01/24/23

Good morning! It’s Tuesday, January 24th.

Beer can appreciation day.

Not beer appreciation day – beer CAN appreciation day. We don’t care what’s inside, it’s the outside that counts.

And now, the news.

More Oath Keepers Convicted of Sedition

-via AP News

Let’s start with some good news.

Hey, remember that time that a bunch of people put on their finest bedazzled Trump Forever camo and stormed the capital because the guy who couldn’t sell water also couldn’t become president and “aw buh buh buh but I wanted the guy with the long ties to win” and so they tried to burn democracy to the group because they’re such patriots that if the guy who can’t remember to fake tan around his eyes isn’t president than the love this country enough to destroy it

Do you… remember that?

Well mixed into that group were those who believe a bedazzled hat has never gone out of style, sure. But also – some far-right nationalists known as the Oath Keepers.

Well, as have been the case, four more members of that group were found guilty on grounds of sedition.

This is the second trial for the Oath Keepers. And the second time the Department of Justice secured that very serious conviction.

It’s also a nice little trend they’ve got going on, as the DOJ heads now into trial against the leader of the Proud Boys, another group of these far-right, white supremacist losers.

A date for sentencing for the four Oath Keepers has not been set, but they are currently on house arrest with electronic monitoring.

These convictions are absolutely warranted. Hey! Do Trump next!

Update on Monterey Shooting

-via CNN

While questions still remain, there we have a little more information about the Monterey Park shooting that took place on Saturday night.

First, unfortunately the death count has risen to 11.

Also, as a motive and exact timeline of events is still being put together, the Sheriff’s department said on Monday that the suspect was arrested in 1990 for unlawful possession of a firearm. They do believe the shooting was targeted, as he had been to the dance studio multiple times and met his ex-wife there.

Police are still working out how he got the gun he used, which is illegal in California, but noted that he was a gun enthusiast who was working on manufacturing homemade firearm suppressors, which, I learned today, is a silencer.

Police also found various electronics, including cell phones and computers, at his house.

More Shootings in America

-Half Moon Bay via CBS News

-Des Moines via Iowa Public Radio

Yesterday I called the Monterey Park shooting a common story. And unfortunately, today there are two more shootings to talk about.

First, in Des Moines where two students were killed at an alternative education program. An adult was shot as well, as is in serious condition.

Three suspects are in custody.

And then, in the San Francisco community of Half Moon Bay, at least seven people are dead after a mass shooting that took place at at least two different crime scenes.

The suspect in these shootings is also in custody.

This is America.

Tyre Nichols

-via NBC News

Attorney’s representing Tyre Nichols’ family have reviewed the footage of the traffic stop that put him in the hospital on January 7th, where he was for three days before he died due to injuries sustained in the police encounter.

At a news conference on Monday, the attorneys described the video as, “unadulterated, unabashed, nonstop beating” with “multiple uses of force,” reminiscent of the Rodney King beating.

Footage of the traffic stop is expected to be released to the public this week.

The five officers involved in the shooting were fired on Friday.

Tyre Nichols was 29.

This is… also America.

Former FBI Official Arrested Over Russian Ties

-via Washington Post

A former top FBI official was arrested on Monday over ties to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, including charges that he took more than $250k in sneaky sneaky cash payments, as well as breaking the law to get Depipaska removed from the US sanctions list.

Additionally, he was accused in a second indictment of hiding $225k he received from a man that was employed decades ago by the Albanian intelligence agency.

Not great, McGonigal.

(The FBI official’s name is Charles McGonigal. So that’s what I mean. I realized, as I said it, that it sort of sounded like “not great, McGonigal” was a fun little catch phrase. Which it COULD have been, if this dude hadn’t ruined it. Hey… can everyone stop taking money illegally and ruining cool catch phrases?)

Also, side note, how come no one ever offers me a quarter million dollars?

White House Will Cooperate with House Republicans’ Investigation

-via NBC News

The White House Counsel’s Office says it will cooperate with House Republicans inquiry into Biden’s handling of classified documents… to an extent.

While they are already fully cooperating with both the National Archives and Department of Justice however, in response to House Rep. James Comer to… “I don’t know, lemme just see everything. Visitor logs. Junk drawer. Preferred Christmas wrapping paper container. I want it all!” The White House has said that they are going to cooperate as much as possible but that, “these considerations include the critical need to protect the integrity and independence of law enforcement investigations.”

As a reminder, Biden’s Wilmington house is his private residence and, as such, there is no visitor’s log.

But also as a reminder, House Republicans are going to continue to ask for it and make it seem like the same privacy afforded to literally every other president ever is somehow new, and therefore bad, here.

And that’s it. That’s the news.

I’m proud of beer cans. They do a great job of taking such great care of something I truly love and care for.

It’s also national compliment day. And obviously my cup runneth over with compliments for you. But on top of that, know this – more than that scene at the end of Hope Floats where a young Mae Whitman says her cup runneth over and that’s house I first heard that phrase… more than THAT… I’m proud of you.