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Tuesday, July 02, 2024

Hollywood poser Lloyd Doggett wants Joe to step down -- 78 in October, Lloyd should retire

First up, BURN IT DOWN WITH KIM BROWN.

If you missed it, US House Rep Lloyd Doggett is calling for Joe Biden not to run for re-election. At 81, Joe's too old for Lloyd. This is the 78-year-old in October Lloyd.

Maybe Lloyd should step down?

He's a worthless piece of crap anyway. Propped by Hollywood donations, he's held onto seat that he did nothing in. Lloyd, US troops are still in Iraq, you know that, right?

I remember him railing against the efforts by Bully Boy Bush to put a SOFA into being in 2008. I remember him saying if it happened, he would use every power he had in Congress to stop it and overturn it. Then Bully Boy Bush does the SOFA Thanksgiving Day 2008 -- after he lost the election. And Lloyd? Like a whore looks the other way.

Remember the benchmarks that Dems in Congress demanded to continue funding in Iraq?

Lloyd doesn't. They never met the benchmarks and despite this Lloyd dropped the issue in 2008.

When did Lloyd ever follow through on anything?

US troops are still in Iraq -- is Lloyd aware of that?

If he's concerned that Joe's too old, Lloyd -- who's only three years younger -- needs to set an example by announcing his retirement.

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

Tuesday, July 2, 2024. With nowhere to go, Gazans are again ordered by the Israeli government to evacuate, CNN 'sweetens' reality to ignore the use of dogs by the Israeli government on Palestinians locked behind bars, BREAKING POINTS chose to platform a transphobe in their one and only Pride segment for the month of June, and much more.

So much to cover today. We'll do Gaza in depth -- and actually already have. I started dictating the snapshot with Gaza to make sure it didn't get a quick pass because I was running out of time. But we're not opening with Gaza specifically. Generally? Yes.

Because Gaza today, the slaughter in Gaza, takes place because of shoddy media. And we're starting with the embarrassing media in the US. A media that never gets better, please note. Independent media pops up and becomes garbage. Corporate media whores and then whores some more.

From CRAPAPEDIA:

Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar (or simply Breaking Points) is an American political news and opinion series created and hosted by Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti. It was launched in June 2021 by Ball and Enjeti, both former hosts of The Hill's Rising web series. They publish an audio-only podcast and the video program is available on YouTube, Rumble, and Spotify. Its format includes one anchor representative of the political left (Ball) and one right-of-center anchor (Enjeti), who provide news and commentary with a populist view from divergent sides of the political spectrum.^[4]^[5]^{[better source needed]}^[6]

Breaking Points features commentary and analysis of political news and current events, in-studio interviews with journalists, politicians, campaign staff and surrogates, political advisors and strategists, and members of the news media, and occasional live-analysis segments. Ball and Enjeti, the primary hosts, usually publish on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Journalist Ryan Grim and culture writer Emily Jashinsky co-host on a show on Wednesdays and Fridays called Counter Points with the Friday segment hosting political and cultural debates between guests.

Ball and Enjeti each produce, write, and deliver a monologue each episode highlighting an important topic in current events. The hosts analyze the topic, usually organized into three or four bullet-points. This is followed by an open discussion with the other host, available to premium subscribers.

The majority of the show's revenue comes from premium subscribers, with some additional revenues from YouTube and podcast ads.^[7] Their expenses are around one million dollars a year.^[7]

Why? Why should anyone give even a dime to this crap ass program?

You're wasting your money and you're harming democracy. Stop kidding yourself.

On Sunday, BREAKING POINTS decided to do a segment on Pride. All of June was Pride Month yet they refused to do a single segment on Pride for the first 29 days. They did do an LGBTQ+ related segment -- when Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's ugly and overweight wife Martha got caught on tape trashing, among others, the LGBTQ+ community. That was it -- and that wasn't a segment on Pride. As Ava and I note in "Media: BREAKING POINTS promotes transphboia, CRAPAPEDIA can't handle the truth," the Robert Kennedy Jr supporting weasel James Li brought on a lying hag to trash transgendered people. (James supports Junior -- we did eliminate that section and others to condense the piece or it would have been even longer.)

We rightly, on the left, call out THE NEW YORK TIMES for its transphobia and for its refusal to go to trans people and get their stories.

BREAKING POINTS did the same thing.

It chose to bring on a known transphobe and a know liar.

Let's be really clear here that this ugly bitch was brought on with her two year record of transphobia. It's how she got FOX "NEWS" to note her and how she got THE NEW YORK POST to note her. It's her grift now.

In 2020, the disgusting Andrew Yang ran for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination -- he did not run for president.

Let's get that clear because it bothers the hell out of me as a poli sci major. In our time online (and on campuses), we've been part of a group that's managed to destroy the nonsense of calling swing voters "independent voters." Maybe we can all get behind the reality that if you run for president, you're running for president. You're not running in a primary. When you run in a primary, you are a candidate for the party's nomination. If you don't get the nomination, you're not a presidential candidate -- Marianne Williamson being one example. That's not a slam on her. But she did not run for president. I loathe Junior but he is running for president and he's a presidential candidate.

Yang brought a lot of stupidity into the 2020 primary and a lot of lies and if he hadn't been on that stage wasting everyone's time in the primaries who knows who might have ended up the nominee.

So a Yang Ganger -- who we'll just call Closety (she's named in Ava and my piece) presents herself as someone who ran for Congress. No, Closety, you didn't.

You ran in a primary and you lost. You didn't even get 10,000 votes. The winner got nearly 100,000 votes.

You were a primary candidate. You never ran for Congress, Closety, stop lying.

But if she stopped lying, what would she do? Apparently lying is how you get on BREAKING POINTS.

She's good at lying. When she was in the 2020 primary, for example, she gave countless interviews, took a few surveys.

James Li presented Closety as a "lesbian activist."

No, she was just a closeted whore.

I don't tolerate this garbage.

Closety was married in 2020. To a woman.

But she wasn't out. Not even with the non-judgmental League of Women Voters could she say she was a lesbian.

In a 90 minutes interview with a man who brought up that she was part of the lesbian Yang Gang, she did, it did slip out but that was an interview viewed 84 times in real time and it was less than 30 seconds. And the interviewer raised it -- note how uncomfortable she got when the topic was raised.

Let's be really clear on how disgusting this bitch is.

Sarah Gilbert is someone Ava and I have repeatedly called out. Reality, you want to hide in your closet? You're pathetic but go for it. But what did Sarah do. She hid in a closet, yes. While having a relationship with Ali Adler. Fine, they can both hide in the closet. But that changes when they have two children. When you have two children, you can't hide in the closet. As Judy Gold rightly notes in NETFLIX's OUTSTANDING: A COMEDY REVOLUTION, you can't do that. Having kids meant coming out for Judy because the alternative is you are sending a very dangerous message to your kids and you're also limiting what they can talk about with their friends. Did Sarah expect her kids to stay silent about having two Mommys? What message was Sarah Gilbert sending to her children by pretending in public that she was straight? Her oldest was six years old when she finally came out.

That's disgusting.

And Closety?

She wasn't just disgusting, she was misleading the public. While asking for their vote. Grasp that she wasn't just hiding that she was a lesbian, she was hiding that she was married.

If a straight politician hid that he or she was married, it would be a scandal. It was a mini-scandal for some when it turned out Gregory Harrison had been married for four years (to a woman -- Randi Oakes) and not just hiding it but denying it. (The two are still married to this day.) His fans were disappointed. But he was an actor. He wasn't running for public office and saying "trust me with your vote."

If you're running for office, the voters have a right to know you. Especially when you have no accomplishments in your entire life -- being a legislative intern briefly might seem like a credit; however, when people find out that the politician you interned for was your aunt, I think most voters realize that's no more a reason to vote for you than you're other embarrassing jobs.

She wanted voters in Oregon's first Congressional district to vote for her and she had nothing to offer. Possibly, had she revealed her personal life, she would have gotten more support? But the voters had a right to know. She's running for public office and she won't tell voters that she has a wife?

What a closet case.

Also during that campaign, she refused to address LGBTQ+ issues. She refused to even note the LGBTQ+ community. It is a progressive district and Oregon is a progressive state.

But she hid in her closet.

Yet James Li brings her onto BREAKING POINTS and calls her a "lesbian activist"?

Oh, hell no.

She's a closet case who was in the closet in the 90s -- we did the research and talked to the people who knew her -- not very easy when she refuses to list her community college on her official resume. She hid in her closet in the '00s. In the '10s, desperate for sex, she started using a gay dating app.

She's a closet case who is unemployable so she hit the grift.

Grasp that. She had no job to brag on. She had no accomplishments. She leaves out the book she wrote -- that no one bought and that didn't even get one review on AMAZON. Grasp that. Not one review.

She's garbage and the only way she could make money was by attacking transgender people. So that's how she's made a name for herself.

And that's who BREAKING POINTS brought on to discuss Pride.

She didn't discuss PRIDE, she attacked trans people. And that's why she was brought on. James Li knew what she was and he invited her on to be who she was.

BREAKING POINTS is utter garbage at this point. If they truly consider themselves media, they will: Apologize for bringing up a transphobe for Pride month, apologize for trying to dress her up as a lesbian activist (of many years, no less), apologize for refusing to note Pride all month, and apologize for being part of a media that wants to 'talk about trans people' -- actually, I asked for quotes around 'talk about trans people' but those should probably be removed. They do want to talk about trans people, they just don't want to talk to trans people.

How is that media?

It's not. Krystal Ball, you claim to be a journalist and you put your name to BREAKING POINTS.

So let's see what you really are? Are you going to apologize for the non-journalistic segment? And are you going to make amends by bringing on actual trans people to discuss trans issues?

Or are you just going to look the other way?

No one should be donating to BREAKING POINTS at this point.

It's not media.

Like FOX "NEWS," BREAKING POINTS is not there to illuminate, it's there to spread hate.

And grasp that the sort of othering that BREAKING POINTS did on Sunday is the sort of othering that Palestinians have had to endure for decades -- where American media talked about them but didn't talk to them.

I'm glad we did Gaza already because I'm running out of time.

Let's note Jake Johnson (COMMON DREAMS) on the destruction of democracy:

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled along ideological lines on Monday that former President Donald Trump is entitled to "absolute immunity" for "official acts" taken while he was in office, a decision that liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned makes any occupant of the Oval Office "a king above the law."

Writing for the majority in the 6-3 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts declared that Trump "may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts."

But Sotomayor countered in her dissent that the majority distorted the concept of core constitutional powers "beyond any recognizable bounds," effectively granting Trump the sweeping immunity he demanded as he faces charges for attempting to subvert the 2020 presidential election in a failed last-ditch bid to remain in power.

"When he uses his official powers in any way, under the majority's reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution," Sotomayor wrote. "Orders the Navy's SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Immune, immune, immune."

"In every use of official power, the president is now a king above the law," the justice added. "With fear for our democracy, I dissent."

The New York Timesnoted that the high court "has remanded the case to the federal district court judge overseeing the matter, Tanya Chutkan, to determine the nature of the acts for which former President Trump has been charged—which are unofficial ones he undertook in his personal capacity and which are official ones he undertook as president."

The high court's ruling, which came after months of delays, all but forecloses the possibility of Trump facing trial for election subversion charges before the November presidential contest. The progressive advocacy group MoveOn said the conservative supermajority's decision to punt the case back to the lower court makes the justices "complicit in Trump's plan to delay any legal accountability until after the election."

Two of the court's right-wing justices—Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito—faced calls to recuse from the case but rejected them.

"Donald Trump incited the deadly January 6 insurrection and the MAGA Supreme Court continues to do everything in their power to stop him from facing accountability for attempting to overthrow our government," said Rahna Epting, executive director of MoveOn Political Action. "Nobody is above the law, especially not Trump. MAGA extremists in Congress and the courts have made it clear there will be no checks or balances on Trump and the only hope for American democracy is the people coming together to defeat him in November."

Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president at Public Citizen, added in a statement that "Trump versus the United States is a fitting name for this case."

"There is no better way to characterize Trump's attempt to upend the Constitution and rule of law as we know it," Gilbert said. "Today's ruling is a blow to U.S. democracy. But it's not a final blow by any means. Trump can and should still be held accountable for his role in the violence on January 6 in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election and stop a peaceful transfer of power."

One of the many reasons democracy is dying is because of a shoddy media system and giving money to people at BREAKING POINTS who have no qualms about presenting a known liar, a known transphobe, a closet case and letting her trash a minority population is 100% a media crime.

Krystal Ball can make it right. I doubt she will.

Gaza?

This morning, REUTERS reports, " Eight Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded when Israeli forces bombarded several areas of Khan Younis and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, health officials said on Tuesday, as thousands of people fled their homes under fire." The Israeli government continues its slaughter of Gaza and has yet again ordered Palestinians to 'evacuate' and the reality is there's really nowhere to go. AP notes, "Sam Rose, the director of planning at the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, said Tuesday that the agency believes some 250,000 people are in the evacuation zone — over 10% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million — including many who have fled earlier fighting. He says another 50,000 people living just outside the zone may also choose to leave because of their proximity to the fighting. Evacuees have been told to seek refuge in a sprawling tent camp along the coast that is already overcrowded and has few basic services." Sebastian Usher (BBC NEWS) adds, "Louise Wateridge, an official with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) in Gaza, asked where people could go as they were forced to leave their homes once again." ALJAZEERA reports:

Israel’s evacuation order from the east of Khan Younis shows its inability to achieve its goal of eliminating Hamas and its intent to exhaust the population, says Luciano Zaccara, a professor of Gulf politics at Qatar University’s Gulf Studies Center.

“This demonstrates that they cannot win the war because they wanted to eliminate Hamas physically and politically but so far the group is still there, this is why they need to move people, in order to chase them,” Zaccara told Al Jazeera.

“It also proves that Israel wants to win this war by exhausting the people,” he said, referring to several previous evacuation orders from different locations in the past nine months of war.

“In this way, it creates much more trouble and harm for Palestinians who cannot stay for more than one month or 15 days in one place,” he added.

The idea that there are safe places to move people to, Zaccara said, “is not true because every time there has been a displacement there were also attacks”

Yesterday, THE IRISH TIMES noted, "Israel released 55 Palestinians whom it had detained from Gaza, including the director of the territory’s main hospital, Mohammed Abu Selmia, who was freed without charge or trial after being detained in November when Israeli forces raided Shifa Hospital." They're referring to Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya who was kidnapped by Israeli forces on November 23rd and then held hostage for months. Helen Regan, Abeer Salman, Kareem Khadder and Eugenia Yosef (CNN) note:

The head of Gaza’s largest hospital has claimed he was repeatedly tortured during his seven months in Israeli detention, following his sudden release Monday, in a move that highlighted growing rifts in the Israeli establishment.

Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of the Al-Shifa medical complex, who was arrested in late November during the first of two Israeli raids on the facility in Gaza City, was released along with 50 other Palestinian detainees.

Let's stop there. If you are arrested, you get a trial. You also get charged and if you aren't charged you are released. The doctor was not arrested because he was held for over seven months without a trial. That's not "arrested." That's kidnapped and held hostage. CNN needs to stop 'sweetening' the truth.

Here's Edward Carver (COMMON DREAMS):

Israeli forces seized Abu Salmiya from a United Nations convoy on November 22. They took him to court three times while in detainment but brought no charges and allowed him no lawyer, Abu Salmiya said.

His detention in November followed an Israeli siege of Al-Shifa hospital, which Israeli officials said had become a Hamas control center. Though weapons were found at the hospital, an investigation by The Washington Post in December showed that the evidence fell short of revealing a command center, and that key claims the Israelis had made to justify the siege turned out to be incorrect.

Israeli forces attacked the hospital again in late March, killing hundreds and leaving the facility mostly destroyed. Several mass graves were discovered near the hospital site in the weeks that followed.

Back to CNN:

At a news conference Monday, Abu Salmiya alleged Palestinian detainees suffered “severe torture” and had medical treatment denied.

“My little finger was broken. I was repeatedly subjected to hitting on the head, causing bleeding multiple times. There was almost daily torture in the Israeli prisons,” he told reporters.

“The doctor there beats the detainees, and the nurse beats the detainees. This is in violation of all international laws.”

Again with the 'sweetening' of the truth? Jason Burke (GUARDAIN) notes, "Mistreatment included assaults with batons and dogs, deprivation of food and medicine, as well as physical and psychological humiliation, Abu Salmiya said." When news that Americans had used dogs on Iraqis at Abu Ghraib became public, the world was rightly horrified. In fact, Google "CNN Abu Ghraib dogs" and look at all the results you find. CNN was concerned them but right now can't be bothered with mentioning dogs.

Here's one 2006 story where they weren't so shy, Paul Courson is the reporter:

A soldier found guilty of using a military dog to terrorize inmates at Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison was sentenced Wednesday to 179 days confinement and will be discharged for bad conduct.

Army Sgt. Michael J. Smith also will be demoted to private, and his monthly pay will be reduced by $750 for three months, making his paycheck about $1,523 a month.

Smith, 25, was convicted Tuesday of five counts in what began as a 13-count court-martial. He was charged with using his canine, Marco, to terrify prisoners -- allegedly for amusement and in competition with other soldiers.

He also was convicted of allowing the dog to participate in the lewd acts of licking peanut butter off of a woman's chest and a man's genitalia.

After deliberating six hours Wednesday, the jury consisting of four officers and three enlisted soldiers returned with the verdict. Smith faced a maximum penalty of more than 8 years in prison.

Back to Burke's GUARDIAN article:

In May the Guardian reported allegations of widespread abuse at the Sde Teiman detention facility in the Negev desert in Israel’s south, based on whistleblowers’ accounts.

Other media have also documented multiple descriptions of abuse at the camp, where thousands of detainees from Gaza have been held since the beginning of the war.

Mohammed Jahjouh and Samy Magdy (INDEPENDENT) also note what CNN couldn't:

“Our detainees have been subjected to all kinds of torture behind bars,” he said. “There was almost daily torture. Cells are broken into and prisoners are beaten.” He said guards broke his finger and caused his head to bleed during beatings, in which they used batons and dogs.

He said the medical staff at different facilities where he was held had also taken part in the abuse “in violation of all laws.” He said some detainees had limbs amputated because of poor medical care.

Yesterday, Human Rights Watch noted:

All victims of gross human rights violations in Palestine and Israel are owed reparation, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch on June 26 submitted recommendations to the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. The rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, had invited input to inform her October 2024 report to the United Nations General Assembly on the ongoing hostilities.

Under international law, governments responsible for abuses are obliged to provide effective remedies for human rights violations, including through truth, justice, compensation, memorialization, and guarantees of non-recurrence. Non-state armed groups also have responsibilities to provide reparation. Reparation processes should center on the rights of victims and be carried out after meaningful and effective consultations with them. Other countries that have, or whose businesses have, supported one side or the other should contribute to reparations and all other countries should press the parties to the conflict to commit to provide reparations.

“The parties to the conflict need to repair the harm they have caused to victims in the ongoing hostilities,” said Clive Baldwin, senior legal adviser at Human Rights Watch. “Governments supporting Israel and Palestinian armed groups should not only use their leverage to stop further abuses, but also to ensure that victims and survivors receive meaningful reparations.”

Gaza remains under assault. Day 270 of the assault in the wave that began in October. Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." THE NATIONAL notes, "At least 37,925 people have been killed and 87,141 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, the Health Ministry in the Palestinian enclave has said. At least 25 were killed and 81 wounded in the 24-hour reporting period, the ministry added." Months ago, AP noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:

April 11th, Sharon Zhang (TRUTHOUT) reported, "In addition to the over 34,000 Palestinians who have been counted as killed in Israel’s genocidal assault so far, there are 13,000 Palestinians in Gaza who are missing, a humanitarian aid group has estimated, either buried in rubble or mass graves or disappeared into Israeli prisons. In a report released Thursday, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said that the estimate is based on initial reports and that the actual number of people missing is likely even higher."

As for the area itself? Isabele Debre (AP) reveals, "Israel’s military offensive has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells." Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a new study of satellite imagery by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of 45 per cent of housing destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War."

This morning, THE NATIONAL notes:

At least 8,572 Palestinian pupils have been killed in Gaza and 100 in the occupied West Bank since Israel began its war on Gaza, the Wafa news agency reported citing the Palestinian Education Ministry.

The ministry added that at least 497 teachers and administrators were killed and 3,402 wounded in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Read our long read feature on how Israel’s destruction of schools and universities will set Gaza back decades.

New content at THIRD:

The following sites updated:

Monday, July 01, 2024

It's Biden or Trump -- figure out whether you're supporting democracy or not

Another gut punch from the corrupt Supreme Court. Katie Couric reports on it below.

I want the Justice Dept to open an investigation into the illegal nature of the bribes various Supreme Court justices -- such as Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito -- have taken. The corrupt Supreme Court has yet again defiled the Constitution and continued their efforts to destroy democracy. Brett Wilkins (COMMON DREAMS) reports:

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday said she will file unspecified articles of impeachment U.S. Supreme Court's right-wing supermajority ruled that former President Donald Trump is entitled to "absolute immunity" for "official acts" performed while he was in office, a decision that prompted dissenting Justice Sonia Sotomayor to declare her "fear for our democracy."

Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on social media that "the Supreme Court has become consumed by a corruption crisis beyond its control."

"Today's ruling represents an assault on American democracy. It is up to Congress to defend our nation from this authoritarian capture," she added. "I intend on filing articles of impeachment upon our return."

The House of Representatives reconvenes next Monday.

The justices ruled 6-3 along ideological lines Monday in Trump v. United States that "the nature of presidential power entitles a former president to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority" and that "he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts."

Dissenting, Sotomayor asserted: "Never in the history of our republic has a president had reason to believe that he would be immune from criminal prosecution if he used the trappings of his office to violate the criminal law. Moving forward, however, all former presidents will be cloaked in such immunity."

Far-right Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dismissed calls to recuse themselves from the case over alleged conflicts of interest. In addition to them and Chief Justice John Roberts, the court's three Trump appointees sided with the ex-president in the case.

I want them punished for refusing to do their jobs. For tossing out precedent and laws to fashion decisions -- anti-democratic decisions -- that are harming our country and our democracy. I want them convicted and I want to see them face decades in prison. They're corrupt and they're crooked.

I found out about the ruling when Wally, Cedric, Ann, Betty, Isaiah and C.I. did their joint-post:

The World Today Just Nuts

Killing democracy fills them with lust

Cedric's Big Mix

The Crooked Court gets worse

The Common Ills

Forget common law, forget civil law, we now just have crooked law

Ann's Mega Dub

The depraved and disgusting Supreme Court

The Daily Jot

THIS JUST IN! THE FALL OF THE SUPREME COURT!

Thomas Friedman is a Great Man

A sneak-peak at the debauchery of the Supreme Court

I am enraged by this decision. I hope everyone who cares about democracy will show up in November and vote for Joe Biden.

I've had it with the media attacks on him. Shut the f**k up. We're not in a perfect world. We're in a world where either Joe Biden or Donald Trump will be the president. I do not want my daughter to come of age in a country with a crook like Donald in the White House bent on destroying every right we have.

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

Monday, July 1, 2024. US House Rep Mike Waltz comes gunning for the head of Iraq's supreme court, the slaughter in Gaza continues, after many months of holding a doctor hostage the Israeli government finally releases him, and much more.

Starting with Iraq.

What's led to this? As we noted Saturday, a dim witted American. Not content to focus on destroying the United States, MAGA Republicans wants to take their crazy international. Case in point, Robert Gates' former butt-boi Mike Waltz. The member of Congress is never shy about sporting his huge incompetence and now he's angering Iraq.

Saturday, the Iraqi government released its response:

The Foreign Ministry followed the statements and directions of the United States Congressman Mike Waltz, regarding the President of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council judge Faiq Zidan, the Ministry affirms its categorical rejection for these statements that undermine the person of the president of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, judge Faiq Zidan, and the basic rights of the Iraqi state, in which the judiciary represents the primary guarantor of rights and freedoms.

The Ministry considers these statements a blatant interference in Iraqi internal affairs, and affirms that the attempt to influence the Judicial authority is a violation of the most important elements of the state entity, which is responsible for achieving justice, equality and stability in the country.

The Foreign Ministry regrets the attempts to involve Congress in such issues, as it constitute an interference in the sovereignty of states and their judicial systems.

Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Iraq

June 29, 2024

If anything can unite Baghdad and Erbil, it's a messy American foaming at the mouth and refusing to learn his lane. If some member of the Iraqi Parliament elected to call out Samuel Alito, how do you think Waltz would respond?

RUDAW notes:

Kurdistan Region leaders on Sunday stated their support for Faiq Zidan, president of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, who an American lawmaker wants to label a "tool of Iranian influence.”

“We affirm our support for and solidarity with Judge Faiq Zidan, president of the Supreme Judicial Council. We highly appreciate his significant efforts and dedicated service to the judiciary and the nation,” Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said on X.

“We reject any targeting, defamation, or statements that harm his reputation or undermine his standing,” he added.

SHAFAQ writes, "US Representative Mike Waltz, a member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, is set to introduce an amendment to the foreign appropriations bill on Thursday that would designate Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council and its President, Zaidan, as 'assets controlled by Iran'." Waltz isn't doing that on Thursday. This Thursday is the Fourth of July, an American holiday and Congress will not be in session.

You'd think Waltz could bond with some Iraqi officials over their mutual homophobia. IPS speaks with Human Rights Watch's Sarah Sanbar who explains:

On 27 April 2024, the Iraqi parliament passed an amendment to the country’s 1988 anti-prostitution law, effectively criminalising same-sex relations and transgender identities. The amendment states that same-sex relations are punishable with between 10 and 15 years in prison, and provides for one to three years’ imprisonment for those who undergo or perform gender-affirming medical procedures.

The law also punishes those who ‘imitate women’ with a seven-year prison sentence and a fine of between 10 and 15 million Iraqi dinars (approx. US$7,700 to US$11,500) and criminalises the ‘promotion of homosexuality’, a vague and undefined expression.

The passing of this law follows years of steadily increasing hostile rhetoric against LGBTQI+ people. Prominent politicians and media personalities have consistently spread harmful stereotypes, tropes and disinformation. They often claim homosexuality is a western import that goes against traditional Iraqi values.

This rhetoric has increasingly translated into government action. For example, on 8 August 2023, the Communications and Media Commission issued a directive ordering all media outlets to replace the term ‘homosexuality’ with ‘sexual deviance’ in all published and broadcast language. The directive also banned the use of the word ‘gender’, which shows how the crackdown on LGBTQI+ rights is intertwined with broader issues, and is also used to target and silence women’s rights organisations working on gender-based violence.

Sadly, as in many other countries, LGBTQI+ people in Iraq are being used as political pawns and scapegoats to distract from the government’s failure to provide for its people. Tensions are growing between the more conservative and religious groups in society and government and those that take a more secular approach to governance. The fact that conservatives have gained increasing support in successive elections allows laws like this to be passed. Such a law probably wouldn’t have been passed even a few years ago.

Last week, RUDAW noted, "As many in the world celebrate pride month, Iraq’s President Abdul Latif Rashid ratified controversial amendments to the country’s anti-prostitution law criminalizing any practice of homosexuality and transsexuality." That is now the law in Iraq. It is not the law in the Kurdistan. That is a semi-autonomous region. The Kurdistan Parliament would have to adopt the law. As bad as things are for the LGBTQ+ community in the KRG, the region's dependence upon international business (and support) could likely prevent the measure from being passed their.

Pride Month concluded yesterday. On Friday, US President Joe Biden visited the Stonewall National Monument.

THE PRESIDENT: Madam Secretary. Hello, hello, hello. (Applause.) Thank you. Please.

Hello, everyone. Happy Pride! (Applause.)

Thank you, Ann Marie and Diana. Thank you, thank you. They’re off the stage already. I don’t blame them. (Laughter.) It’s your love for each other and your vision for this community and for our country that brought this center to life. And I mean that sincerely.

And I want to thank Cynthia for the beautiful performance.

And, by the way, thank you all for being here today and for being here, including — the governor here? She — I was told she might be able to be here.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yep. Right over there.

THE PRESIDENT: Where is she?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: There she is.

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, there you are. (Applause.)

(President Biden greets Governor Hochul.)

THE PRESIDENT: (Inaudible.)

GOVERNOR HOCHUL: (Inaudible.)

Thank you. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Is Senator Gillibrand here?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yes.

THE PRESIDENT: All right, well —

AUDIENCE MEMBER: O.M.G., that’s a big deal. (Laughter and applause.)

(President Biden greets Senator Gillibrand.)

THE PRESIDENT: (Inaudible.)

SENATOR GILLIBRAND: (Inaudible.) God bless you.

He’s the best! He’s a fighter! (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: And I can see her sitting in front of me, one of the proudest appointments to this Cabinet I’ve ever made: Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. (Applause.) Deb, (inaudible). And members of the National Park Service.

Look, Jill just talked about the power of stories. Fifty-five years ago today, on this hallowed ground, a pivotal story for our nation unfolded. The soul of the nation was literally tested. That’s not hyperbole. The soul of the nation was tested, and the heart of this movement was ignited. And the course of history has changed forever.

Not just here, but I traveled around the world; they look to us. They look to us, and it’s part of our foreign policy as well now.

This beloved bar became the site of a call to cry for freedom, dignity, and equality and respect — a rebellion that galvani- — galvanized the LBGTQ+ community all across the nation and, quite frankly, around the world. You — I — I mean, you’d be amazed the number of places I am, whether its India or other places, where people talk about the gay movement here in the United States of America. I mean it.

You marked a turning point in civil rights in America. You inspired the hearts of millions of people around the world. To this day, Stonewall remains a symbol of the legacy and leadership of the LGBTQ+ community, especially trans women of color — (applause) — who, for generations, have been at the forefront of helping realize the promise of America for all Americans.

Look, in 2016, President Obama — I was his vice president at the time — designated Christopher Park as a national monument. Today, I am proud to unveil a new visitor center for Stonewall National Monument, the first-ever LGBTQ+ visitor center in the national parks of America. (Applause.) And it matters. It matters.

We remain in a battle for the soul of America. I know I’ve said that for a while now. People looked at me when I first said it like I was kidding. I’m not. We’re in the battle for the soul of America.

But I look around at the pride, hope, and light that all of you — all of you bring, and I know it’s a battle we’re going to win and continue to make progress.

LGBTQ+ people are some of the most inspiring people I know. And, of course, the courage — you know, I — I talk to a lot of younger LGBT- — LGBTQ people, in their teens and 20s, and I remind them: For a lot of people who started this operation, you took your life in your own hands — not figuratively, literally. You took your jobs in your own hands. You were put up in a position where you were — so much to lose, and you still did it. You still did it.

I remember my dad was dropping me off to get a license to be a lifeguard in Wilmington, Delaware, at a swimming pools. And I got out of the car in Rodney Square, they called. And there’s a — that’s where the DuPont Building is and the Hercules Corporation — all in that one quarter.

And two well-dressed men were kissing each other. And I hadn’t seen that before. I looked at my dad. I was 16 years old. I looked at my dad, and he said, “It’s simple, Joey. They love each other. It’s simple.” (Applause.)

He was a good man.

And your courage and contributions enrich every part of American life. You set an example — I’m not exaggerating — for the entire world. That’s what this center, this monument, this month is all about.

So, today, let’s proudly remember who we are. We’re the United States of America. And there’s nothing beyond our capacity when we work together, and everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, no matter what their background, period, period, period. (Applause.)

As you can tell, I want to say a hell of a lot more, but I’m not going to — (laughter) — because I want to hear a guy you — you know, there’s a guy that you’ve probably heard about. He’s a dear friend. A guy’s, like so many Americans, whose family loves this iconic music — my family loves it. And, of course, his incredible music career. He also empowered countless people to be themselves, to be treated with dignity and respect they deserve, including those in the fight against HIV/A- — H- — HIV/AIDS, a fight he led with sheer willpower.

Two years ago, Jill and I had the honor to host him in the White House and bestow on him the National Humanitarian Med- — Humanities Medal, one of America’s highest awards.

So, today, we’re honored to be with him again here at Stonewall.

Please welcome Elton John. (Applause.)

In other Iraq news, ALJAZEERA noted, "The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claims it attacked the Israeli port city of Eilat with drones, Al Jazeera Arabic reports." This follows last week's claim that they joined with Houthis in Yemen in an attack on Israel's Haifa port. PRESS TV observes, "During past months, the Iraqi resistance has launched multiple attacks on Israel’s vital targets both in Eilat and the port city of Haifa, including the latter’s airport and oil refinery."

Gaza? Sunday, The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor noted:

The Israeli army continues to use its tanks to deliberately run over live Palestinian civilians and crush their bodies, in addition to using civilians as human shields, in the ground operations of its crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip that has been ongoing since 7 October 2023.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor field team documented a compound and comprehensive crime against a civilian family comprising an elderly woman and her four children, including three young women and a one-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter. The family was attacked with gunfire and bombs after Israeli forces stormed their house on Thursday evening, 27 June. They were later taken outside and detained for over three hours despite their injuries in their home, near Israeli tanks in a dangerous combat zone, where they were used as human shields. The 65-year-old mother, identified as Safiya Hassan Musa Al-Jamal, was run over by an Israeli tank and killed in front of her son.

In his testimony to the Euro-Med Monitor team, the elderly woman’s son, Muhannad Al-Jamal, 28, said: “We were living in Al-Nazaz Street in Al-Shuja’iya, east of Gaza, when at approximately 10 a.m. on Thursday we were surprised to hear the sound of shelling and explosions. We made an unsuccessful attempt to leave. All around us was chaos. We went inside, up to the first floor, and sat in a room in the center of the house. As we were sitting there, we noticed that Israeli tanks were moving closer to the area. Then the bombing started to get more intense, and I saw that many of the tanks had turned and were now positioned on the adjacent land of our neighbours, bulldozing and destroying it before raising the Israeli flag on the property. I was with my mother, my three sisters, and niece in the room. We were very careful not to make any noise. At the end of the afternoon or before sunset, the tanks began firing shells toward my brother's ground floor flat in our home. I got my family together and we sat in one of the rooms, reciting the Shahada (a statement of belief that Muslims recite before death) and waiting to see what would happen to us.

"After sunset, we heard gunfire in the street, and then I realised that the soldiers had stormed the house after blowing up a wall. When they found us in the room, they started firing at the walls randomly and threw five bombs amid gunfire. They were shouting in Hebrew, and we did not understand what they were saying. I was hit by shrapnel in my back, along with my sisters. My mother was struck by a large piece of shrapnel in her chest while my sisters were screaming, "We are civilians." The soldiers then moved forward one by one, yelling, "Shut up," before dragging me away. They forced me to take off my clothes and put me against the wall. After my mother and sisters entered with a female soldier, the soldiers pointed their weapons at me for half an hour.

“They asked me to carry my mother on my back. After that, a different soldier ordered me to place her on a stretcher, so I did. I then carried her with another soldier out through the opening that the army attack had made. We then went to a nearby area and were placed in a tank, where I placed the stretcher in front of me before exiting. After that, they brought me back to the house. They later took me down and handcuffed me. My sisters were at the tank's door when a soldier arrived at roughly 9:45 p.m. and asked them to wait before he removed the handcuffs and put shackles on my hands and a blindfold on my eyes. He stopped me on a sand hill, and he was shining a laser at me. I felt that they were going to execute me. Then he turned on the tank and ordered me to get into it. It was a different tank from the one my mother was in. Later, the tank shifted and swung around. After that, they dropped me in what appeared to be a set of stairs, and I had no idea where I was. I was asked to follow their directions as I moved. This went on for about 15 minutes while rude remarks were made. Then I was grabbed by the neck by one of the soldiers. After I moved fifty meters, they put me in yet another tank. I moved in, then they took me down and put me in a tank that contained the stretcher that we used to transport my mother. Later on, the tank moved.

“I had assumed that we would be taken to a medical facility so that my mother could be treated, but instead they tackled me and my mother, putting her on the ground. After a few minutes, I realised we had arrived at the Mushtaha Roundabout, at the end of Al-Nazzaz Street. I inquired as to my location. "Your mother will be taken by ambulance," he said. My mom was on the ground, unconscious. There were two tanks on the right and left surrounding the roundabout. After the soldiers entered the tank, it started to move backward and ran over my mother.

"When I saw the scene, I thought I had gone insane and began to cry and scream.... I fled, fearing for my life, as the tank on the right tried to run me over. However, the two tanks moved in another direction, and the tank on the left was trying to run my mother over once more, but that did not happen. Afterwards, the tanks pivoted and pointed their weapons towards me. Out of fear, I hid by taking cover. All I could hear as I started to scream was the sound of gunfire. Dogs were getting closer to my mother's body and I shoved them away as they were going to eat her body. This was on Friday just after midnight, around 1 a.m. The soldier in the tank knew where he had placed her and was able to avoid her, but he deliberately ran over her. I could not bear the situation amid the heavy gunfire, and I could not carry my mother after the tank ran over her. I was shocked by what had happened, but I could hardly cover my mother and ran from the place, thinking if there had been an ‘ambulance,’ as he said, he would not run over her. I went looking for my sisters, as I did not know their fate. I kept crying as I walked through the intense gunfire until I came across someone on a balcony who offered me a bottle of water and directed me along a safe route that would get me to my friends' location in a stairwell. I made every effort to get in touch with my sisters, and eventually I found out that they were receiving medical care at Baptist Hospital. They inquired about my mother, so I told them."

His sister, Areeji, 30, added to the Euro-Med Monitor team: “When the soldiers stormed our house and started shooting and throwing bombs, we told them that my mother was injured and dying. We noticed that she had a large wound, and a female soldier arrived to provide first aid. We observed her attempting to treat her repeatedly, and I witnessed my mother on the verge of death. After they had taken my brother, they held us for a while before telling us to head to Salah al-Din Street. When we asked about my mother, they said they would take her to the hospital. Then, they gave us a green light (torch) and we started to move. We were injured and bleeding, and we had a one-and-a-half-year-old baby girl with us. When we got to the area before the Shuja'iya intersection at 11:30 p.m., there were tanks there, a lot of gunfire, and I waved the green light (torch) until we passed. No one was following us until we got to the Baptist Hospital."

Euro-Med Monitor has previously documented many instances of the Israeli army killing Palestinian civilians by intentionally running over live civilians with military tanks.

This morning, ALJAZEERA reports, "Palestinian detainees are tortured 'day and night' in Israel’s prisons, the director of al-Shifa Hospital Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya tells Al Jazeera after his release from eight months’ detention." MIDDLE EAST EYE notes:

The Palestinian director of Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital was released on Monday morning after months in Israeli detention.

Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya was detained in November while in a UN-led humanitarian convoy evacuating patients who had been forced out of al-Shifa hospital during an Israeli military raid.

He was released back to Deir al-Balah in central Gaza with around 50 other detainees, including at least one other doctor.

Upon his release, he said Palestinian prisoners are suffering unprecedentedly harsh conditions in Israeli jails, not seen since the 1948 Nakba, and urgent action must be taken to free them.

Prisoners are subjected to all forms of torture while being deprived of their most basic rights, he said at a press conformance.

ANADOLU AGENCY adds:

Abu Salmiya was arrested on Nov. 23 along with several medical staff while traveling through Salah al-Din Street from Gaza City to southern areas of the Strip after the Israeli military attacked Al-Shifa Hospital.

Speaking to Anadolu, he described the prisoners' conditions as "tragic, unprecedented in Palestinian history, with severe food shortages and physical humiliation."

He emphasized the urgent need for decisive action to release all prisoners from Israeli jails, noting that the hardships faced by the detainees are unparalleled since the Nakba.

"The Israeli occupation arrests everyone, and medical staff have died in Israeli prisons due to torture and a lack of medical care," he stressed.

"The enemy has demonstrated its cruelty in dealing with prisoners and medical personnel. Hundreds of medical staff have been targeted and are being tortured in occupation prisons," he added.

Gaza remains under assault. Day 269 of the assault in the wave that began in October. Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." THE NATIONAL notes, "At least 37,900 Palestinians have been killed and 87,060 injured in Israel's war on Gaza since October 7, the enclave's Health Ministry said on Monday. In the past 24 hours, 23 people were killed and 91 others injured, the ministry added in a statement." Months ago, AP noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted: