Two creeps in a pod. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) wants Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as the House Speaker.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) part of the do nothing but wreak havoc caucus is fuming over Congress passing the omnibus which funds the government until October 2023. The Republicans continue to push for more government shutdowns and insidious cuts to social programs.
Gaetz who represents the western panhandle of Florida which includes Pensacola is an alleged sexual predator and is under federal watch for possible human trafficking and illegal sexual contact with an underage girl.
Gaetz, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) vehemently opposes Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and his bid to be Speaker of the House.
They insist there are more in their cohort, silently waiting to make a display of their vote on Jan. 3. Other House Republicans have openly suggested their votes are up in the air while waiting to see if McCarthy meets their demands for procedural rule changes.
Members from the House Freedom Caucus in particular have been pushing McCarthy to agree to a set of rules that would shift power away from leadership and place it in the hands of rank-and-file members. The demands range from procedural maneuvers, like allowing for more amendments, to outright giving members a mechanism to force a vote to remove a sitting speaker. Other far-right members have floated ideas like impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as a sort of litmus test to see how far McCarthy is willing to go.
It has sparked a feud with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). Greene called Boebert and Gaetz traitors to Washed Up 45. She said that they're not backing the former president and are willing to back "establishment" Ron DeSantis over a guy who helped them win.
Greene is a white nationalist who peddle in conspiracy theories.
Republicans feud with one another. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) struggles to get full support.
She is right now in Costa Rica. She did a proxy vote to oppose the omnibus and did not appear at the Joint Session of Congress when Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to the nation.
Greene who was stripped of her committees in 2021 will back McCarthy now that he will give her committee assignments while threatening to strip Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) of theirs.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), an avowed white nationalist also lost his committee assignments.
Gosar has not mentioned his support of McCarthy. However he will get his assignments back.
McCarthy has guaranteed some semblance of change in the new House. He’s promised members will have more of a say in policymaking and to ax pandemic-era practices like proxy voting, which has run rampant over the past year. But he’s largely stopped short of ensuring these Republicans the sort of sweeping change they’re asking for.
Those members are growing antsy.
I want the Republicans to fail. Keeping them fighting with one another will assure they will get nothing done and their reign in power will be short.
Meek Mill helped 20 women by bailing them out for Christmas.
Dreamchasers Records CEO bails out 20 women for Christmas.
Meek Mill is a rapper, producer and activist. He was once part of Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group from 2007 until 2021. He left the label and is pursuing his own growth through independence.
He became an advocate for prison reform and sentencing reform in the wake of his own time in the iron college.
Mill has paid bail for 20 women so that they can spend the holidays at home, according to the REFORM Alliance, an organization he launched in 2019 alongside Jay-Z.
The women were incarcerated at Riverside Correctional Facility in Philadelphia and were unable to afford bail, according to an Instagram post from the REFORM Alliance.
Five of the women were released on Saturday, and 15 more will be released in the coming week, says the nonprofit. Each woman will also receive a gift card “to purchase groceries or gifts for the holidays.”
Meek Mill said the donation was informed by his own personal experience with the criminal justice system.
“It was devastating for me to be away from my son during the holidays when I was incarcerated, so I understand what these women and their families are going through,” said the rapper in another Instagram post from the REFORM Alliance.
“For families impacted by the criminal justice system, the holidays can be an extremely challenging time,” Meek Mill went on. “No one should have to spend the holidays in jail simply because they can’t afford bail, and no child should be without their parents during this time if we can do something about it.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to help these women be with their families and loved ones during this special time of year.”
Meek Mill launched the REFORM Alliance in 2019 alongside a cadre of other sports and business leaders. The organization “aims to transform probation and parole by changing laws, systems and culture to create real pathways to work and wellbeing” according to its website.
The Philadelphia native has been a vocal advocate for criminal justice reforms. An explosive social media movement called #FreeMeekMill started after he was sentenced to two to four years in prison in 2017 for a parole violation. He was freed after spending five months in prison for the violation.
There were a total of 4,546 people incarcerated in Philadelphia prisons as of November 2022, according to data from the Philadelphia government. Around 6.4% of that group are women.
Migrants sent near Naval Observatory. Vice President Kamala Harris was not there.
The Department of Justice should immediately crack down on the kidnapping and illegal shipping of migrants to cities in the North. Using humans as pawns in a culture war.
What is going down to the U.S. border for a photo-op gonna do? It won't stop border crossings. It is not going to stop legal or illegal crossings.
Hell, if you ask me, send them to cities with population decline.
I am sure Dayton, Toledo, Gary, Flint, Detroit, Harrisburg and Cleveland would love to see a population boom.
White nationalism is dangerous. Damn shame Beto O'Rourke lost. Even with all the money, the passion and backing of many, Texans voted overwhelmingly for a disabled jackass.
He should be worrying about the Texas energy grid and the 35 million people who could lose their power if it comes crashing down.
Texas governor Greg Abbott shipped migrants to Washington, DC near Vice President Kamala Harris' residence at the Naval Observatory on Christmas Eve.
It was reported that 50 migrants were bussed to Washington and let off with no coats, no food and no family members who could contact them.
The Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network was there to take all three busloads of people to a church, to help provide them with necessary resources and welcome them to the country.
"This is a welcome effort that we've been doing since the first bus arrived," said Amy Fischer, a core organizer with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network. "D.C. just continues to show up as a welcoming city that is always ready and willing to open their arms to welcome people, whether it's Christmas Eve, whether it's 9 degrees outside or 90 degrees outside."
The racism and xenophobia from Republicans is ridiculous.
Fischer said this latest drop-off was a political stunt by Abbott, using people as pawns.
“It really does show the cruelty behind Gov. Abbott and his insistence on continuing to bus people here without care about people arriving late at night on Christmas Eve when the weather is so cold. People are getting off the buses, they don’t have coats, they don’t have clothes for this kind of weather, and they’re freezing," Fischer said.
With Title 42, Washed Up 45 declared an emergency halt of border crossings citing the spread of the coronavirus. Yet, in the same breathe, the Republicans want all mandates removed and halted.
President Joe Biden had promised to end the controversial decision as he unofficially declared an end to the pandemic. The Republicans sued and got an emergency hearing at the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice John Roberts granted a temporary stay of Title 42 and will likely expire at the end of the year.
Abbott along with Florida's Ron DeSantis are amping up their migrant drop offs.
Outgoing Arizona governor Doug Ducey has put an end to the shipping and also will remove shipping containers around Douglas Nogales and Yuma. He could not placed them around reservations due to their sovereignty.
The following statement was released by the Department of Homeland Security earlier Saturday:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to fully enforce our immigration and public health laws at the border. Individuals and families attempting to enter without authorization are being expelled, as required by court order under the Title 42 public health authority, or placed into removal proceedings. As temperatures remain dangerously low all along the border, no one should put their lives in the hands of smugglers, or risk life and limb attempting to cross only to be returned.
Regardless of nationality, anyone attempting to enter without authorization is subject to expulsion under Title 42. Those who cannot be expelled pursuant to Title 42 may be placed in expedited removal and anyone ordered removed subject to a bar on entry for 5 years under Title 8. Venezuelans attempting to enter the United States between ports of entry also continue to be returned to Mexico, and will be barred from the Venezuela Migration Enforcement Process announced in October.
DHS continues to lead a whole of government strategy to secure the borders and build safe, orderly, and humane immigration processes. There are 23,000 agents and officers working to secure the Southwest border and the United States Government continues to work closely with our partners in Mexico to reinforce coordinated enforcement operations to target human smuggling organizations and bring them to justice. That collaboration includes migration checkpoints, additional resources and personnel, joint targeting of human smuggling organizations, and expanded information sharing related to transit nodes, hotels, stash houses, and staging locations.
As always, we are celebrating Christmas. Many of you are hopefully spending time with your families. Others are still working to keep the country moving even on this holiday.
Given 2/3 of the United States had a monster blizzard and record cold temperatures, more people are working to keep lights on and lives saved.
Gun violence never takes a break. I will say that somewhere in the country, there will be a shooting. In Toronto and Paris, there were mass shootings. Canada has less than 100 mass shootings. France has less than 25 mass shootings.
The United States had over 700 mass shooting this year.
I would say thank you to the essential workers and open service workers. You are truly the people who run the world.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are still active despite being on Christmas vacation. They are required to know the mood and the world events in their press briefings and engagements.
Those who work constantly include:
The President of the United States
U.S. Military
Police Officers
First Responders (Firefighters/EMT)
Border Agents
Hospitals
News Reporters And Meteorologists
Electric Grid Workers
Cable, Internet And Telephone Workers
Gas Station Clerks
Toll Booth Operators
Barge And Cruise Ship Operators
Casino Workers
Hotel Workers
Sit In Restaurant Workers
Bus Drivers
Tow Truck Operators
Train Operators
Truck Drivers
Security Officers
Suicide Hotline Operators
Radio DJ (Local Operators)
Prison Guards
Mental Health Counselors
Water And Sanitation Operators
Storm Clean Up And Spotters
7-Eleven/Speedway, Wawa, Casey's General Stores, Waffle House, IHops, Red Lobster, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Golden Corral, Ponderosa, Perkins, Bob Evans, Domino’s and some Save A Lot stores are open.
Check local times.
McDonald's, Burger King, Hardees/Carl's Jr. at some locations are open.
Again, we must acknowledge that many aren’t getting an opportunity to spend time with their families. Many may never see their loved ones ever again with this pandemic killing 10 every minute.
As of Christmas, 1.06 million Americans are dead from the coronavirus.
By the end of the month, we will have more Americans dead from the coronavirus and gun violence. It's unfortunate that we have the Republican Party, Washed Up 45, Fox and social media to thank for the massive loss of lives.
I mean this year was frustrating as like many in the past. I thought we would get through this together. Alas, we are still fighting culture wars.
Full disclosure: I lost a job I loved and now working two jobs to make ends meet. I am not a conservative but I have become less progressive on issues like unions and sympathy.
When I get older, I will say to my grandchildren, I survived the global pandemic. We had a president who actually knows how to govern. He is never thanked for the results and his critics are often pivoting because they know he is effective. We have a president who is taking governing seriously only to have millions of Americans still stuck on stupid.
I miss seeing my son. Holidays don't suck but it would be nice to have a Christmas without the strings attached.
My son is biracial. I found out he existed on Dec. 7, 2016. He was born in August. I still deal with the PTSD from missing out my first child’s birth. There’s nothing worse than to find out you had a “surprise child” from a blind date.
It happens to the best and the worst of us.
I will move forward because I value everything. I won't let setbacks stop me.
My time will come and successes are looking bright next year.
Disgraced former news reporter Kari Lake loses her appeal in Arizona courts.
The Republican candidate for governor was defeated by Gov-elect Katie Hobbs, the outgoing Secretary of State in a nail-biter. Lake, endorsed by Washed Up 45 was one of the most high profile endorsements to lose.
Lake, a former progressive turned MAGA extremist is a huge election denier. Instead of conceding, she stoked the flames of a possible insurrection.
Arizona courts reject Lake's claims that voters who supported her were denied.
In a decision Saturday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson, who was appointed by then-Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, found that the court did not find clear and convincing evidence of the widespread misconduct that Lake had alleged had affected the result of the 2022 general election.
The judge rejected Lake's claim that problems with ballot printers at some polling places on Election Day were the result of intentional misconduct.
The judge said Lake’s witnesses didn’t have any personal knowledge of intentional misconduct.
"The Court cannot accept speculation or conjecture in place of clear and convincing evidence," Thompson said.
In the ruling, the judge acknowledged the "anger and frustration" of voters who were inconvenienced in the election but noted that setting aside the results of an election "has never been done in the history of the United States."
Lawyers for Lake focused on problems with ballot printers at several polling places in Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of Arizona’s voters. The defective printers produced ballots that were too light to be read by the on-site tabulators at polling places. Lines backed up in some areas amid the confusion.
Lake’s attorneys also claimed the chain of custody for ballots was broken at an off-site facility, where a contractor scans mail ballots to prepare them for processing. They claim workers at the facility put their own mail ballots into the pile, rather than sending their ballots through normal channels, and also that paperwork documenting the transfer of ballots was missing. The county disputes the claim.
In a tweet following the ruling, Lake said she will file an appeal.
"My Election Case provided the world with evidence that proves our elections are run outside of the law," Lake tweeted. "This Judge did not rule in our favor. However, for the sake of restoring faith and honesty in our elections, I will appeal his ruling."
A North Carolina Chick-fil-A was fined for violating labor laws. They made workers under 18 years old operate dangerous equipment without proper training. What they got as payment was a free meal.
A Hendersonsville restaurant was fined $6,450 for paying workers with meals instead of money and violating child labor laws, the Department of Labor has announced.
An investigation by the DOL found that at a Chick-fil-A in Hendersonville, N.C., three employees under 18 were assigned hazardous tasks, such as operating, loading and unloading the trash compactor.
"Protecting our youngest workers continues to be a top priority for the Wage and Hour Division," said Richard Blaylock, the district director for the department's Raleigh, North Carolina's Wage and Hour Division. "Child labor laws ensure that when young people work, the work does not jeopardize their health, well-being or educational opportunities. In addition, employers are responsible to pay workers for all of the hours worked and the payment must be made in cash or legal tender."
Additionally, several employees at the location were given tasks like directing drive-thru traffic and were given meal vouchers in exchange, which is a violation of minimum wage standards set by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Seven employees are owed $235 in back wages, the department said.
In August, a Tampa, Florida, location was fined $12,478 after the agency found that 17 workers between ages 14 and 15 were working past 7 p.m. and more than three hours on school days.
The Republicans are still fighting over whether the controversial California lawmaker will be the next House Speaker.
The incoming Minority Leader could end up the House Speaker if the Republicans sink the bid of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
So far, the noise of the far right is trying to equate him to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), two controversial progressive lawmakers who often cause havoc within the Democratic Party.
They claim he is an election denier because he believed that Washed Up 45 was not legitimately elected. The accusations were stemmed from the lawmaker's concerns that the former president then a candidate urging Russia to use information damaging to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and later Joe Biden.
He was one of the managers in the first of two impeachments of Washed Up 45.
None of this sticks.
He is a Black Brooklyn based lawmaker who is moderate. He love hip-hop, walks into a bodega to engage with people and is a person who isn't trying to be noise.
He said that he is team Brooklyn not team genitification, to quote his dig at white leftist Jeffrey Shaun King.
Now, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is working to help Democrats regain the House of Representatives from Republicans. In two years, Republicans will vow to block President Biden's agenda and possibly the Senate Republicans agenda.
House Republicans’ plans to open various investigations into the Biden administration demonstrate that they have learned nothing from their fate in the midterms.
“The fact that my Republican colleagues are contemplating revenge hearings tells you a lot,” Jeffries said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“Instead of being focused on trying to address the problems of the American people — the economy, inflation, dealing with affordability throughout America, issues that we’ve been tackling as House Democrats as we fight for lower costs, better-paying jobs, safer communities — tells you that my Republican colleagues perhaps have not learned any lesson from their historic underperformance in the most recent midterm elections,” Jeffries added.
Republicans are set to gain a narrow majority in the House next month. The party has begun previewing its plans to open investigations into areas like Hunter Biden’s business dealings and the origins of COVID-19.
Congress passed the omnibus bill that keeps the U.S. government open until September. Republican House members balked at it and said that it's war against Biden, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.
The Jan 6. Panel in its final public meeting on Monday recommended a formal ethics inquiry into House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who is trying to become Speaker in the next Congress, and three other House Republicans who refused subpoenas.
The GOP lawmakers have insisted the committee’s work was a politically motivated witch hunt.
In the new Republican majority, the party may attempt to subpoena House Democrats like outgoing House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA), who said last month on CNN he would have to “consider the validity” of any GOP subpoena.
“In terms of the integrity of their investigations moving forward, that remains to be seen as it relates to the subpoenas and their non-compliance in terms of what the January 6th committee has indicated,” Jeffries said on MSNBC on Tuesday.
The consequences of trying to loving someone to death. Tory Lanez guilty in the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.
Tory Lanez was found guilty in the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. He was found guilty of discharging a firearm with gross negligence, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle.
Daystar Peterson, 30 and Megan Pete, 27 were dating at some point and the two got into a heated confrontation outside of Kylie Jenner's home. While inside his vehicle, the two got so argumentative, Peterson pulled his unlicensed firearm out and shot into her foot.
Pete, a rapper/singer/model/activist was shot in her right foot and it required medical surgery. Upon release, she immediately singled him out and said it was not an accident.
Megan testified that Lanez shot at her feet five times following a party in the Hollywood Hills on July 12, 2020. She told the court that the shooting was preceded by an argument between Megan and Lanez that got heated, especially when they began attacking each other's music careers.
"I feel like that really rubbed him the wrong way," she said during her testimony, according to The Associated Press. "He kept yelling and cursing."
She got out of the vehicle and tried to walk away when Lanez leaned out and opened fire, she said, leaving the back of her feet wounded. At one point, he yelled "Dance, bitch!" she testified.
She placed a restraining order on him and he violated more than once. He also wrote five songs dissing her which also were going against his restrictions. He also may have struck August Alsina, a R&B singer who refused his handshake. Mind you, Will Smith's career would have improved if he slapped Alsina instead of Chris Rock. Alsina slept with Jada Pinkett Smith and came out as bisexual.
Megan testified that Tory's actions placed her life in danger. She said she could not allow that behavior to go unchallenged.
Tory Lanez can face up to 30 years in the iron college and once out the rapper/singer/media personality will likely be deported back to Canada. He will be ineligible to see his children in the United States. He has one son and allegedly two other children born in the states.
He has a residency in Los Angeles and Atlanta as well as Vaughn, Ontario. He will likely lose his homes due to punitive damages and forfeiture.
During the trial, Megan Thee Stallion said that, despite the shooting, she agreed to get back in the vehicle with Lanez, his bodyguard and a third person because she was wearing a thong bikini and also felt like her manager would know what to do if she was able to get in touch with him, according to CBS Los Angeles.
Tory tried to extort her and many of her former friends to stay silent.
Tory with his son. His son will have to see his dad in the iron college and likely trips to Canada once the U.S. deports the rapper.
Lanez had offered her $1 million to keep quiet about the incident since he was on probation, but a lawyer for Lanez stated that wasn't true.
In an April interview with "CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King, Megan Thee Stallion described what led up to the shooting and how she reacted.
"The argument was with the two people in the back seat," she said. "So I asked the driver to pull the car over. Like, I'm done with this. And I should have stayed out of the car. Like, I should have not got back in the car. And they was like, 'Megan, just get back in the car. We're almost there.' And, like, just, 'Get back in.' So I get back in the car. It's... getting worse."
As the argument escalated, Megan Thee Stallion said she got out of the car, and that's when, she told King, that Lanez fired a gun at her several times.
"So I get out of the car and it's like everything happens so fast," Megan Thee Stallion told King. "And all I hear is this man screaming. And he said, 'Dance, bitch!' And he started shooting. And I'm just like, 'Oh, my God.' Like, he shot a couple of times. And I was so scared."
Every community in the United States will eventually have a legacy. A legacy of tragedy. Gun violence, monkeypox and COVID-19 will affect your town, your family and your life. So I don't want to hear that bullshit about how gun reform is taking away your rights to own firearms.
I don't want to hear that protesting against police killing people of color is hate on cops in general. I don't want to hear talk about the coronavirus being a myth.
When you hear folks say "gun rights," what they really mean is that its white privilege. This good guy with a gun nonsense has to end. The cops didn't do nothing when children were shot inside a school. A security guard was shot dead trying to protect shoppers. A cop accidentally shot his own. The good guy who tried to stop a bad guy is outgunned and a part of the rule #3.
Can't be a victim forever.
Remember #3 means: The "good guy with a gun" better be prepared to die if they want to stop a shooter.
I don't want to hear folks say masks and vaccine mandates impede their freedoms. It prevents a deadly outbreak from spreading. If you want to die from the coronavirus, that's on you. We lost over 1 million people from the coronavirus.
I don't want to hear the shit about guns saving lives. Cause a bullet does not have eyes and it's always likely gonna hit a target. These folks seem to not get it. These incidents are a tragic part of American history. Thoughts and prayers and your heart going out to the victims is not enough. It quite frankly is an insult. I am also tired of scapegoating Black on Black crime, Chicago, Baltimore and Democratic mayors for the nation's obsession to be numb to gun violence. You pretty much enable this nonsense by deflecting.
President Joe Biden is trying to curb gun violence. However, he has no support from Republicans. Most Democrats and America are for gun control measures. However the two Democrats in the Senate refuse to change the filibuster rules and its holding us back.
The National Rifle Association is always pushing against it. They will not relinquish from the narrative that guns are not saving lives. The Republicans aided by a fickle junk food media are openly encouraging anarchy and disruption in a desperate attempt for the Republicans to win back Congress and the White House. These agitators are calling for Biden to curb crime but will not help him. They want more guns on the street. It makes no sense.
Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or 988, or text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741). Both services are free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The deaf and hard of hearing can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889. All calls are confidential. Contact social media outlets directly if you are concerned about a friend’s social media updates or dial 911 in an emergency. Learn more on the Lifeline’s website or the Crisis Text Line’s website.
The call number to the U.S. Capitol is now going to be used. This is the official phone number, 202-224-3121. Let them know that "thoughts and prayers," "hearts going to" and "good guys with guns" are no longer acceptable and you want legislation to curb gun violence.
GUN VIOLENCE IS THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES.
Government stays open. In October 2023, Republicans will seek to shut it down if they don't get their way.
Despite the threats from Republicans, the Congress passed the omnibus bill and it will head to President Joe Biden for his signature. It ends the successful years of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). She has ended her term as one of the most effective (and most vilified) lawmakers in history.
Republicans "fired" Pelosi but are ending up firing themselves. Now that she's out of leadership, the Grand Ol' Party needs a new scapegoat for their vilification.
Besides Pelosi, The Republicans have vilified President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Duchess Meghan of Sussex, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Hunter Biden, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
They will focus Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the incoming Minority Leader of the Democratic House.
In the meantime, the far-right members of the Republican Conference are steaming mad over the Congress passing the bill to keep government open. They were upset over earmarks, legislative priorities that served the needs of certain groups and of course the amount.
The bill was worth $1.7 trillion and of course, the bill will give more money to help fund the Ukrainians in their fight to defeat Russia.
Ocasio-Cortez was the sole Democrat to vote against the bill.
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelanskyy came to the U.S. to plea to lawmakers to keep funding them. He said that the Russian invasion has been costly for all but it's been a worthwhile battle to keep Russia from trying to seize control of Eastern Europe.
Mind you Ocasio-Cortez was the sole member who voted against it and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) voted present.
Which means they voted against the Democrats in funding the two controversial lawmakers' minority constituents.
Even the pain in the ass members Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) voted for the bill.
The House on Friday voted to finalize the government funding bill, sending it to President Joe Biden and marking the end of two years of Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress.
McCarthy is crying. He can't face his own party.
The package contains a major boost to military spending and nearly $45 billion in assistance to Ukraine. It overhauls federal election law by revising the Electoral Count Act of 1887 to try to prevent another Jan. 6. The bill funds a swath of domestic programs as well, averting a shutdown and keeping the government funded through next fall.
The vote was 225 to 201, largely along part lines. Nine Republicans voted for the measure, including outgoing Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming; John Katko and Chris Jacobs of New York; Adam Kinzinger and Rodney Davis of Illinois; Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington; and Fred Upton of Michigan.
GOP Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and Congressional Ukraine Caucus, and Steve Womack of Arkansas, a senior appropriator, also supported the measure.
“We have a big bill here, because we have big needs for our country,” outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on the floor. “At the same time — please to put a penny in the old man’s hat — we address the needs of America’s working families, with special focus on our children.”
Rand Paul is a do nothing senator who voted again for funding his Kentucky constituents.
The legislation passed the Senate on Thursday by a vote of 68-29.
Biden has championed the bill. In a statement after its passage, he called it "good for our economy our competitiveness, and our communities" and vowed to sign it into law "as soon as it reaches my desk."
Biden also thanked Senate negotiators "for finding compromise to strengthen our democracy in the face of election denialism and assaults on our bedrock constitutional values."
The measure was negotiated by Democratic leaders and top Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. It revealed a sharp split between Republicans in the two chambers, with House GOP leaders fighting to torpedo it.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., blasted the legislation and the process by which it was crafted, calling it “a slap in the face to every American that voted” to elect a House Republican majority in the 2022 election.
“This is a monstrosity,” he said before the vote, arguing it spends too much. “It is one of the most shameful acts I’ve ever seen.”
“You have done nothing but put politics before the people of America. So you know what? They fired you. They fired you,” he said, claiming that there’s “money for woke-ism” in the bill.
And the rhetoric became more heated. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a member of the right flank of the GOP caucus, said Democrats were “destroying our country.”
The divisions foreshadow a difficult two years ahead for Republicans as they oversee a paper-thin House majority and face down a Democratic-led Senate and Biden presidency.
The election overhauls in the bill would make abundantly clear that the vice president cannot discount electoral votes, and the measure would raise the threshold to object to counting them from one member of each chamber to one-fifth of each chamber.
Do nothing lawmaker Thomas Massie votes no on every spending bill. Even the funding for five bridges over the Ohio River including the Brent Spence Bridge which is in his fucking Kentucky district.
Democrats wanted a broader package of election and voting laws, but they were constrained by Senate rules that necessitated at least 10 Republican votes to defeat a filibuster.
“It’s a good step,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a member of the Jan. 6 select committee, said in an interview. “I want the abolition of the Electoral College, and I want to repair the Voting Rights Act, and I want criminal penalties for intimidation of election workers. So I think that that would be the strong way to go. But I’m not averse to saying that the vice president can’t run off with the football and declare the loser the winner.”
In an interview, McConnell told NBC News that it was “extremely important” to him to boost military spending above non-defense domestic spending, describing it as essential to combating China.
“We not only needed to help Ukraine, we also needed, within the defense budget, to dramatically increase it so the baseline next year is even bigger,” McConnell, R-Ky., said on Wednesday. “We’ve spent an awful lot of money on domestic priorities over the last few years. Some of them are justified during the pandemic. But the current emergency is not here, it’s over there.”
McConnell also acknowledged his differences on the bill with McCarthy, who is courting votes from the GOP's right wing to become speaker of the House in a few weeks.
“I have a really good relationship with McCarthy, but he’s got a difficult hand to play,” McConnell said. “We all want him to succeed and hope he does.”
Memphis rapper Big Scarr passed away from an overdose.
Rough year for Gucci Mane.
The loss of Takeoff and now Big Scarr.
It appears that he may have died of a drug overdose. The rapper was a survivor of a car accident and a gun shooting incident.
Big Scarr, one of the newest signed acts to Gucci Mane's 1017 Records passed away at the age of 22. The rapper was closely associated with the late Young Dolph. He was supposed to go on tour with Key Glock.
The rapper’s death was confirmed in an Instagram post by Gucci Mane, the rapper and record producer who founded 1017 Records, WHBQ-TV reported. The musician’s cause of death has not been revealed.
“This hurts,” Gucci Mane posted on Instagram. “I’m a miss you.”
Big Scarr, whose real name was Alexander Woods, was born on April 7, 2000, in South Memphis. He reportedly got his nickname after being involved in a near-fatal automobile crash when he was 16, AllMusic reported.
He was known for his debut mixtape “Big Grim Reaper,” which was released in 2021, according to HipHopDX. The project featured notable tracks such as “SolcyBoyz 2″ and “Poppin,” according to music website XXL.
Woods also collaborated with record label colleagues Pooh Shiesty and Foogiano on several tracks, the website reported.
The up-and-coming rapper's uncle, Arthur Woods, tells us Big Scarr overdosed Thursday on prescription pills at his girlfriend's house in Memphis.
Gucci Mane mourns the loss of Big Scarr.
Big Scarr's uncle says he did not know when his nephew got the meds ... but he says Big Scarr faced several traumatic experiences in his life, including being shot and suffering a serious car accident injury.
The rapper got his stage name from the car accident when he was 16. It left a big scar on his body when he was thrown through a windshield. In the 2020 shooting, Big Scarr was struck by a bullet that traveled up his spine, and he needed surgery to remove his appendix.
The uncle says Big Scarr also battled depression ... citing the death of the rapper's grandmother as something that he took very hard.
Thom Bell, the master of Philly Sound passed away in Bellingham, Washington.
Philadelphia soul and jazz lost a legend. It appears that Thom Bell has passed away.
Bell, the Grammy-winning producer, writer and arranger who helped perfect the “Sound of Philadelphia” of the 1970s with the inventive, orchestral settings of such hits as the Spinners’ “I’ll Be Around” and the Stylistics’ “Betcha by Golly, Wow,” has died at age 79.
Bell’s wife, Vanessa Bell, said that he died Thursday at his home in Bellingham, Washington, after a lengthy illness. She declined to give additional details.
A native of Kingston, Jamaica who moved to Philadelphia as a child, Thom Bell drew upon the classical influences of his youth and such favorite composers as Oscar-winner Ennio Morricone in adding a kind of cinematic scale and grandeur to the gospel-styled harmonies of the Spinners, Stylistics, Delfonics and other groups.
Few producer-arrangers compared to Bell in setting a mood — whether the celebratory strings and horns kicking off the Spinners’ “Mighty Love,” the deadly piano roll at the start of the O’Jays’ “Back Stabbers” or the blissful oboe of “Betcha by Golly, Wow,” a soulful dreamland suggesting a Walt Disney film scored by Smokey Robinson.
“Nobody else is in my brain but me, which is why some of the things I think about are crazy — I hear oboes and bassoons and English horns,” he told recordcollectormag.com in 2020.
“An arranger told me ‘Thom Bell, Black people don’t listen to that.’ I said, ‘Why limit yourself to Black people?’ I make music for people.’”
Bell, often collaborating with lyricist Linda Creed, worked on more than 30 gold records from 1968-78 as Philadelphia became as much a center of soul music as Detroit and Motown Records were in the 1960s. He was an independent producer but so vital to the Philadelphia International Records empire built by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff that the publishing company they formed together was called Mighty Three Music.
Bell’s other hits included the Delfonics’ “La-La (Means I Love You),” the Stylistics’ “You Make Me Feel Brand New,” Joe Simon’s “Drowning in the Sea of Love” and Elton John’s “Mama Can’t Buy You Love.”
He is widely credited with reviving the Spinners, a former Motown act that hadn’t had a hit in years. Bell took them on in the early 1970s and helped create such hits as “I’ll Be Around,” “Ghetto Child” and “The Rubberband Man.”
The Spinners’ chart-topping “Then Came You” featured Dionne Warwick, who had been skeptical that the up-tempo ballad would catch on. Bell tore a dollar bill in half and got Warwick to agree that whoever guessed wrong about the song would have to inscribe an apology on their half of the money and send it to the other. Bell would long hold on to the signed note he received from Warwick.
He also worked with some personal favorites, such as an album with Anthony Gourdine of Little Anthony of the Imperials, one of his early influences, and “I’m Coming Home” and “Mathis Is ...” for Johnny Mathis, whom Bell would call the most talented singer he ever worked with, “sterling of sterling.”
A man who made hits for some of the country's notable soul acts.
Bell won a Grammy in 1975 for best producer, but within a few years, the Philadelphia sound had been overtaken by other trends. He had just a handful of hits in the 1980s and after, including Deniece Williams’ “Gonna Take a Miracle” and James Ingram’s “I Don’t Have the Heart.” He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006, and received an honorary Grammy in 2017. Three years later, his work was highlighted in the anthology “Ready or Not: Philly Soul Arrangements & Productions, 1965-1978.”
“To put it in a nutshell, he’s responsible for everything that’s happened to me in my career,” Stylistics lead singer Russell Thompkins Jr. told the Seattle Times in 2018. “He helped me in knowing my vocal range, finding the best way to sing a song. Everyone was his instrument. It didn’t matter if you were a singer, a trombonist or a studio engineer. You were part of his construction.”
One of 10 siblings, Thomas Randolph Bell grew up in a household where both parents were accomplished musicians and only classical works were heard. He was taking piano lessons by age 5 and thought of becoming a conductor, but he could not ignore the sounds he was imagining in his head — high notes keyed to his own tenor — or discovering on the radio, notably Little Anthony and the Imperials’ mournful “Tears On My Pillow.”
“I fell in love with the whole production,” he told the Seattle Times. “I listened to the background, the bass, a lot more than just the lyrics.”
Thanks to such longtime friends as Gamble and Huff, he became well connected in the local music scene. He and Gamble were together briefly in Kenny Gamble & the Romeos, and he also worked as an arranger and session player for the Cameo and Parkway labels, where artists included the Delfonics and Chubby Checker of “The Twist” fame. Gamble and Huff began producing together in 1967, and Bell was soon working with them on songs by Jerry Butler and Dusty Springfield among others.
In the early 1970s, he met Creed, a Philadelphia-born Jew who as a teen fell in love with soul music and with Bell formed a rare interracial musical partnership. Their songs often began with Bell creating a melody and arrangement and Creed providing the words.
For “You Are Everything,” a Stylistics hit which opens with “Today I saw somebody/Who looked just like you/She walked like you do,” inspiration was found during a break from recording.
“We’re walking down the street. We’re looking around, because there’s always something in the street to write about,” Bell told NPR in 2006. “I saw this guy crossing, we were all crossing, and this guy stopped in the middle of the street and he looked back. Then he looked back again. He’s looking at this woman. And he calls out this girl’s name. And he was chasing her, and the girl looked at him like he was crazy. I was watching this, and I said, ‘Creed, I’ve got an idea.’”
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