Tracker

Here are 5 'key right-wing media takeaways' from Kevin McCarthy’s House speaker battle: report The new GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives got off to a chaotic start when Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California was rejected as House speaker in no less than 14 roll-call votes before he finally closed the deal with the 15th vote on Friday night, January 6. It was an uphill battle, but McCarthy now has the House speaker position he has spent years hoping for. Media Matters’ Matt Gertz, in a listicle published by Media Matters on January 10, offers five “key takeaways” on the role that right-wing media played when McCarthy was struggling to get the far-right “Never Kevin” holdouts to support him as House speaker. “After a historic week of messy party infighting,” Gertz observes, “the Republican-led House of Representatives has finally selected a speaker, passed a rules package, and gotten to work on its agenda of making the country safer for wealthy tax cheats. There are important lessons to learn from the chaos given the likelihood of future interparty rifts over the next two years — and the centrality of the right-wing media to the GOP.” The “takeaways” that Gertz offers in his listicle are: (1) “The GOP’s leaders are fueled by right-wing media,” (2) “Fox (News) is now the GOP establishment,” (3) The narratives of the right-wing press will form the core of the GOP agenda,” (4) “Fox’s competitors will use party fights to gun for the network’s market share,” and (5) “Tucker Carlson is the most influential right-wing media figure.” “Gaining prominence in the modern Republican Party virtually requires a willingness to rub elbows with the right-wing press,” Gertz explains. “New House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) spent the last several years cozying up to Fox hosts…. He also benefited from the backing of Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), the congresswoman from QAnon and an ally of Steve Bannon, and Jim Jordan (R-OH), whose regular Fox appearances helped him ascend from back-bencher to incoming House Judiciary chair.” Gertz adds, “Meanwhile, McCarthy’s most prominent opponents included Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who has gained prominence entirely on the basis of his courting of the right-wing media and reportedly sought jobs at Fox and its competitors, and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), another favorite of the fringe-right press. The right-wing media will be the key battleground for future fights between those sides.”

‘Putin’s Chef’ Humiliated by His Own Side After Bragging of Wagner Victory -Reuters The Kremlin finally seems to be trying to take Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin down a notch after the businessman has spent months using his band of mercenaries and ex-convicts to steal the spotlight in Russia’s war against Ukraine. A simmering feud between Prigozhin’s outfit and the regular Russian army spilled out into the open Wednesday, as Russia’s Defense Ministry publicly rebuffed claims made by “Putin’s chef” about a Wagner win in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. In an announcement late Tuesday, Prigozhin gleefully claimed his men had taken control of a salt mine town that Russian forces are hoping to use as a stepping stone to gain control of the highly coveted city of Bakhmut, a Ukrainian stronghold for months. “Wagner units have taken control of all the territory of Soledar,” Prigozhin said through his press service. “I want to emphasize that no units other than the Wagner fighters took part in the assault on Soledar,” he said. While Ukrainian authorities denied Prigozhin’s claim and said battles were still underway in the town—and that the selfie the Wagner boss posted supposedly from Soledar was not even in Soledar—Russia’s two dueling armies devolved into their own war within a war. Russia’s Defense Ministry shot down Prigozhin’s boast that his own men had single-handedly brought Putin a win, instead confirming Ukraine’s announcement that fighting was still underway in the town. Moreover, defense officials suggested Russian airborne units and assault teams are leading the charge. The Defense Ministry made no mention of Wagner whatsoever. The rebuff comes as praise for Prigozhin’s outfit hit a fever pitch among pro-Kremlin figures, and the notorious mercenary group threatened to outshine Putin’s regular soldiers on the battlefield. “Why is Wagner so successful, more successful than even the Russian army?” pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov wrote on Telegram early Wednesday. He went on to praise Prigozhin personally, calling him “very creative,” a “workaholic,” and someone who “comes up with bright, novel solutions.” “Prigozhin’s criminal past is a plus now, because world politics is criminalized,” he said, calling Prigozhin and Wagner “a national treasure.” Speculation about Prigozhin possibly vying for an official post in Russia’s government has mounted in recent months as his PR campaign for Wagner has gone into overdrive, with many wondering if he’s made it his personal mission to “win the damn war” for Putin so he could demand something in return. Despite Prigozhin butting heads with top defense officials and government officials, the Kremlin has largely allowed him to do as he pleases—but they seem to have fired their first warning shot this week in a sign of things to come. Putin’s appointment on Tuesday of a controversial colonel-general as the new ground forces chief was done “as a snub to Prigozhin,” a source close to Russia’s General Staff told the outlet iStories.

Ford will have to walk on water to be offered a contract. He oozes potential but so do a lot of others with a more extensive CV.

And break with long-standing tradition?

Why not have candidates commit themselves publicly during the election campaign as to what salary they will accept while in office, and then receive raises during and after serving at the same percentage as the average wage in the province or country if they are running federally?

The ‘Pill cam’ once swallowed, takes 2 photos every second as it passes through your digestive system. Whole new level of medical investigation. awesomerandom

It is the warmest winter in Europe for several decades. More bad news for Putin.

Soooo....we won't have to be afraid any more?

Trump is wearing black socks and underwear today as a sign of mourning.

Oh, no. It's time to find a scapegoat or scapegoats. It may come down to blaming the voters for not understanding the magnificence of the PC party and platform. Or, maybe the PCs just didn't communicate it well enough. "Doltness" is endemic to Alberta, particularly in the south.

Not hard to imagine at all. Ukraine would be no more and Trump would have been given all of Ukraine's considerable gas fields.

Diamond, Of Right-Wing Duo Diamond And Silk, Dies 'Unexpectedly' “The World just lost a True Angel and Warrior Patriot for Freedom, Love, and Humanity! Please respect the privacy of Diamond’s family! Memorial Ceremony TBA,” a post from the Diamond and Silk Twitter account on Monday read.

House Adopts Rules Weakening Speaker Kevin McCarthy WASHINGTON — Republicans on Monday approved a set of rules governing the House of Representatives that will weaken the speakership of Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Going forward, any single lawmaker will have the power to trigger a no-confidence vote in the speaker, meaning attention-seekers like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) can threaten McCarthy with a referendum if they don’t like how he’s doing his job. The “motion to vacate” represents an enforcement mechanism for a package of other rules changes McCarthy negotiated with a group of right-wing lawmakers who argued the California Republican would be too nice to Democrats and President Joe Biden. As Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) put it Sunday on CNN, “We will use the tools of the House to enforce the terms of the agreement.” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/house-rules-kevin-mccarthy_n_63bc8b82e4b0fe267cb2c402

First bill under Speaker McCarthy will cost taxpayers more than $100 billion Kevin McCarthy promised on his first day as Speaker of the House that Members would “read every single word of the Constitution aloud from the floor of the House.” He also promised to “fight for a strong, fiscally responsible, and free America.” Neither of those have happened yet. Instead, during his acceptance speech when he was elected Speaker on the fifteenth try, McCarthy promised, “Our very first bill will repeal the funding for 87,000 new IRS agents.” There is no funding for 87,000 IRS agents, as The New York Times and others have fact-checked. There is funding to replace retiring IRS agents, upgrade the agency’s technology, and cut wait times in half by hiring more agents to answer consumer phone calls. In fact, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last August, in writing, ordered the IRS to not use any of the new funding allocated to the agency to increase investigations of any American making $400,000 or less. “I direct that any additional resources—including any new personnel or auditors that are hired—shall not be used to increase the share of small business or households below the $400,000 threshold that are audited relative to historical levels,” Yellen wrote, CNN reported. “This means that, contrary to the misinformation from opponents of this legislation, small business or households earning $400,000 per year or less will not see an increase in the chances that they are audited.” Regardless, Speaker McCarthy on Monday night will preside over legislation that cuts IRS funding back to levels before Democrats increased it last year. And it will cost Americans billions. The Wall Street Journal’s Richard Rubin, who covers tax policy, writes that the Congressional Budget Office has scored McCarthy’s bill and says it will increase the deficit by $114 billion. “Says that the GOP IRS funding bill would reduce spending by $71.5B and reduce revenue by $185.8B,” he tweets, with “B” standing for “billion.”

Its a romp and not to be taken seriously. The actors doubtless has a hoot with their over the top performances.

Yes. Brazil has not requested Bolsonaro's extradition, but the US government is considering deporting him.

Now Bolsonaro can say that he is too ill to be deported. I'm sure its just a coincidence. Really, really sure.

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