From a Google Image Search - PressProgress
My readers may not realize how much reading, research, and note-taking goes into writing brief essays about politics or climate change, the economy, homelessness, and more so it might be informative to get a view of my notes. I use a highlight, cut, and paste process in Microsoft Word to copy quotes from articles that I can refer to or use later. I have been through the alphabet twice since 2010 and now I am using numbers for these notes. When one set of notes extends to around 20 pages of text, then I open a new document. Paywalls make it necessary to concentrate on just a few sources.
Alex Jones is back on X and the 2024 election is only 11 months away says author Phillip Bump. Includes chart with survey of belief in conspiracy theories.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/11/musk-alex-jones-x-misinformation/
Migrant surge coincides with the rise of right-wing politics (and is a probable cause of this shift).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/11/geert-wilders-european-far-right-shift-migration/
Homelessness rose by 12% since Covid support ended.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/12/16/homeless-hud-data-housing/
Congress approves bill preventing President from leaving NATO without approval from Congress.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/12/16/congress-nato-exit-trump/
The best outcome for Trump is to have Ukraine left out in the cold and Biden blamed for not dealing with the border.
MAGA Men (and women).
"The verdict is against Giuliani alone. But make no mistake, MAGA was on trial in the courtroom — its methods, its morality and the means it uses to escape the consequences of its dreadful acts."
"There are many MAGA Men and MAGA Women in the modern G.O.P. To meet one is, in significant respects, to meet them all. The names roll off the tongue. Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan, Kari Lake, Roger Stone, Marjorie Taylor Greene, John Eastman — the list could go on and on. And while they all have different stories before Trump, they share variations of the same story after Trump. Giuliani’s story, MAGA’s story, is theirs as well."
"The first thing you need to know about a MAGA Man like Giuliani is that he’s dishonest. Truthfulness is incompatible with Trumpism. Trump is a liar, and he demands fealty to his lies. So Giuliani’s task, as Trump’s lawyer, was to lie on his behalf, and lie he did. He even repeated his lies about Freeman and Moss — the same lies to which he’d already confessed — outside the courthouse during his trial."
"A MAGA Man such as Giuliani supplements his lies with rage. To watch him pushing Trump’s election lies was to watch a man become unglued with anger. The rage merged with the lie. The rage helped make the lie stick."
"MAGA Men and Women are very good at using their credibility from the past to cover their lies in the present."
"Amid the lies and rage, however, a MAGA Man like Giuliani also finds religion. But not in the way you might expect. No, MAGA Man is not sorry for what he’s done. Instead, he feels biblically persecuted. Freeman and Moss aren’t the real victims; he is. Moreover, he also knows that the base is religious and likes to hear its politicians talk about God."
"Giuliani learned that lesson well. So during the trial, he compared himself to Christians in the Colosseum, battling the lions like the martyrs of old. He’s not alone in this, of course. Trump shared an image of Jesus sitting by his side as he stood trial. Stone got so religious that he claimed to see supernatural sights, including, he said, a “demonic portal” that’s “swirling like a cauldron” about the Biden White House."
"But if a MAGA Man remembers, he does not care. Whoever he once was is gone. He serves a new master now."
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/17/opinion/giuliani-trial-maga-trump.html
Rich investors are cutting corners at up-scale senior assisted living facilities.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/12/17/assisted-living-industry-real-estate/
This guy thinks Trump is a moderate. Smack your forehead.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/opinion/trump-election-2024.html
My comment on NYT
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (misnamed) was signed into law by Trump and was so ill-considered that it will keep America in deficit territory for years. Wealthy people don't live exclusively in America anymore and do not consider spending money to keep our society intact as money well-spent. Trump seems likely to continue his war with the IRS and he will likely cut taxes on the wealthy again. The supply chain problems and the precarious environment for American businesses in Russia and China may change the dynamics of this situation, but it will not change the pledges made to Americans for Tax Reform by Republicans and Trump will comply with their policies. Trump backs Republican gun laws. He wants zero immigration at the Southern border and wants to deport undocumented immigrants who have lived quietly and productively in America for years. He is not a moderate. He changed key staff whenever someone disagreed with him. He fired 5 Inspector Generals in a short time (one week, one month?) He would not leave office when he lost the 2020 election. He is Chaos, God of Disorder.
A warning from a Ponderosa pine
What a Canadian lake tells us about climate change and human involvement.
12 states where abortion is on the ballot
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/20/abortion-rights-2024-ballot-measures/
How the battle for democracy will be fought and won.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/21/autocracy-democracy-internet-circumvention/
6 claims Republicans cite as grounds for impeachment of Joe Biden.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/22/us/politics/republican-claims-biden-impeachment-inquiry.html
Donald Trump and the 14th Amendment - Letters to the Editor- WaPo
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/25/donald-trump-14th-amendment/
America and Europe are fooling themselves about Ukraine because Hungary.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/26/orban-ukraine-europe-threat-west-hungary/
The uncalculated costs of EV - mining rare minerals
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2023/electric-car-batteries-geography/
NYT sues AI for feeding articles to the large language model without paying.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/12/27/new-york-times-sues-openai-chatgpt/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/27/nikki-haley-slavery-civil-war/
“What was the cause of the United States Civil War?” the man asked Haley, a former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor who is campaigning this week in this key early primary state.
Haley’s answer did not include any mention of slavery, which scholars agree was the main driver of the conflict. It prompted surprise from her questioner and swift criticism and rebuttals from Democrats and Republicans beyond New Hampshire, including President Biden. It also resurfaced Haley’s previous comments that the war was the result of disagreements over “tradition versus change.”
“I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run, the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do,” Haley said.
“I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are,” Haley continued. “And I will always stand by the fact that I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people. Government doesn’t need to tell you how to live your life. They don’t need to tell you what you can and can’t do. They don’t need to be a part of your life.”
The man then responded, “In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word slavery.” Haley quickly replied with a question: “What do you want me to say about slavery?” The man said, “You’ve answered my question, thank you.” Haley replied, “Next question.”
Me - Do southern states really want to stand on that old slavery ground, and nurse their resentment about losing the war? Talk about clinging to the past. How long?
My comment - 12.28.2023 in WaPo
Opinion | Don’t blame democracy’s woes on the GOP or ‘tyranny of the minority’
These compliant Americans of which you speak, Jennifer Rubin, have been exploited by a carefully planned set of strategies designed to turn their grief, their feelings of depression, and their jealousy towards minorities and immigrants into righteous anger. Talk radio and Fox News have whipped up multiple resentments that people harbored in their minds and then offered them the "cure," white Christian nationalism. The Heritage Society, the Evangelicals, and the Koch web colluded to plan a coup to turn America into a single-party nation. Republicans saw through the Constitution and used the purposeful lack of specificity to their advantage. Trump became their instrument because he had the kind of negative charisma the movement needed. Hunting down liberals is the game. Who do you think are the vermin of which Trump speaks; the communists and the fascists (of course he is the fascist) are everyone's family and friends if they happen to be liberals.
Tyranny of the Minority by Levitsky and Ziblatt - Book
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/tyranny-of-the-minority-by-levitsky
Attacking racial minorities helps Republicans feed into the grievances of white Americans who claim that Democrats have bent over backward to tilt the playing field towards Black folks especially (thus the elimination of Affirmative Action policies). The Tea Party movement was not just about cutting taxes. It was about cutting benefit payments for people who many white people perceived as people who don't work. The Republican Party is fooling their base. Do you really want to lose your Social Security benefits? Do you want to lose the Affordable Care Act and return to private health insurance? Do you want the Federal government to assist with unemployment insurance or not? If you get what you think you want, you will lose things you do want. Read the Republican plan for 2025. It should come as no surprise that Republicans are lying to their base.
If this is what free speech means and if the Second Amendment means guns everywhere, then yes. Free speech is fine except when it turns into extremist propaganda designed to exploit grievances to stay in power. Propaganda is not speech; it is action.
Led by Trump, GOP candidates take polarizing stances on race and history.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2023/12/30/trump-desantis-haley-race-slavery/
The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu - Book
https://nbrissonbookblog.com/2023/12/31/the-jinn-bot-of-shantiport-by-samit-basu-book/
Absolution by Alice McDermott
https://nbrissonbookblog.com/2023/12/31/absolution-by-alice-mcdermott-book/
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
https://nbrissonbookblog.com/2023/12/31/prophet-song-by-paul-lynch-book/
Hunting Liberals
https://www.tremr.com/nancy-l-brisson-new-website-armchair-blog-/hunting-liberals
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/hunting-liberals
Immigration Laws
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_immigration_laws
Video on immigration
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/house-republicans-threaten-to-reject-senate-border-deal/
11 tips to make you a better cook.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/05/dining/how-to-be-a-better-cook.html
A Gaggle of Republicans
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/a-gaggle-of-republicans
Biden to address nation from SC church where Dylan Roof killed members of a Bible study group.
"Biden’s remarks are scheduled to take place at Mother Emanuel AME Church, where a white supremacist fatally shot nine people in 2015. Monday’s event, which some survivors and victims’ families are expected to attend, is intended to court Black voters amid signs that many African Americans are unenthused about his reelection campaign.
The address is also meant to build on Biden’s argument in a speech Friday that he and Trump are engaged in a “battle for the soul of America.” The president plans to remind Americans that the hate that spurred the church shooting still exists, and that elected officials must combat it, his campaign said.
That massacre was a traumatic event in American history. Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white supremacist, entered the church during a Bible study session and sprayed the group with bullets. His killing spree spurred a national reevaluation of the use of the Confederate flag, with some states — including South Carolina — removing it from official settings.
The president’s speech Monday will take place in the district of Rep. James E. Clyburn, a longtime ally who was crucial to that win in 2020. Clyburn warned Sunday on CNN that the president’s message has yet to break through the “MAGA wall” and that he was “very concerned” about Biden’s standing with Black voters.
The president faces pressure to prove that he has delivered on his promises to Black Americans and that he would continue to promote equity in a second term. His aides told reporters last week that he remains committed to addressing racially motivated extremism.
“Whether it is white supremacists descending on the historic American city of Charlottesville, the assault on our nation’s capital on January 6 or a white supremacist murdering churchgoers at Mother Emanuel nearly nine years ago, America’s worried about the rise in political violence and determined to stand against it,” deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/08/biden-mother-emanuel-charleston/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/01/07/trump-economy-inflation-biden-campaign/
Will Trump's plans really help the economy?
Tidy Mouse
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/08/mouse-cleaning-shed-wales/
Sound waves improve performance of Alzheimer's drug.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2024/01/08/alzheimers-ultrasound-treatment-brain-barrier/
Tidy Mouse NYT
Will Democrats' Anxiety Invite Defeat or Do the Math
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/will-democrats-anxiety-invite-defeat
Threats of violence could escalate and could affect the 2024 election
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/09/public-officials-death-threats-swatting-surge/
Eugene Robinson suggests Dem leaders that could help get out Dem voters.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/08/biden-democracy-speech-messengers/
World Bank talks economic predictions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/09/business/world-bank-global-economic-prospects.html
Biden invites immigrants
"Since Donald Trump first ran for president in 2016, the Democratic Party has changed its own approach to immigration. Not long ago, leading Democrats supported immigration enforcement measures like tough border security and deportations. Today, much of the party is uncomfortable doing so.
These changes help explain why the issue has become so vexingfor President Biden and congressional Democrats. Illegal immigration has surged during Biden’s presidency, partly because of the party’s new approach: Many migrants have come to believe, reasonably, that they will be able to remain in the U.S. so long as they can reach the border. Many voters are unhappy about the situation, and polls suggest that it is a problem for Biden.
“Believe it or not, there is something that might hurt President Biden’s re-election chances more than inflation,” Greg Ip of The Wall Street Journal recently wrote.
With Congress having returned from its holiday recess, a bipartisan group of senators is negotiating over a bill that would tighten border security (as well as provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan). To help you understand the debate, today’s newsletter will trace the Democratic Party’s changing position. In a follow-up newsletter, I’ll look at public opinion on immigration."
David Leonhardt in The Morning from the New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/10/briefing/immigration-policy-democrats.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/us/politics/biden-immigration-republicans-democrats.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/03/us/politics/johnson-border-biden-immigration.html
“No more money for this bureaucracy of his government until you’ve brought this border under control,” said Representative Andy Biggs, Republican of Arizona. “Shut the border down or shut the government down.”
In a news conference Wednesday, Mr. Johnson attacked Mr. Biden for a surge in migrant crossings, demanding that he clamp down by deporting people who try to enter the country illegally and reinstitute a Trump-era policy of keeping migrants in Mexico until their day in immigration court.
The talks have centered around making it more difficult for migrants to claim asylum in the United States, by deporting or detaining more of those who cross the border and keeping more of them out of the country while they await a decision on whether they will be allowed to enter.
Republicans in both the House and Senate have said that such changes are necessary to stem what they argue is a threat to the country’s national security.
“These are not people who are fleeing and are looking for asylum that are in fear for their lives,” Mr. Johnson told reporters Wednesday, claiming that “hardened criminals” were taking advantage of lax border enforcement policies to wreak havoc in the United States.
Still, Democrats are not discounting the warnings. Mr. Biden and Democrats in Congress, recognizing the political liability they face if they fail to address the border, have signaled openness to making significant changes to existing border security policies, but not enough to satisfy Republicans. And in the House, Republicans are pressing for even more severe measures that Democrats are unlikely to embrace.
“This situation requires significant policy changes and House Republicans will continue advocating for real solutions that actually secure our border,” Mr. Johnson said Tuesday in a post on social media.
But members of Congress have failed for decades to come together on immigration policy, one of the thorniest and most politically fraught issues they have faced.
On Wednesday, Mr. Schumer and the White House accused Mr. Johnson of complicating the negotiators’ task by looking to score political points rather than working to enact meaningful changes.
“It’s very nice that they have a trip to the border, but the only way to solve this is here, working in a bipartisan way with Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats and House Democrats to get it done, period,” Mr. Schumer told reporters. “I hope the speaker will realize that if he wants to solve the problem on the border.”
A White House spokesman, Andrew Bates, noted that Mr. Johnson had spurned Mr. Biden’s request for more money to hire the Border Patrol agents and asylum officers who could help reduce the number of illegal crossings.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/14/us/politics/immigration-legislation-congress.html
Over Decades, Congress Failed Repeatedly to Address Immigration Dysfunction
"Legislative initiatives to overhaul immigration policy have fallen flat as partisan differences and other rifts have scuttled attempts at compromise.
Immigrants in Iowa say the ads they are seeing before the Republican caucus are making them fear for their lives.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/01/10/iowa-immigrants-trump-republican-ads/
DES MOINES — The grocery store had been her American Dream, but now Norah Innis wondered if she’d be better off bolting the doors and moving back to Liberia.
Sales were down. Rent was harder to pay. And campaign ads dominating Iowa’s screens and airwaves ahead of the first Republican showdown of 2024 seemed to paint immigrants like her as the enemy.
She worried the rhetoric could fuel violence.
“It scares me,” said Innis, 60, tying plastic bags of peanuts in her shop catering to West African transplants, the Celebrity International Store. “It scares me a lot.”
As the race for the White House officially kicks off and GOP contenders jostle for votes before next week’s Iowa caucuses, people who’ve settled here from all over the world say the intensifying spotlight on border security and caustic language lobbed by Republican candidates has filled them with dread.
A surge in violent political threats in this 2024 election year.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/09/public-officials-death-threats-swatting-surge/
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett - Book
https://nbrissonbookblog.com/2024/01/11/tom-lake-by-ann-patchett-book/
Project 2025.org
https://www.project2025.org/policy/
"Our goal is to assemble an army of aligned, vetted, trained, and prepared conservatives to go to work on Day One to deconstruct the Administrative State."
"This book is the product of more than 400 scholars and policy experts from across the conservative movement and around the country. Contributors include former elected officials, world-renowned economists, and veterans from four presidential Administrations. This is an agenda prepared by and for conservatives who will be ready on Day One of the next Administration to save our country. The Heritage Foundation is once again facilitating this work, but as our dozens of partners and hundreds of authors will attest, this book is the work of the entire conservative movement.
The next conservative President will enter office on January 20, 2025, with a simple choice: greatness or failure. It will be a daunting test, but no more so than every other generation of Americans has faced and passed. The Conservative Promise represents the best effort of the conservative movement in 2023—and the next conservative President’s last opportunity to save our republic.
Today, America and the conservative movement are enduring an era of division and danger akin to the late 1970s. Now, as then, our political class has been discred- ited by wholesale dishonesty and corruption. Look at America under the ruling and cultural elite today: Inflation is ravaging family budgets, drug overdose deaths continue to escalate, and children suffer the toxic normalization of transgender- ism with drag queens and pornography invading their school libraries. Overseas, a totalitarian Communist dictatorship in Beijing is engaged in a strategic, cultural, and economic Cold War against America’s interests, values, and people—all while globalist elites in Washington awaken only slowly to that growing threat. Moreover, low-income communities are drowning in addiction and government dependence. Contemporary elites have even repurposed the worst ingredients of 1970s “radical chic” to build the totalitarian cult known today as “The Great Awokening.”
The Heritage Foundation is once again facilitating this work. But as our dozens of partners and hundreds of authors will attest, this book is the work of the entire conservative movement. As such, the authors express consensus recommendations already forged, especially along four broad fronts that will decide America’s future:
1. 2.
3. 4.
Restore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children.
Dismantle the administrative state and return self-governance to the American people.
Defend our nation’s sovereignty, borders, and bounty against global threats.
Secure our God-given individual rights to live freely—what our Constitution calls “the Blessings of Liberty.”
Federal education policy should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Depart- ment of Education should be eliminated. When power is exercised, it should empower students and families, not government. In our pluralistic society, fami- lies and students should be free to choose from a diverse set of school options and learning environments that best fit their needs. Our postsecondary institutions should also reflect such diversity, with room for not only “traditional” liberal arts colleges and research universities but also faith-based institutions, career schools, military academies, and lifelong learning programs.
Elementary and secondary education policy should follow the path outlined by Milton Friedman in 1955, wherein education is publicly funded but education decisions are made by families. Ultimately, every parent should have the option to direct his or her child’s share of education funding through an education sav- ings account (ESA), funded overwhelmingly by state and local taxpayers, which would empower parents to choose a set of education options that meet their child's unique needs.
The fourth pillar of Project 2025 is our 180-day Transition Playbook and includes a comprehensive, concrete transition plan for each federal agency. Only through the implementation of specific action plans at each agency will the next conservative presidential Administration be successful.
Pillar IV will provide the next President a roadmap for doing just that. To learn more about Project 2025’s vision for a conservative administration, please read our recently published book, Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise.
Project 2025 is the effort of a massive coalition of conservative organizations that have come together to ensure a successful Administration begins in January 2025. With the right conservative policy recommendations and properly vetted and trained personnel to implement them, we will take back our government. Project 2025 is being organized by The Heritage Foundation.
The Presidential Administration Academy is a one-of-a-kind educational and skill-building program designed to prepare and equip future political appointees now to be ready on Day One of the next conservative Administration. This academy provides aspiring appointees with the insight, background knowledge, and expertise in governance to immediately begin rolling back destructive policy and advancing conservative ideas in the federal government.
And if Trump wins a second term, the work from the Heritage coalition ensures the president will have the personnel to carry forward his unfinished White House business.
“The president Day One will be a wrecking ball for the administrative state,” said Russ Vought, a former Trump administration official involved in the effort who is now president at the conservative Center for Renewing America.
Much of the new president’s agenda would be accomplished by reinstating what’s called Schedule F — a Trump-era executive order that would reclassify tens of thousands of the 2 million federal employees as essentially at-will workers who could more easily be fired.
Project 2025, Quiet Part Out Loud
https://www.tremr.com/nancy-l-brisson-new-website-armchair-blog-/project-2025-quiet-part-out-loud
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/project-2025
So Obsessed, So Sorry
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/obsessed-and-sorry
https://www.tremr.com/nancy-l-brisson-new-website-armchair-blog-/so-obsessed-so-sorry
Half of Americans agree that immigrants are "poisoning our blood."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/15/trump-poisoning-blood-immigration-polling/
"There’s always been a symbiosis between Donald Trump and right-wing rhetoric. His 2016 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination was successful — surprisingly successful — because of his willingness to embrace arguments and assertions that were considered beyond the pale for his more traditional opponents. By picking out and then defending (to whatever extent was necessary for his audience) claims about immigrants and terrorism, among other things, he tapped into a strain of argumentation that was often kept out of sight. He helped bring the rhetoric into the mainstream."
From a Far Away and Lovely Country by Alexander McCall Smith - Book
Fani Willis and Nathan Wade
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/01/14/nathan-wade-fani-willis-georgia-trump/
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/10/1193162713/clarence-thomas-supreme-court-gifts
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted more vacations and gifts from billionaire benefactors than previously reported, according to a new report by ProPublica.
The conservative justice, who has come under scrutiny for his failure to disclose such gifts, took at least 38 vacations, 26 private jet flights, eight flights by helicopter, a dozen VIP passes to sporting events, as well as stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica, the nonprofit news site reports. ProPublica notes that Thomas appears to have broken the law by failing to disclose flights, cruises and sports tickets.
ProPublica previously revealed that Harlan Crow, a Texas billionaire, paid for Thomas' vacations, his mother's house, and a nephew's tuition payments. Separately, The New York Times reported that Thomas received special treatment from members of the Horatio Alger Association, including David Sokol, a former Berkshire Hathaway executive; and H. Wayne Huizenga, the billionaire. ProPublica reported that Paul "Tony" Novelly, the oil baron, is a previously unnamed benefactor of the justice. The total value of the undisclosed trips Thomas has received from these men since 1991, when he was appointed to the Supreme Court, is likely in the millions, the news site said.
Legal experts have said that the justices should have disclosed free trips like these.
"The statute itself is clear, and the justices can be very harsh on litigants who fail to follow statutory language," Amanda Frost, a University of Virginia professor, told NPR in June. "So I think they should hold themselves to that same standard."
In April, Thomas issued a statement declaring that when he first came on the court in 1991, he was advised by his colleagues and others that he didn't have to disclose hospitality from personal friends. That understanding has been corrected, he said, and he would in the future disclose such personal travel and entertainment paid for by others. He did not, however, commit to amending his prior disclosure forms.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/05/04/leonard-leo-clarence-ginni-thomas-conway/
Virginia Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told the Jan. 6 panel during lengthy testimony Thursday that she still believes false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, according to the panel’s chair.
The Judicial Misconduct Wars: Tit for Tat, Clarence Thomas for Fani Willis
https://www.tremr.com/nancy-l-brisson-new-website-armchair-blog-/the-judicial-misconduct-wars-tit-for-tat-clarence-for-fani
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/the-judicial-misconduct-wars
Maga Rant
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/maga-rant
https://www.tremr.com/nancy-l-brisson-new-website-armchair-blog-/maga-rant
Why economic inequality is different in Europe than in America.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/25/economic-inequality-despair-redistribution/
To the Nerds
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/to-the-nerds
https://www.tremr.com/nancy-l-brisson-new-website-armchair-blog-/to-the-nerds
The story of economic disparity in America is not told correctly.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/25/economic-inequality-despair-redistribution/
PDF of Project 2025 book
https://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf
Papal Schism
The schism was driven by personalities and political allegiances, with the Avignon papacy being closely associated with the French monarchy. The papacy had resided in Avignon since 1309, but Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome in 1377. The Catholic Church split in 1378 after Gregory XI's death and Urban VI's election.
Shortly after the return of the papal residence to Rome following almost 70 years of the Avignon papacy, the archbishop of Bari was elected pope as Urban VI amid demands by the Roman populace for “a Roman or at least an Italian.” Urban VI proved to be so hostile to the cardinals, who had assumed great powers during the years at Avignon, that a group of cardinals retired to Anagni and elected one of themselves, Robert of Geneva, as Clement (VII), claiming the election of Urban VI had been invalid because it was made under fear. Clement (VII) then took up residence at Avignon. Although Roman Catholic church historians generally agree that Urban VI and his successors were the legitimate popes, there has never been an official pronouncement to this effect.
The double election had disastrous effects upon the church. The followers of the two popes were divided chiefly along national lines, and thus the dual papacyfostered the political antagonisms of the time. The spectacle of rival popes denouncing each other produced great confusion and resulted in a tremendous loss of prestige for the papacy.
The church’s dual papacy caused profound confusion in territories that were uncertain which pope to obey; the difference on this issue between England and France prolonged the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453). France was especially given the chance to intervene in Italian politics. King Charles V the Wise of France not only recognized Clement but on the day of Clement’s death declared him “the true Shepherd of the Church.” Clement himself died convinced of his legitimacy.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Clement-VII-antipope
Alzheimer's meds and Black folks
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/01/29/alzheimers-new-drugs-black-patients-leqembi/
Judge speaks strongly about January 6
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/29/judge-jan6-riot-insurrection-trump/
An unnamed Republican warns us all about Trump
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/28/voters-donald-trump-playing-fire/
America Can't Have Two Presidents
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/america-cant-have-two-presidents
https://www.tremr.com/nancy-l-brisson-new-website-armchair-blog-/america-cant-have-two-presidents
Xist gene responsible for immune challenges in females
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2024/02/01/why-women-have-more-autoimmune-diseases/
Thomas Friedman on Biden Doctrine for Middle East
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/31/opinion/biden-iran-israel.html
Charles Blow believes we are in for a new era of backlash against Black progress.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/31/opinion/racist-backlash-history.html
Long COVID in social sphere.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/31/opinion/covid-2020-recovery-society.html
As early as 2018 it was clear that Congress was taking a backseat to the Executive, at least for Republicans, although this article dings both sides.
https://www.propublica.org/article/how-congress-stopped-working
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/18/politics/merrick-garland-senate-republicans-timeline/index.html
"Other leading Republicans followed McConnell’s lead. A reason they frequently cited: What they called the “Biden rule.” Joe Biden had said in a 1992 Senate floor speech – when there were no high court vacancies to fill – that “once the political season is under way, and it is, action on a Supreme Court nomination must be put off until after the election campaign is over.”
McConnell never backtracked, despite Democrats’ hopes that he would face political pressure to do so. On February 23, a week after Scalia’s death and before Obama had nominated his replacement, McConnell said in a speech on the Senate floor that no Obama nominee would receive a vote.
“Presidents have a right to nominate, just as the Senate has its constitutional right to provide or withhold consent,” the Kentucky Republican said. “In this case, the Senate will withhold it.”
GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that day signed a letter to McConnell saying they would refuse to hold hearings on any Scalia replacement until after a new president took office on January 20, 2017. Many Republicans cited the “Biden rule.”
Out of order
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a Friday night statement that President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace Ginsburg will get a vote in the Senate. Doing so would be a complete reversal of his position in 2016, when the GOP-led Senate refused to hold a hearing or vote on then-President Barack Obama’s nominee, saying it was too close to the election."
So Tired of Republican Obstructionism
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/so-tired-of-republican-obstructionism
https://www.tremr.com/nancy-l-brisson-new-website-armchair-blog-/so-tired-of-republican-obstructionism
Cork oaks replace some plastics and other uses
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2024/02/03/cork-sustainable-material/
Shameless Self-Promotion
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/shameless-self-promotion
https://www.tremr.com/nancy-l-brisson-new-website-armchair-blog-/shameless-self-promotion
Project 2025 manuscript
https://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf
Using AI in recycling.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2024/02/07/ai-recycling-sorting/
Supreme Court and the Fourteenth Amendment
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/supreme-court-and-meaning-of-fourteenth
Kim Jung Un says he has the right to wipe out South Korea
Bloodthirsty Men
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/bloodthirsty-men
https://www.tremr.com/nancy-l-brisson-new-website-armchair-blog-/bloodthirsty-men
Outline, Transit, Kudos: Rachel Cusk Trilogy
https://nbrissonbookblog.com/2024/02/10/outline-transit-kudos-rachel-cusk-trilogy-3-books/
Article about Biden's age in NYT
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/10/us/biden-age-report-reactions.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/11/opinion/joe-biden-age.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/10/opinion/biden-press-conference-health.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/10/opinion/joe-biden-convention-2024.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/09/opinion/biden-age-report-special-counsel.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/09/opinion/letters/biden-age-memory-special-counsel.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/10/us/politics/biden-trump-aging.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/10/us/politics/biden-trump-age.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/09/us/politics/robert-hur-biden-memory-special-counsel.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/09/us/politics/democrats-comey-flashback-biden.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/09/us/politics/biden-nikki-haley-trump-age.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/09/upshot/biden-age-presidency.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/02/10/memory-lapses-brain-biden-trump/
Deja Vu: The Media and Elections
https://www.tremr.com/nancy-l-brisson-new-website-armchair-blog-/deja-vu-the-media-and-elections
https://nancybrisson.substack.com/p/deja-vu
Polyamory
"More than mere “open relationships,” polyamory entails multiple loving, emotionally intimate, and often long-term partnerships with the full consent of the other partners, known as “metamours.”
Men are twice as likely as women to have engaged in polyamory and three times as likely to have expressed the desire. This might be a result of nature or nurture or both, but it is true regardless. Seen in this light, polyamory offers both license and a patina of legitimacy to the exploitative sexual desires of some men."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/02/14/polyamory-trend-conversation-love/
Michael Whatley is Trump's pick to run the RNC
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/13/michael-whatley-trump-rnc-chair/
Plans to Save Nature show stingy set asides.