals."

It takes a two-thirds vote to expel. And Republicans are treading on thin ice with their majority. The House is down to 433 members. It’s unclear where things stand with federally indicted Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. If you were to have members expelled, retire or die, the majority could be right on the edge for the GOP.

During an appearance on CNN Sunday morning, Gaetz said he planned "to file a motion to vacate against Speaker McCarthy this week."

Staying with the theme of Congress gone wild, Joshua Wilburn (RADAR) notes:

Brian Glenn, the boyfriend of Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and host for Right Side Broadcasting Network, went on a rampage against a heckler at a recent event featuring former President Donald Trump, RadarOnline.com has learned.

The incident occurred in Santa Monica, California, where a group of supporters greeted the GOP frontrunner. However, a heckler's question about Trump's popularity triggered Glenn's explosive response.

According to Mediaite, the event took place on Friday, with Trump delivering remarks earlier in the day in Anaheim.

During his speech, he mocked the Pelosi family, imitated President Joe Biden, and advised Californians to "dampen your forests" to prevent wildfires.

As Trump greeted his supporters in Santa Monica and signed autographs, a man in the crowd questioned the size of the gathering, asking, "Donald, why are there only a hundred people here? I thought you were popular."

This simple inquiry ignited Glenn's wrath, leaving him momentarily unable to articulate a coherent response.

In a fit of rage, Glenn berated the heckler, shouting, "Why are you an idiot? This guy's an idiot, President Trump. I'm going to throw his ass out of here."

The shocking spectacle unfolded as Glenn approached Trump, microphone in hand, attempting to reassure him of his popularity.

Moving over to the Georgia state senate, Dave Williams (GEORGIA PUBLIC RADIO) reports:

The Georgia Senate Republican Caucus has suspended freshman Sen. Colton Moore after he unsuccessfully pushed for a special legislative session to investigate Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

Moore, R-Trenton, mounted his bid for a special session despite Gov. Brian Kemp publicly dismissing the idea and over the objections of the other 32 Republican state senators.

In a statement issued Thursday, the caucus accused Moore of using false statements to whip up public sentiment against those opposed to a special session .

“Senator Moore has a right to his opinion,” the statement read. “However, during his advocacy for his ill-conceived proposal, Senator Moore has knowingly misled people across Georgia and our nation, causing unnecessary tension and hostility while putting his caucus colleagues and their families at risk of personal harm.”

From Georgia to California, we find idiots like Ro demanding that Governor Gavin Newsom fill the empty seat in the US Senate (Dianne Feinstein passed away at the age of 90 last Friday) with the elderly Barbara Lee. Lee is 77. It's cute the way 'progressives' pretend to care about things one moment and jettison them the next. Especially consider Barbara Lee's long term fake assery.

I'm against the war but I'm giving Barack one year to get us out of Afghanistan and then I'm going to hold him accountable -- she said at the start of 2009.

And then again in 2010 and then again and then again -- and never held him accountable. He had eight years in the White House and never had to once fear 'pressure' from Barbara Lee.

She's really good at flapping her gums but that's all she's ever been good at. She's failed to deliver repeatedly and she was behind the disbanding of the Out of Iraq caucus -- though that may be one of her few 'accomplishments' she doesn't rush to brag about.

There are way too many people in elected office right now who are over the age of 70. The last thing the country needs is one more. Gavin shouldn't appoint her to begin with but her age should also rule her out.

California needs younger representation. Barbara Lee needs to find a nursing home, not a seat in the Senate. She knows she's not liked in the state and that she probably can't win in 2024 unless she's the seated incumbent. That's what her recent attacks on Gavin were about.

Again, Barbara Lee at 77 today is too old to be going to the US Senate. The country needs young blood and 77 is too damn old. She will be 78 next year and can run for the seat -- she won't win it because the people California actually know her -- as opposed to soft press she gets from left websites who think her empty words mean something. She's too damn old.

From one empty politician (Barbara Lee) to another (Ron DeSantis), Florida's governor is not being greeted warmly. Manasa Gogineni (THE CALIFORNIAN) reports:

GOP candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a highly controversial trip to Salinas today, which was preceded by community protests on Sunday and Wednesday, a Salinas City Council resolution denouncing his visit, and widespread disapproval from county supervisors, organizations and Salinas residents across social media.

Executives of big agriculture companies from Taylor Farms to Mission Produce hosted a private fundraising brunch for DeSantis this morning ahead of his bid for the White House, with tickets selling at $3,300 a seat.

DeSantis has gained notoriety for supporting policies that harm farmworkers and make it more difficult for undocumented immigrants to gain employment.

Salinas has a large population of immigrant and migrant farm workers, which agriculture companies have historically failed to protect from voter intimidation, COVID-19, wildfires and harmful pesticides (which are used in fields near local schools despite being linked to leukemia in children).

Ben Blanchet (HUFFINGTON POST) notes the response to Ronald wasn't that much warmer on FOX NEWS:

Fox News host Maria Bartiromo kept it frank with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over former President Donald Trump’s big lead against him in national polls. (You can check out the interview in the clip below)

The Florida governor has trailed Trump the entire year in an average of national polls and, as of Sunday, is behind the GOP frontrunner by over 40 percentage points, according to polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight.

“Let’s face it, governor, Donald Trump is ahead of you by a significant margin,” Bartiromo told DeSantis during his appearance on “Sunday Morning Futures.”

“I think the last poll was 52 percent, above, right now, for Trump. How are you going to cut into Trump’s lead? What truly is your path to victory?”

He has none. Turns out, when you attack women, African-Americans, immigrants, teachers, professors and the LGBTQ+ community, you are left with very few that can support you. Oops, almost forgot his war on DISNEY. Molly Sprayregen (LGBTQ NATION) explains:

The Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis-appointed board overseeing Disney World’s tax district has officially approved a $4.5 million budget for the year to fund the anti-LGBTQ+ governor’s legal battle with the entertainment company.

The board approved an overall $194.5 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year, setting aside an anticipated $4.5 million in legal fees for DeSantis to defend himself against Disney. According to the Washington Post, taxpayers have already footed the $1.9 million that has been spent on lawyers for the case this year.

Yeah, that's not good business. Mike Schneider (AP) reports on Ronald's war on DISNEY:

The Florida governor asked that the company’s First Amendment lawsuit against him be tossed from federal court, and Disney demanded emails, texts and other communications from the governor’s office in a separate state court lawsuit originally brought by DeSantis appointees of Walt Disney World’s governing district.

The legal filings marked an escalation in the battle between the entertainment giant and DeSantis, a candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. The confrontation started last year when Disney publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, and DeSantis retaliated by taking over the governing district that provides municipal services for the 25,000-acre (10,117-hectare) Disney World theme park resort in Florida.

[. . .]

Disney also sent a notice to DeSantis’ office demanding internal communications, including text messages and emails, and documents regarding the district’s comprehensive plan, the development agreements and the legislation that shifted control of the district to DeSantis. The notice said a subpoena would be issued requiring the governor’s office to turn over the materials to Disney’s attorneys by Oct. 27.

Ronald's like a cock roach, he skirts off when caught in the light of day. As Tori Otten (THE NEW REPUBLIC) notes, Ronald's wasting millions of tax dollars on lawsuits:

In reality, DeSantis has spent more than $17 million defending his terrible laws in court since he took office. As a result, the state budget for 2023 includes a $15.8 million allotment just to defend his policies.

That allotment includes $6 million for the governor’s office, compared to just $1.6 million last year. The State University System Board of Governors received an extra $2 million to defend DeSantis’s “Stop Woke” Act, and the attorney general’s office got an additional $5 million to defend the state’s backward Covid-19 vaccination policies.

The extra money for legal costs means that DeSantis is able to hire outside (and much more expensive) lawyers to defend his policies. So far, his administration has spent the most defending laws restricting voting rights, transgender health care, and academic freedom. But despite his best efforts, and his hefty coffers, most of those laws were still overturned.

Lweek saw a fire at an Iraqi wedding that left at least 100 people dead (by Friday, the death toll had risen to 102 and by Friday night, NYT's Alissa J. Rubin notes, it had climbed to 119) with at least 150 more injured. Though the wedding couple was initially reported dead on Wednesday, they actually survived. And now Revan, and Haneen are plagued with survivor's guilt. Friday, they attended funerals for Haneen's brother and her mother. (Some reports spell the bride's name Hannen.) In addition, her father was injured and remains hospitalized (critical condition). The groom's home has been attacked and his car windows broken -- some have blamed him and Haneen for the fire.

Daniel DeWolfe (LBC) reports:

Haneen and Revan were initially feared dead following the blaze, which claimed the lives of 114 others.

Revan's father later confirmed the couple had survived the blaze, which tore through the large hall in the Christian town, which had survived ISIS occupation.

"It's true that we're sitting here in front of you alive. But inside we are dead. We are numb. We are dead inside," Revan told Sky News.

The horror inferno claimed the lives of 15 members of Revan's family, with the groom adding that his bride "can't speak" following the loss of 10 of her own relatives.

Hunar Rasheed (RUDAW) notes another family haunted by the fire:

The harrowing and tragic deaths of 22 people from one single family during the heartbreaking wedding inferno in Nineveh province's Hamdaniya town over the weekend has echoed across the country.

"This is my sister. This is my father. This is my mother. This is another sister of mine. This is my wife. She is missing," Fuad Silewa, a member of the family that lost 22 members in total, sighed while sobbing and holding their photographs. "I am grateful for God [on all occasions]."

He went on to introduce more family members who died of suffocation during the tragic inferno: "This is my brother's wife. Yesterday, I received [from health authorities] their dead and burned bodies. They have all died of suffocation. This sister had come back from abroad to change her atmosphere by visiting us. Thank you, God."

Over a hundred people lost their lives when a deadly fire engulfed a wedding hall in Hamdaniya after the roof’s flammable plastic ceiling caught fire when fireworks were ignited from the floor.

Naif Ramadhan (RUDAW) notes the dead includes a one-year-and-eight-month old girl named Marya Asaad whose father tried to carry her to safety but she died in his arms. Her father states, "My daughter loved me more than anyone. She used to be very eager to see me when I returned from work. She would wait for me near the gate and give me my clothes although she was young." Ayub Nasri (RUDAW) notes that 12-year-old Nazdin Khazwan also perished in the fire. Nazdin was playing drums for the wedding. After the roof caught fire and crashed in, Nazdin was not be found (there are over 30 corpses that have yet to be identified). His father, Khazwan Sulaiman, states, "He told me that a fire had broken out. I looked at the stage and saw him burning. I asked him to leave [the hall]. He followed me to the exit. He told me ‘Come Daddy’ and I saw him running towards the kitchen door. I saw him until he reached the kitchen door. Sulaiman was behind me and asked where Nazdin was. I told him that Nazdin had exited because he was in front of me and I saw him. We went out but did not find him." Karwan Faidhi Dri (RUDAW) notes that an engaged couple, Steven and Maryam, had planned to marry next week at the same hall but cannot because Maryam perished in the fire.

It should have been a beautiful event and a wonderful memory. The building was fairly new (built in 2016). Abeer Khan (AL ARABYIYA) explains that the hall lacked "sufficient emergency exits," as well as a sprinkler system and ample fire extinguishers. Saturday, Alissa J. Rubin (NEW YORK TIMES) reported on the study ordered by Iraq's prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani:

The draft report from the investigation, ordered by Mr. Sudani, found that in addition to lacking emergency exits and sprinklers, the building had been constructed illegally on agricultural land — a common practice in Iraq as those who no longer farm seek to make money off their fallow acreage.

The report also said the building was made of a substance described by investigators as Ecobond board, which itself is not illegal, but its use must be approved on a case-by-case basis because certain types are highly flammable. It is known locally as sandwich board because it consists of two layers of metal with a synthetic filling between them.

The report found negligence by the owner of the hall — who was detained by the authorities on Wednesday — and his two partners; by the local province’s tourist commission because it had fined the owner for failing to meet fire safety requirements, but did not close the hall; by the mayor of Qaraqosh because he knew about the failings, but, the report said, did not do anything about them; and by other administrative units aware that the hall was illegally built but failed to take any action.

The Civil Defense Force responsible for the area, however, was not named in the initial report. Although the force is responsible for building safety and fire fighting, many residents were critical of its response, saying the authorities were slow to arrive at the scene and ill prepared.

For many people in the area, the fire and the report were painful reminders of the combination of corruption, weak governance and lack of accountability in Iraq.

Rubin did a feature article (a profile) of the prime minister ahead of his visit to New York last week. That may have been why she was given an advance look at the report. The report came out Sunday and, as REUTERS notes, pins the blame on "gross negligence." Some are not accepting the report's conclusions. AP reports:

Christian religious leaders in northern Iraq called for an international investigation Monday into a deadly wedding fire that killed more than 100 people last week and slammed the government’s probe, which had blamed the blaze on negligence and lack of precautionary measures.

An Iraqi Syriac Catholic priest, meanwhile, said widespread corruption in the country and the influence of armed militias on the government was one of the factors that enabled the fire.

Father Boutros Sheeto, spoke to The Associated Press over the phone from the town of Qaraqosh, where five members of his family, including his Iraqi-American sister, were buried on Monday morning. He claimed the fire was “intentional,” without offering any evidence.

The following sites updated: