First up, Adam Kinzinger on CNN with Jake Tapper.
Later on CNN’s The Lead, Kinzinger – one of two Republicans who served on the Jan. 6 committee – challenged the president to bring charges.
“You didn’t ask for a pardon,” Jake Tapper noted to his guest. “It was preemptive just in case Trump’s Justice Department goes after you and other members of the January 6th committee. What was your reaction when you saw Trump’s post last night, declaring your preemptive pardon void and vacant?”
Kinzinger replied:
First off, I’m trying to figure out what he’s trying to distract from because that’s what all this is – always a distraction to try to get people’s attention. Or maybe he hasn’t felt like he’s gotten enough attention. But look, Jake. It’s like, bring it on. Like, honestly. So, we had an election. I fought against Donald Trump. I wanted Kamala Harris to win. January 6th was a big thing, but America made a different choice.
Fine. I’m ready to move on. I’m like, look, we made it very clear what happened on January 6th. America made a decision. And there is one person that’s obsessed about the sixth because he still has been basically deemed guilty in the court of public opinion, and that’s Donald Trump. And he can’t handle it. He obsesses about it.
So, my reaction to him is like, you know what? Then bring it! Like, stop talking about it! Stop being all verbose. Stop pretending like you’re tough. Bring the charges then if you really want to do it because we will crush you in court.
Good for Adam. Call Chump's bluff. He's a chicken and he's always been a chicken.
Just like Rashida Tlaib has always been an idiot. This:
Israel hit Gaza with a series of "extensive strikes" overnight Tuesday, vowing to open the "gates of hell" because Hamas has not released the remaining hostages.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Israel Defense Forces is targeting Hamas terrorists throughout the region and will act with "increasing military force" against Hamas from now on.
Idiot of the week? Didn't do a weekend post. Let me catch up by doing Idiot of Blue Sky.
This bimbo:
Lioness
@insanemistress.bsky.social
She's trashing Kamala and she's rescuing Rashida. She wants you to know Rashida's "a woman of color." No, idiot, she isn't. Arabs are considered White. I'm sorry you're such a dumb idiot. I'm sorry you've helped destroy our country. I'm sorry you're a bimbo without a brain who has to mention her "tits" in her BSKY bio.
Not everyone's an idiot on BLUESKY, thank God.
Here's C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"
Disabled veteran Don Carter rode shotgun in his son’s Chevy pickup truck for 11 hours from Illinois to the nation’s capital to take part in a political protest for the first time in his life.
Carter, a 92-year-old Korean War veteran, and his son, Larry, joined a crowd of nearly 3,000 for a two-hour national veterans’ rally Friday on the National Mall to protest cuts by President Donald Trump to veterans’ federal jobs, services and benefits.
The pair watched as fellow veterans waved American flags and speakers rallied support for the 30,000 federal workers fired by Trump’s administration. With chants of “Lock him up,” the crowd called for Trump to be removed from office for his actions.
Similar protests were held at state capitols across the nation, according to Fourteenth Now, the event organizer.
“Two billionaires, Trump and Musk, are gutting the VA and purging veteran employees — bankrupting war heroes while cashing in on their sacrifice,” said Michael Embrich, a Navy veteran and political commentator for Rolling Stone, who rallied protesters from a small stage.
Rallygoers called out the harm that’s come from mass firings at federal agencies, especially on the veteran community, many of whom are now out of a job. Chris Yeazel, an Army veteran who lives in D.C., said he’s seen this harm firsthand.
“I get my healthcare from DCVA,” Yeazel said. “I was up there about a week ago, and wait times are longer, half the offices are shut down, lights out, and you can hear veterans talking about it, they’re not blaming the workers, by the way.”
Speakers and attendees also touched on the GOP’s spending bill, which keeps the government funded, but at the expense of deep cuts to D.C.’s budget and government programs many veterans rely on.
Protesters on the National Mall — many of them veterans — called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump Friday.
Homemade signs denouncing Trump and Elon Musk and demanding the president be removed from office were everywhere — “No kings! No DOGE! No cuts to VA!” “Stop the coup,” and “I serve no kings.”
For well over an hour, they listened to speakers point out what they called Trump’s abuse of the office of the presidency.
They included Harry Dunn, a former Capitol Police officer who fought the mob Jan. 6 and ran for Congress in Maryland.
“Donald Trump has referred to Jan. 6 as a day of love,” he said. “This right here is love. I feel this; I love you all. And you all make me, you all give me whatever the hell I’ve got inside of me that makes me want to keep going and not stop.”
The veterans who joined Friday's protest ranged from ones who have been frequent protesters to first-timers, from Vietnam veterans to Global War on Terrorism veterans, and from those who have personally been hit by the cuts to those who simply felt it was their duty to speak out as veterans.
One person that made sure she attended the march was Rebecca Logan. She told WTOP that her husband drove her up from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Asked why she wanted to attend the massive protest, Logan said, "To help save my country."
The attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, motivated Logan to join the Air Force after she graduated from high school.
Logan needed the help of a walker as she made her way to the National Mall. As she crossed Independence Avenue, she said she had a message for her fellow veterans: "I know a lot of the veterans voted for Trump. You were lied to, and it's OK to stand up and say, 'Hey, this is not OK'."
They protested in Columbus, Ohio and (below) in Springfield, Illinois..
In Olympia, Washington.
A large group of veterans gathered Friday afternoon on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul in solidarity with a similar march in Washington, D.C.
[. . .]
Protesters in St. Paul could be seen holding signs titled “America: Fight for Veterans,” “We Love the VA,” “Thank You Vets,” and others.