speaker Nancy Pelosi said it's her "plan" to appoint Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) to the House select committee to investigate January 6, just days after the GOP walked out on the panel, CNN reports.

The Illinois Republican has been telling people in recent days he'd accept the appointment if offered.

Editor,

As the January 6 cases unfold against the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, it is obvious that any conspiracy that uses electronic communication creates a blueprint for prosecutors. Encryption doesn't work if one of the conspirators gives up the key, a risk that increases exponentially with each new member.

These few dozen conspirators couldn't hide the evidence, and some were turned in by people close to them. Yet they believe that thousands of people conspired across multiple states to steal the 2020 election without a single one being identified. They believe that in spite of the riches that awaited the first person to drop a dime or the first reporter to smell the story, these thousands, who were recruited in secret, kept communications security and pulled off their scheme without leaving a trace of how they did it, in states where every aspect of the election was run by Trump supporting Republican Secretaries of State.

Anyone who believes that has a pretty good chance with an insanity plea.

Judge Garland is said to be an "institutionalist", the exact application of which is unclear, other than deploying methodical approach to the tasks at hand. But, political institutionalism, for which the DOJ is not immune, requires that political parties have some capacity for adaption. That is not an assumption in 2021.

Attorney General Garland has said upon assuming office  "...to succeed and retain trust of the American people is to adhere to the norms that have become a part of the DNA of every DOJ employee." But why did he feel it necessary to bring up the notion of retaining trust of the American people?  

Trust has been badly shaken by the former guy and the previous AG and some of the DOJ employees. Garland does not seem to have warmed to the idea of pursing Trump for his criminal attitudes or to look into, directly, DOJ cases such as Roger Stone or Michael Flynn. Or, the handling of investigations in interrelationships between Trump and Russia. Better, he believes, to leave that to the DOJ Inspector General. Avoiding political cases because of politics in using politics to avoid decisions.

It appears, in some ways, that Garland is placing more emphasis on restoration of DOJ employees morale than recognizing the antidemocratic, fascist threat to the country. That is, no doubt, not the case, but statements made such as "I am not going to look backward" do not engender confidence for the future.  After all, Trump is very likely to be the Republican nominee for president in 2024.

Returning to "norms" is important, but not enough. President Biden may have looked to the sterling character and prestigious career of Garland in a way that President Ford did in appointing Edward Levi, a distinguished professor and dean of law and president of the University, to be Attorney General after Watergate, so as to reform the corruption of the Nixon era.

Justice Department Says Trump's Taxes Must Be Released

July 30, 2021 at 1:33 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 179 Comments

"The Justice Department on Friday said the Treasury Department must turn over former President Trump's long-sought tax returns to the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee," The Hill reports.

From the memo: "The statute at issue here is unambiguous: `Upon written request' of the chairman of one of the three congressional tax committees, the Secretary `shall furnish' the requested tax information to the Committee."

"I am going to work hard to ensure that something like this doesn't happen to another progressive candidate again. We didn't lose this race, evil money manipulated and maligned this election."

-- Nina Turner (D), in her concession speech after losing to Shontel Brown (D) in a House special election primary.

Former Newsmax host and right-wing Florida radio commentator Dick Farrel -- who mocked vaccines, the "scamdemic" and "lying freak" Dr. Anthony Fauci -- has died of COVID-19.

This is not a joke: House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy is selling t-shirts to his supporters with the word "moron" printed on the front.

McCarthy is apparently trying to capitalize on Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently calling him a moron, but I'm not sure they thought this one through.

America's white population declined for the first time while US metro areas were responsible for almost all of the country's population growth, according to groundbreaking new data released on Thursday by the US census bureau.

The best part

DC only place where share of white population increased last year: Census

Mini brains grown in a lab from stem cells have spontaneously developed rudimentary eye structures, scientists report in a fascinating new paper.

On tiny, human-derived brain organoids grown in dishes, two bilaterally symmetrical optic cups were seen to grow, mirroring the development of eye structures in human embryos.

it's not a gruesome image

It looks almost peaceful.  And it not meant as a comment on withdrawing from the country or even the "way" it was done.

WTF?

Should be taking them in green and allowing them to ripen inside?

I tried Katla for a few episodes on Netflix but lost interest.

I finished and enjoyed season 2 of Black Summer, a zombie show with a faster pace than the Walking Dead.

Playbook: "The House's Jan. 6 committee makes its debut this morning."

"For the first time across dozens of high-profile Trump-related oversight hearings, Republican leadership and allies will have no voice on the panel. (It's going to be weird for us Hill watchers who are used to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) lobbing procedural grenades into proceedings to start fights."

"McCarthy's rather abrupt decision last week to pull his members from the Jan. 6 committee means that Democrats -- and their two GOP allies on this issue, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger -- will have free rein to set the narrative. (This is why several folks on McCarthy's own leadership team thought that pulling out was a bad idea.)"

"But ask yourself this: Do you think McCarthy's complaints about Pelosi will mollify Donald Trump when he turns on his TV and sees no Republicans on the dais defending him?"

Punchbowl News: "*Oh, and by the way, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar and Louie Gohmert, will hold a news conference outside the Justice Department on Tuesday to complain about the treatment of alleged rioters arrested for their role in the Jan. 6 attack. Talk about mixed -- or non-existent -- messaging."*

• WHAT...Heat index values of 105 to 110 expected.

• WHERE...Portions of eastern and north central Arkansas.

• WHEN...From noon Thursday to 7 PM CDT Friday

New Vaccinations Are Rebounding in the U.S.'s Covid Hot Spots
Places that have lagged behind inoculation efforts are seeing a burst of people choosing to get a first dose

trailer

It's definitely worth your time if you are interested at all in the subject.  A lot of it is based on ideas from a book by David Hockney

Secret Knowledge

Scientists from around the world claim to have harnessed a time crystal inside a quantum computer. If true, their discovery--as outlined in a July 28 pre-print research paper--could change the world virtually overnight with a limitless, rule-breaking source of energy that would bring quantum computers into the now.

As The Next Web astutely points out, this could be "the most important scientific breakthrough in our lifetimes." But to understand why, let's first examine the complicated connection between time crystals and quantum computing.

Whatever.  Leaving is good.  

It is nice that the government spokesperson discussing this with the press does not sound like an idiot.  And can pronounce all the names and places.

Urgent alert: Large cat spotted early this morning...
N
Nextdoor Cherokee Village
to me
16 hours agoDetails

     Seena Walker, Cherokee Village
Large cat spotted early this morning in the Saginaw Circle/Kusa area....possibly a cougar or panther.

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My trash people won't take it and she said she doesn't know anyone who will.  Usually there is a referral to one of several recycling places.  Not here.

There has not been much good tv for a while.   The first 3 episodes are streaming on demand.

2021 hasn't exactly been the year of great Stephen King adaptations on the small screen. "Lisey's Story" wasn't the cerebral thriller it should have been. And the newest attempt at "The Stand" was a major dud almost from its onset. But, as they say, the third time's a charm with "Chapelwaite," a pitch-black horror set in 1850s Maine, where vampires rule the looming eternal night.

Like many great "Nosferatu"-lite narratives, "Chapelwaite," based upon King's "Jerusalem's Lot," isn't merely fixated on the bloodthirsty undead stalking the innocent humans trembling in their candlelit homes; it explores our relationship with death, grief, family and what it means to have eternal life.

Select Committee Wants Lawmaker Phone Records

August 23, 2021 at 9:02 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

"The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot is poised to send notices to various telecommunications companies requesting that they preserve the phone records of several people, including members of Congress," CNN reports.

The judge denied the restraining order and came down pretty hard on the accuser, basically saying her injuries were consistent with what she requested. I think there's a legal issue of what you can consent to if you're unconscious if this ever goes to criminal court, but I'm not sure how she would be able to prove if and when she was unconscious.

I wonder if the Dodgers were hoping the restraining order would be granted and criminal charges brought so they could possibly not have to pay his 100 million dollar contract?  MLB is doing their own investigation, it will be interesting to see what they do.

I just gave them my tv.  It was a couple of rednecks, nice friendly ones, in an old pickup truck.

I really expected something more official.  I asked if they do this regularly.  I found out about today from city hall last week.  They said, hell no.  It's a pain and this is the last time we are doing it this summer.  Maybe ever.

They had no idea what happens to the thousands of flatscreens that will die by next summer.

We are in the first generation of flatscreen ownership right now.  They ARE going to start dying.  4 - 10 years.

On Thursday, Judge Gould-Saltman said, "The injuries as shown in the photographs are terrible," the transcript shows.

However, the judge said she believed Bauer did not do anything the woman didn't consent to.

"If she set limits and he exceeded them, this case would've been clear. But she set limits without considering all the consequences, and respondent did not exceed limits that the petitioner set," the judge said.

The judge stated her decision was based on evidence she believed showed the roughness of their sexual encounter was consensual. "We consider in a sexual encounter that when a woman says no she should be believed," Gould-Saltman said, per the transcript. "So, what should we do when she says yes?"