The hammer that the Freedom Caucus has is the threat to vacate the Speaker. If they try and fail, they will have loss that hammer. It is for that reason that I don't believe they will try to remove the Speaker.

Bill Maher Defends Trump Voters

Maher seems to be moving toward a style of "shock jock" infotainment to stay relevant. He's a has been and needs to move on.

Russia Is Buying European Politicians. Is It Happening Here?

It would certainly help explain why so many republicans are pro Putin.

The defense is calling that too prejudicial
From the perspective of the defense, ANY evidence from the prosecution that could prove the guilt of the defendant is too prejudicial.

A public defender?

I have often felt that the jurisdiction (muni, state, fed) bringing the charges should be responsible for paying the defendant's legal fees IF the defendant is found innocent. This would not eliminate the need for public defenders but would have a number of advantages 1) innocent defendants would have a better chance of obtaining better legal counsel that could prove their innocence; 2) prosecutors would be more incentivized to bring air tight cases; sloppy police work would not be tolerated; 3) innocent people would not be bankrupted by expensive legal fees; 4) weaponization of justice would be less likely.

How much was it really about protecting all human life?

Except for religious zealots, NONE OF IT WAS REAL! Just like most (all?) of these culture wars, it is an attempt to roll back to clock to a time where control was vested only within white males, black people couldn't vote and women were unable to vote and kept pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen.

That, in it's essence, is MAGA.

A direct attack on Israel by Iran would be a mistake. However, an attack on an Israeli diplomatic presence outside of Israel would be a more likely response to Israel's attack on Iran's embassy in Syria. There is a good chance that retaliation by Iran on a Israeli diplomatic presence outside of Israel will not draw America into the conflict in a more direct and sustained way.

IMO, the Israeli attack was a deliberate attempt by Netanyahu to extend his leadership. It also has the potential of drawing America into the conflict. Such intervention by the US would certainly have political consequences; especially in an election year. Biden would be very wise to tread lightly here. He could potentially lose a non trivial portion of his base if he makes the wrong move.

Let's hope that any retaliation by Iran or its proxies is outside of Israel.

Why is it that certain media outlets seem to feel the need to flagellate themselves because they are intolerant of lies spewed by the right? Would Uri Berliner feel better if he had more members of the NPR staff spouting the MAGA lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump; that climate change isn't real; that Jan 6 was just a peaceful, non violent demonstration, etc.

Sure, there should be a balance on all media platforms. However, you don't balance truth with lies or alternate facts. You achieve balance with different perspectives of a shared truth.

For to many election cycles, democrats were not sufficiently focused on state elections. The overturning of Roe vs Wade has refocused their attention.

#5
Sounds like vulture capitalism to me.

Opening the border crossings is a good first step. The next thing Israel has to do is not bomb the trucks and kill the aid workers.

I think we are focusing on the wrong issue when speaking of home affordability. Yes, prices are high but another question to be asked is why is it that younger people can't AFFORD to buy these homes? Could it have ANYTHING to do with the increasing wealth gap? If young people could earn more they could afford to pay for these homes.

Don't blame boomer home owners for making what they consider to be sound financial decisions. A home is the one asset that has the potential of allowing many of them to not become a financial burden on their families.

Why would someone be offended at being a DEI hire? Unless they feel they Didn't Earn It to begin with and are simply there for quota reasons.

Clarence Thomas probably has an opinion on this.

You don't implement solutions for problems that rarely occur.

Of course you do when the consequences of failure are catastrophic! I suspect the cost of tugs routinely escorting cargo ships in and out of the harbor are minimal compared to the cost of rebuilding the bridge, impact on the economy, compensating families for the loss of their loved ones, dock workers and surrounding businesses out of work, etc.

It's that same kind of thinking that prevented airlines from spending an extra $150.00 to install hijack proof doors that might have prevented 911. After all, whoever thought that hijackers would enter the cockpit and try to take over the plane so that they could fly it into some buildings?

Good! Make an example of each and every one of them.

In tolerating and using Hitler as a means to an end, they helped create the monstrous dictator responsible for millions of deaths.

It's as if complicit elected republicans are incapable of learning the lesson from the many people surrounding Trump have learned: In a second term, Trump will not be steered away from doing what he wants to do. That's partly what his claim of immunity is about; not just what he has done but what he WILL do if given a second term.

It is good that the SCOTUS will weigh in on the immunity issue. Hopefully, they will not go for a "narrow" decision specific only to the case at hand as they usually do but will go for a very broad one that will cover all situations.

I have no problem with the government paying to have it fixed. However, the shipping company should be on the hook to reimburse the government it's initial outlay. Getting the shipping company to pay will, in all likelihood, take years. That is why Biden has to act immediately.

Knowing that you are going to work for a bunch of fraudsters and liars, prospects should adopt the culture of their potential employer: become a fraudster and a liar.

Biden has sent a very strong message to Netanyahu. Unfortunately, it won't be heard. Netanyahu thinks that he has such powerful allies in congress, lobbyists and campaign financiers that Biden will be made to limit his actions to "just words".

"From the River to the Sea" is a slogan for Palestinians. For the Israelis it is becoming a reality.

The arrogance of House republicans to think that their small majority would allow them to dominate the behavior of the federal government. It's the proverbial tail wagging the dog scenario. House republicans are delusional. Their delusion is understanding because they come from ruby red, gerrymandered districts that they have no fear of not winning re-election. When there is no fear of losing your seat, you can be as outrageous and delusional as you want to be.

The impact of a House member potentially losing their seat is immediately apparent by the lack of visibility of Lauren Bobert. Is she intentionally trying to keep a low profile thinking that will help her in the June 25th Co. primary?

The Palestinians get the Israeli tactics the Palestinians demanded when they attacked Israel

Palestinians didn't attack Israelis: HAMAS did! Just because HAMAS happens to be Palestinians is no reason to conmen all of them as being HAMAS. That's the same kind of warped thinking that results in bigoted people wanting to cast ALL people in a community as being criminals just because some in that community are in gangs.

Of course Israel has a reason to fight HAMAS! Who disputes that? It is HOW they fight HAMAS that is the issue.

Question: Why do some Israel supporters ALWAYS avoid discussing Israeli tactics?
Answer: They know that Israeli tactics can't be justified.

CNN is persecuting her for having a differing opinion!

What's wrong with people being held to account for their speech; especially in a public arena. Another way of looking at this is that CNN could be doing her a favor for making her views more widely known. Maybe there are many other people that would rally to her cause now that they know what that cause is.

But Trump's stake will be tied up for much of the year under a so-called lock-up agreement, a normal arrangement for such deals to ensure that insiders don't bail as soon as a company goes public and push down the stock price.

This is just another way for dark money (foreigners?) to buy the presidency. They can buttress the price of stock by buying and threaten it's stability by selling if Trump doesn't follow their orders.