Tag archive: Nemesis

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Capitol Hill Fireworks

It may be long past Fourth of July, but GOP lawmakers treated the public to a variety of fireworks displays on November 15th, 2023, as tempers flared in both legislative houses.  In the hallowed halls of Congress, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) allegedly elbowed fellow Republican Tim Burchett (R-TN), one of eight GOP members who voted for his ouster last month, while passing in the corridor.  On the Senate floor, a hearing threatened to dissolve into fisticuffs when Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) challenged witness Sean O’Brien, Teamsters President, to take it outside, with a mano a mano bareknuckle brawl.  Meanwhile, back in the House of Representatives, Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) verbally sparred with committee member Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), who accused Comer of eerily similar financial transactions with his brother, compared with actions between President Biden and his own brother, which Comer characterizes as corrupt.

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AAA Profile: MAGA Mike (AKA Speaker Johnson)

Only today’s GOP could take a bad situation and make it worse.  After weeks of wrangling following the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, with multiple abortive attempts to install at least four nominees, the Republican caucus unanimously chose Mike Johnson (R-LA) as their new Speaker on October 25th.  Johnson is a MAGA diehard, one of the architects of the attempt to override the 2020 election results; his elevation is a clear signal that the Party has no desire to reform its ways, and is intent more on obstructionism and culture war posing than true governance. 

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Mayhem in Maine: The Lewiston Mass Shooting

On Wednesday, 25 October 2023, the peace of a Down East autumn evening was shattered by gunfire which took the lives of at least 18, wounding 13 more.  At this early date (October 26), names of the victims have not been released, and police are engaged in a statewide manhunt for the suspect, 40-year-old Robert Card, missing after separate attacks on a bowling alley and a restaurant bar.  Card, who has been dealing with mental illness, has a military background and worked as a firearms instructor; his car was found abandoned in nearby Lisbon, but there is no trace of the suspect.  [Author’s note:  Robert Card was found dead, an apparent suicide, late on Friday the 27th.]

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Crossing Jordan: The House Speaker Debacle

If the implications of the situation weren’t so dire, and the dysfunction of the Republican House caucus so manifest for the world to behold, I’d love to have the popcorn concession for what’s playing out now on Capitol Hill.  It’s certainly must-see political theater, as Republicans continue to set records for ineptitude and incompetence, becoming the poster children for inability to govern, even themselves, let alone the country.

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McCarthy Ousted as Speaker

After a grueling nine months as Speaker of the US House of Representatives, attempting to herd the mangy strays of the GOP caucus, on September 3, 2023, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) lost the job he had coveted all his adult life, as a motion to vacate passed by 216-210, booting him from the Speakership.  Eight MAGA Republican radicals joined Democrats to remove McCarthy from his lofty perch, the first time ever that a sitting Speaker has been fired.

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Aaron Rodgers: Down & Out

On Monday, 11 September 2023, the New York Jets pro football franchise saw half of their $75 million investment evaporate when starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked just minutes into his first game with them, resulting in a torn Achilles tendon and the loss of the entire season.  It was just August 1st when the two-year contract was signed, and the injury, coming at age 39 for Rodgers, could well signal the end of his career.

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