agondocz comments

Apparently he advised former President Trump on more than one occasion. I don't recall whether Trump ever mentioned these meetings or what advice he was given.

I wonder whether Johnson's comments were meant to distract the media about George Santos's impending expulsion from the House.

After the interview that Anthony Pratt gave to 60 Minutes Australia, Mr. Trump might not want to take his winning the New Hampshire primary for granite.

If Gaetz was working with the Democrats and Trump was working with Gaetz...

From the 1713 ‘Works of Thomas Chalkley:

“There are none so blind as those who will not see. The most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know.”

This is what the former President and Republican members of the House and Senate may need to worry about:

Fourteenth Amendment  Equal Protection and Other Rights

Section 3 Disqualification from Holding Office

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Actually, McCarthy and the rest should be more worried about about Trump will be barred from being on the ballots of some, if not all, states. If successful, perhaps members and candidates running for a House or a Senate seat may be next.

Perhaps...

In "The Swarm" paragraph, "mussels" rather than "muscles"?

Moderator: Thanks for pointing that out.

A suggestion for Donald Trump's new campaign song: "I Fought the Law and the Law Won". Perhaps by The Bobby Fuller Four or by The Clash. Perhaps not.

Be careful what you wish for: In January 2018 signed into law a Republican bill that increased the penalty of mishandling classified material from one year--a misdemeanor to five years--a felony.

Hillary-ous!

The article doe not quote any of the Senate Republican leadership. Perhaps they are less willing to defend the former President?

An Orwellian moment: when entertaining Sergei Lavrov in the Oval Office, talking Putin's word over that of America's intelligence services, and praising Kim Jong-un. Before Trump, that was so far left that it would have been off the cliff. But now? And black is white and war is peace, eh?

From a Truth Social post on Friday: “Congratulations to Kim Jung [sic] Un!”. North Korea was elected to the executive board of the World Health Organization. The quote was from Donald Trump.

Interesting.

But the tables have turned, as right-wing influencers complain on social media about a statement from its vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion who says the company is committed "to ensuring mutual respect, understanding and dignity everywhere we do business."

Though that position has already been filled for a few years, angry social media commentators seem to have only just noticed this week.

There are more than enough residents of the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico for whom a chicken sandwich from a fast food restaurant is a luxury. A bit of gratitude from those of us who can afford it stirred with a dash of sharing -- start with that.

Perhaps there was a side agreement struck that would see the House Democrats support Speaker McCarthy in case the Freedom Caucus forced a vote.

And then we wonder why women hesitate reporting that they were raped.

DeSantis appears to be running his campaign to the right of Trump. Running right off the cliff, perhaps?

Two out of three ain't bad.

Former Vice-Presidents Mike Pence and Dan Quayle saved American democracy. Period.

On the 3rd it was over for the Dems.

No storming of the Capitol Building? No Nancy Pelosi screaming about stolen elections, No nooses to be found anywhere? No Antifa?

The peaceful transfer of power---that is democracy!

The vote for Speaker requires a majority of the members present, no necessarily of all members of the House.

One possibility is for some members of the Freedom Caucus deciding that doing constituency work on Wednesday is more important than voting for the Speaker.

Unfortunately, eBay should be added to the Amazon and Facebook marketplaces.

Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses

Father Christmas by The Kinks

Run, Run Rudolph by Chuck Berry

Perhaps the reason for the meeting was for President Biden to lay out his agenda for the next several weeks. Perhaps raise the debt ceiling? Perhaps end filibusters in the Senate?

Should the Republicans take the House, I wonder what promises McCarthy will make with the Democrats to become Speaker of the House. Especially if he runs for Speaker against Trump.

One does not have to be an elected Representative to be elected Speaker.

America, what a country!

Senator Rick Scott as Minority Leader in the Senate?

For what it's worth, many Republicans have been riding a tiger these past few years.Think back to 2010. Alas they may not be able to get off any time soon. Tigers get hungry. (To paraphrase 54/40's Casual Viewing.)

Perhaps Arizona did not hire enough people to count the ballots?

One of the things to remember, there are more than just one or two races on a ballot in many (all?) states. For example, there might also be voting for races for state offices, changes to the state's constitution, as well as propositions. And don't forget voting on whether to raise sales and other taxes

Then there are in-person ballots, absentee ballots, and mail-in ballots.

Counting ballots takes time.

Digital voting may speed up in-person voting either at the polls or at the county election office, but I still see a delay as a result of counting mail-in ballots and some absentee ballots.

Should the Republicans take over the House next year, I suspect that they will be so busy tearing each other apart that they will not even have the energy left to try to impeach President Biden.

The Southern White Citizens Councils did very much the same thing in the early 1960s. One group of Black Americans was dropped off at Hyannis, Massachusetts, the home of the Kennedys.