[guest post by Dana]
Let’s go!
First news item
I believe that Putin essentially killed Navalny because he remained a serious threat (even in his weakened physical state) to the Kremlin’s iron grip over the populace. Even during his imprisonment, Navalny’s vocal opposition to Putin, criticism of the state, and his bruising humor while under the most severe circumstances could no longer be permitted. Thanks to Navalny’s courage, there can be no denying the evil that is Putin. He had to go. But Navalny’s legacy is firmly in place. There will be no erasing of his memory:
Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service said in a statement that Mr. Navalny, 47, had lost consciousness and died after taking a walk on Friday in the Arctic prison where he was moved late last year. “All necessary resuscitation measures were taken, which did not lead to positive results,” the statement said.
Navalny’s wife speaks:
Yulia Navalnaya just shocked the Munich Security Conference by taking the stage to make a statement denouncing Putin and his government. “We cannot believe Putin and his government. They are lying constantly. But if it’s true, I would like Putin and all his staff, everybody around him, his government, his friends, I want them to know that they will be punished for what they have done with our country, with my family and with my husband. They will be brought to justice and this day will come soon.”
One must also wonder how nervous the Kremlin is, given Navalny’s death right before an election…
Second news item
On Tucker Carlson’s ridiculous interview with Putin and subsequent praise of Moscow and Putin:
In a healthy democracy, if we still were one, such a double stunt—granting a sycophantic interview to a supervillain and then trashing the United States and praising Russia while onstage in Dubai—would be greeted with condemnation, shame, or both. But we don’t appear to live in that country right now.
This is to our shame. It’s still shocking to see Americans’ embrace of Putin and Russia.
This:
If you’re going to worship a dictator, you must then worship the dictatorship. MAGA adoration of autocrats like Orbán and dictators like Putin may begin with “we need a strongman in America” but it logically progresses to advocating advocating for despotism.
Tucker is a propagandist, and the comparisons to Western leftists from Duranty to Bernie to Michael Moore visiting the USSR & Cuba in gullible awe are fine. But this is a concrete campaign on behalf of Putin’s murderous dictatorship, not credulous ideology…
It’s a war. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the front line, but it extends to every aspect of the free world vs authoritarians. Trump & the GOP have picked a side. Propagandists like Tucker & Musk have picked a side. It is not the side of America or freedom, and they know it.
The depravity of an American pretending to envy life in Putin’s collapsing gulag state, & the history of such spectacles, has been covered. I will simply ask how many educated people move to Putin’s Russia vs how many leave?
Third news item
House impeachment:
The GOP-led House impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on a second attempt after the resolution failed last week. He is the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached in nearly 150 years. The vote tally was 214 to 213 with three Republicans siding with Democrats.
The three Republicans voting with Democrats were Ken Buck of Colorado, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, and Tom McClintock of California.
Fourth news item
The U.N. disgraces itself… once again:
Griffith tried to do some damage control:
Just to clarify: Hamas is not on the list of groups designated as terrorist organizations by the United Nations Security Council.
This doesn’t make their acts of terror on 7 October any less horrific and reprehensible, as I’ve been saying all along.
Of course, this only begs the question: Why on earth hasn’t the U.N. designated Hamas a terrorist group?
Fifth news item
Democrats are likely to oppose it because it doesn’t provide aid to Palestinians, and Marjorie Taylor Greene has said she would lead the move to oust Speaker Johnson if he brings any bill to the floor providing aid to Ukraine. So much for bipartisanship:
A bipartisan group of House members on Friday rolled out a $66 billion national security package that would provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
The 30-page “Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act” would automatically reject migrants who legally or illegally cross the border without proper paperwork for one year —restricting asylum, but with humanitarian exceptions.
The bill also blocks the use of federal funds to transfer migrants between detention centers or other locations unless it is for adjudicating their immigration case.
It would also implement a Trump-era policy that required migrants and asylum seekers be turned back to Mexico to await their court hearings. The policy requires cooperation from the Mexican government and cannot simply be enforced from the U.S. side.
By the numbers: The bill includes $47.7 billion in aid to Ukraine, $10.4 billion for Israel and $4.9 billion for U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific to combat China.
Sixth news item
As if flying isn’t stressful enough:
Unhappiness with air travel took a new turn when maggots rained down on passengers on a Delta flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, on Tuesday.
A passenger reportedly brought rotten fish on to the plane in a carry-on bag, and placed it in an overhead bin, before the maggots broke free and rained on to passengers seated below,
This individual should be banned from ever flying again!
Seventh news item
Checking in on today’s Republican Party, and I see that CPAC 2024 lists failed Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as a featured speaker at the Ronald Reagan dinner.
Eighth news item
While awaiting Judge Engoron’s decision in Trump’s $370 million civil fraud case, the former president is opting out in another issue:
Former President Trump and his legal team have decided against appealing a court’s decision that found he is not immune from civil lawsuits that blame him for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, after they previously signaled he would file an appeal.
Trump’s decision to not take his broader immunity claim to the Supreme Court means lawsuits seeking to hold him accountable for his role on Jan. 6 can move forward.
Have a good weekend.
—Dana