The week of controversial confirmation hearings
Yesterday President Trump's nominee for HHS Secretary was scorched under tense questions from just about every Senate democrat on the committee and even a few Republicans. The democrats seemed to be using a coordinated strategy, as they often do. Yesterday it was to use quotes and transcripts from his books and public appearances to pin him down on several issues, especially vaccines and abortion.
After seeing the democrats in action, I have to believe that every democrat will vote against the RFK Jr nomination. That will leave things in the hands of Republicans who are not so easily controlled by party leaders. I think Kennedy's unorthodox opinions on health care put him at risk of having his nomination sunk by a handful of Republican Senators. (the usual suspects).
In his defense he blamed pesticides and processed foods for the rise in chronic disease among American children. He denied that he was anti-vaccine and noted that his children were vaccinated.
Today, not only will Kenedy appear for another hearing, but Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard will also face questions today.
In the news:
Hamas released two more hostages, and they are expected to release 8 more today.
Meta agreed to pay Donald Trump $25 million to settle a lawsuit he filed in 2021 over his suspension from Facebook and Instagram after the Jan. 6 riot. The wheels of justice sometimes turn slowly. I'm visualizing a beautiful Trump library.
The Federal Reserve, no longer in a rush to cut rates, kept rates steady.
A judge sentenced Bob Menendez, the former New Jersey senator convicted of acting as an agent for Egypt and of trading favors for cash, gold and a luxury car, to 11 years in prison.
Justice Department officials and Manhattan prosecutors have discussed dropping the "charges" against NYC mayor Eric Adams. Eric, just say thank you and clean up the crime in New York City as a way of showing your appreciation.
Trump ordered his administration to prepare to house approx. 30,000 migrants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. What a great idea!
ICE agents worked with dozens of officers from other federal agencies to arrest 39 individuals in New York.
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Good morning.
In a highly emotional ceremony yesterday, President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law.
The combination of Democratic senators like Whitehouse, Warren and televised hearings are valuable gifts to the Republican Party.
"That will leave things in the hands of Republicans who are not so easily controlled by party leaders."
Finally some embedded humor.
You see, the democrats have been trained/intimidated to voting in complete unity on just about any issue.
I think it may be time for Republicans to learn from it.
Too late, they've learned how to cower instead.
"Last night, in yet another on-air embarrassment, she was taken to task in front of millions by none other than President Trump.
He admonished her for her poor handling of the fires disaster, telling her to use her power appropriately to get people the help they need."
"So far, 27 victims are known to have perished in the fires, fanned by dangerous Santa Ana winds, as authorities continue to sift through mile after mile of horrific devastation searching for human remains.
‘I don't think she'll ever be reelected... I think her political career is over,’ former LA County District Attorney Steve Cooley tells DailyMail.com of the city’s 43rd mayor.
‘The perception of her from residents at this point is such that she can no longer effectively lead the city of Los Angeles. She's lost the public's trust and importantly, their respect.’
Cooley, who served as DA from 2000 to 2012, states that there is an understandable wave of sentiment to have Bass ejected from the Mayor’s office but that such a move would be an uphill battle.
He added there was already a wave of city-wide antipathy towards Bass before the historic fires which he blames on her decision to prioritize DEI issues rather than focusing on hiring qualified candidates to key departments."
LA Mayor Karen Bass' past in communist Cuba revealed... as insiders say her political career is 'over' | Daily Mail Online
I don’t have any particular love for Karen Bass, but I’ll defend her a little here before bashing her.
She’s been in office a couple years, and I don’t think she has had the opportunity, capacity, or inclination to destroy the fire department in that time. And in general, I think LAFD is fine. Could it better? Yes, any FD could be better. Also, LAFD was only one of several agencies fighting the fire, and Bass has no control over the others.
Observers and critics from afar, looking for someone to blame always forget the single most important factor in the fires: hurricane-force winds. No politician in the world in the world has an answer for the wind we saw and how it propels fire.
Coincidentally, PBS Terra put out a video of how wind has been driving fires with increasing intensity in recent years. I say coincidentally, because this video actually came out a couple months before the January fires.
I don’t think there’s much of anything that any mayor could have done (that she didn’t do) about the fires as they were burning.
However, I do think that in terms of her ability to soothe the public and inspire hope for recovery, she has been an abject failure. I don’t expect a politician to leverage their will and charisma to stop Mother Nature, but she can help people feel like all is not lost, and she can light a fire under various agencies and bureaucracies to get help to the people with no excuses. In that regard, she has been terrible.
Kennedy was a disaster. There times when he was literally stammering.
Pretty sure I saw a few beads of sweat as well.
Was that on Kennedy or crazy Liz?
RFK Jr has Spasmodic Dysphonia. I think you know that.
If he goes down, Trump should nominate Dr. Scott Atlas.
I guess he was conveniently having an episode right after one of the Democrats pointed out his inadequacies.
Nurse Ratched's first born? Why not ...
What a terrible thing to say. Now we make fun of people who have speaking disorders.
He'd sail through with 53 votes.
You have problems with that now?
I do, especially with people who were claiming there was "a trope" yesterday.
Unless you can show a comment where Vic said this was okay.......Quit making stupid comments and accusing others of something they never said.
Why didn't you have a problem with it around 8 years ago??
Are you unable to read my comments? Would a different language help?
I accused him of NOT saying anything when his cult leader Trump did the same thing he "claims" John Russel did.
Ah, some sheet-to-the-wind sarcasm ... shall 'we' call you Ishmael ... ?
Yea that comes from 15 years of injecting heroin in your dick.
From someone who constantly and incessantly claimed that Bidens obvious dementia was just his stutter, ridiculously so. you would think they would have a little compassion for a man who suffers from Spasmodic dysphonia, but i guess party over hypocrisy.
He had the stutter his entire life. Duh.
So people stammering is an issue. Where were you for EVERY TIME Biden spoke?
A person with a known diagnosed condition was displaying symptoms of that condition, they left has no compassion for anyone right of Che'
That was last week, can’t expect consistency for more than 24 hours,
To be fair, that’s a physical thing, not an emotional one.
The utterly buffoonish 91 year old Charles Grassley is currently very vigorously defending Kash Patel with a spew of falsehoods. I hope they have a defibrillator handy.
They all fear Kash Patel. Can you imagine the fear on the 7th floor of the FBI building?
I think its likely that Patel will lie more today than any cabinet nominee in history.
Really?
Do you think he might be lied about?
As soon as he says he believes the 2020 election was stolen from Trump he should be disqualified. Therefore he will not tell the truth about the views he has held, even in the face of them throwing his own words at him.
You mean people are not entitled to their beliefs? I think his experience in the Obama Justice Department will serve him well today.
If you get C-Span 3, it's on now.
He certainly looks like he plays with dust bunnies under the bed and fondles them in the closet ... scary indeed.
If I wasnt watching it I wouldnt be commenting on it.
If people dont have CSpan it is being shown live on a number of You Tube channels.
I wouldn't know.
Right now, the guy who helped nominate a ton of radical justices: Dick Durbin just finished his misrepresentation of what Patel said.
Dick durbin represents everything that is wrong with congress,
Agreed!
He came out smelling like roses after that exchange with durbin.
You got 'em Kash!
At least he’s not a pedo.
He got called out for it, did you watch NONE of the hearing?
Patel exposed the 2016 election FISA abuse scandal. That alone merits his confirmation
LOL
That's the one where the FBI lawyer who falsified a FISA warrant application and was forced to confess to it GOT ZERO JAIL TIME!
Most on the left believe that if Patel was not on the scene, they would have gotten away with it. Of course, no one was punished except for some lawyer that manipulated a form. Thrown to the wolves to protect the higher ups.
I dont think there is a single honest observer who thinks Patel is qualified to be FBI director.
If Patel were a Democrat and the FBI were forging documents, lying to the court, strategically leaking to the media, using Republican House members to cover their tracks in order to spy on democrats, Hollywood would be making movies about Patel.
He is not only qualified, but also badly needed there.
Patel is a flat out conspiracist theorist who will lie and cheat for Trump every time.
He is a grifter who has tried to emulate Trumps "soak the chumps" (MAGA) schemes. In other words, a man after Trumps own heart.
Aren't they up to something like 5000 in just a week? It's amazing what happens when law enforcement and ICE aren't hamstrung by Democrat bullshit.
at this rate , it wont be long before we dont have to push 1 for english , to get to a call center where they dont speak it
The US does NOT have an "official" language that is required to be spoken. All languages from around the world are spoken in the US. To the best of my knowledge the only place that English is to be spoke is in the government while conducting official business and correspondence. I really have no problem with other languages and those who speak them living in the US.
What I find sad is that so many American's only speak one language. In all the places I've traveled, I've found people who were taught and speak different languages.
"A nationwide group of former Federal Bureau of Investigation agents has sent a letter to Senate leadership in support of Trump FBI Director nominee Kash Patel making the case that the bureau is "broken" and in desperate need of a new direction.
"As a group of retired FBI Special Agents and former Intelligence Analysts from across the country dedicated to restoring public trust in the FBI and returning the FBI to its original mission, we support President Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel as the FBI’s next Director," the letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, signed by over 50 former and retired FBI agents from Reform The Bureau said."
Dozens of former FBI agents rally around Kash Patel's confirmation: 'Lives have been shattered'
Means nothing. There are many Trump loyalists in the FBI , and there always have been. The FBI is not a "woke" entity and never has been.
Pretty much has been since Obama.
The leadership of the FBI was politicized & weaponized. The FACTS have established that.
There are MANY Trump loyalists in the FBI and always have been.
Can you point out who they are and what makes them "loyal"?
I recall a nationwide group of former military heads doing the opposite and being daily trounced for it by none other than the vaunted 'author' in his never ending series of amnesic apologetics.
I remember a group of 51 "former intelligence officials" claiming Hunter Biden's laptop was Russian disinformation.
One letter has yet to be proven true as Patel has not been confirmed yet.
The other was proven a lie.
Can you tell me which is which?
Soon, I have yet to read Kash Patel's 'Plot Against the King' series ... I hear it's a spontaneous firestarter.
The day that Patel broke open 2016 election FISA abuse scandal:
kash patel - Search / X
"Mr. Patel showed that Crossfire Hurricane was based upon fraudulent, discredited information paid for by the Democratic National Committee." ... Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley
We are supposed to have a grifter conspiracy nut Trump worshiping director of the FBI just because he "exposed" the fact that the FBI mishandled a FISA application?
LOL.
The lies the Republicans will tell today will be astonishing.
Why John, he exposed the FBI plot against Trump. Remember? They falsified a FISA warrant application.
Is that why democrats are so frightened?
Sen. Thom Tillis created a K$H Bingo card where people can record the Democrats’ lies about Kash Patel .
Patel is a ludicrous figure. Particularly as FBI director.
I am happy with what I'm seeing. I think he is going to make it!
He called the Dems on their illegal bullshit. And that is why the left hate him.
You probably know as much about Patel as you do about J6 , which is virtually nothing.
The good part is that the American people see it.
The media that helped cover for it is crumbling. The democrat party is widely reviled.
See you are still running with wrong assumptions on both.
Let none imply you lack the effing amount of hubris necessary to aver that.
Yea me too. Once again, for two days straight, Whitehouse was made to look like a complete idiot.
This sums it up pretty well:
Crazy corrupt racist conspiracy theorist and dark money hypocrite
: *completely misquotes Kash Patel*
Whitehouse: Is that correct?”
Patel: “No, that is completely incorrect, and I appreciate the opportunity to correct —
Whitehouse: “SILENCE, BROWN BOY! THIS IS MY TIME!
” ~~2 minutes later (video 2)~~ Chuck Grassley: *passes the mic back to Patel*
Patel: * OBLITERATES SHELDON WHITEHOUSE*
Whitehouse is the gift that keeps on giving to republicans. Whitehouse, who refuses to let blacks in his beach club, denying an Indian American the ability to speak at his own nomination hearing is such a perfect visual.
I used to think Klobochar or Jayapal or Hirono were the three dumbest Senators, but Whitehouse gives all three a run for the money.
And, somehow, the left and Democrats think it was a legitimate "investigation".
You see, they shut their eyes to certain FACTS.
That has especially been the MO here.
I just put pads on my fingertips ... just in case TRUE is truer than true. @!@
God Bless the Senate Judiciary Chairman!
Kloubachar is ripping him a new one.
This is going to go on for most of the day.
Who the fuck can stand to listen to this ignorant fool for more than 30 seconds, someone with 3 digits in their IQ must have written notes for her.
Treating him like her staff, huh? The most unpleasant boss on Capitol Hill lettering her real personality show?
Ripping and telling the truth are two different things. I doubt she is doing the latter.
I would be curious to see how many minorities are part of Whitehouse's senior staff, and not just runners.
Monalisa Dugué is his chief of staff.
Thanks. Didn't know.
Surprising since he is so fond of whites only clubs.
Grassley is going to collapse. Check his blood pressure.
Not so clear given the Hegseth approval. He should have been soundly rejected as unqualified, incompetent, and unfit for such an important position but the spineless GOP senators (except three and McConnell is on his way out) kowtowed to Trump.