Zorro
Zorro's JournalHouse GOP puts on united front as conflict brews behind the scenes
After 100 days in control, House Republicans have not reached consensus on how they will handle a vote on raising the debt ceiling — a critical piece of legislation that, if not passed, has global economic implications. They have not agreed on what their budget should, or should not, include, with various factions of the conference preparing their own versions. They are once again uncertain about when to vote on a major midterm promise — border security legislation — after not being able to secure support for its passage. And behind all of these public debates, skepticism and distrust is growing among GOP leaders.
The growing rancor and the lack of progress on major legislation have set the stage for months of tumult ahead for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), who has struggled to shepherd his narrowly divided conference as both moderate and extreme GOP members seek to leverage their power in the party’s four-vote majority. The coming battles could have profound effects on the U.S. economy as well as on the 2024 election, as House Republicans pursue numerous right-wing policies that could influence races for Congress and the White House.
McCarthy narrowly won approval to take the gavel after a bruising days-long fight in January and has seen other internal issues erupt into the public eye over committee assignments, stalled votes and increasing mistrust among leaders.
“Everybody is going to be looking at each other much more suspiciously now,” said a Republican aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party dynamics. “It’s going to be much harder to do things.”
https://wapo.st/3UHIqBQ
Republicans look to extend transgender restrictions to adults
The Republican-led backlash against rights and health care for transgender children is expanding to adults. Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey issued an emergency ruling Thursday that requires adults to receive 18 months of psychological therapy and to demonstrate “a persistent and intense pattern of gender dysphoria” before they are allowed to undergo gender-affirming care.
In a statement, Bailey said the ruling was “necessary due to the skyrocketing number of gender transition interventions.” Critics of the guidelines responded by saying that gender-affirming care has been shown to be medically effective.
“The Attorney General’s so-called emergency rule is based on distorted, misleading, and debunked claims and ignores the overwhelming body of scientific and medical evidence supporting this care,” the ACLU and Lambda Legal said in a joint statement.
On Thursday, Montana’s Republican-dominated Legislature advanced a bill that would strictly define gender based on sexual organs at birth.
https://news.yahoo.com/republicans-look-to-extend-transgender-restrictions-to-adults-212844068.html
Hobby Lobby Announces It Muslim Now
OKLAHOMA CITY—Explaining that its long affiliation with evangelical Christianity had come to an end, retail company Hobby Lobby announced Monday that it was Muslim now.
“After many years of self-reflection, we have seen the light of the word of the Prophet Muhammad,” said Hobby Lobby CEO David Green, adding that the chain’s nearly 1,000 stores would now face Mecca, require employees to pray five times a day, and adopt the word of the Quran to guide their policies, healthcare, and moral code.
“Christianity was fine and all, but it has never been more clear that Islam is the one true religion and, thus, the one true religion for the Hobby Lobby chain. Praise be to Allah. Allahu Akbar.”
At press time, Green had reportedly come under fire for looting millions of dollars worth of ancient artifacts related to early Islam for his personal collection.
https://www.theonion.com/hobby-lobby-announces-it-muslim-now-1850320578
Fox News Lawyers to Cite Hiring of Kimberly Guilfoyle as Part of Insanity Defense
GEORGETOWN, DELAWARE (The Borowitz Report)—With Fox News Channel’s defamation trial set for this week, the network’s lawyers intend to cite its hiring of Kimberly Guilfoyle as the linchpin of an insanity defense.
Although such a defense is highly unorthodox in a civil case, Fox’s lawyers believe that the decision to put Guilfoyle on the air is conclusive proof that the network’s brass cannot be held responsible for their actions.
According to those familiar with the legal strategy, Fox’s lawyers plan to show the jury Guilfoyle’s ear-splitting performance at the 2020 Republican National Convention in its entirety.
At the conclusion of the video, they will ask the jurors if the executives who considered Guilfoyle an acceptable TV presence could possibly be deemed sane.
“Pleading insanity is a desperate gambit that almost never succeeds,” Professor Davis Logsdon, of the University of Minnesota Law School, said. “But this Kimberly Guilfoyle thing looks like a slam dunk.”
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/fox-news-lawyers-to-cite-hiring-of-kimberly-guilfoyle-as-part-of-insanity-defense
Seven Kings Must Die now streaming on Netflix
It's the movie conclusion of The Last Kingdom series, for those who may be interested.
I really enjoyed watching The Last Kingdom, a truly excellent series.
2 dads exchanged gunfire in Florida road rage fight, injuring kids, but only one got charged
Two fathers who got in what police say was a road-rage fight in Florida last fall exchanged gunfire and ended up shooting each other's daughters.
Now, one of them is facing attempted murder charges while the other won't have to spend another day in court over the skirmish.
William Hale, 36, of Douglas, Georgia, and Frank Allison, 44, of Callahan, Florida, were both driving home with their families on Oct. 8 after spending time in Jacksonville in northeastern Florida.
Both men have different stories about how the confrontation started but both agree that it was fueled by road rage, that they were brake-checking each other, driving too fast and that Allison's wife flipped off the Hales, according to police records obtained by USA TODAY.
https://news.yahoo.com/2-dads-exchanged-gunfire-florida-090510812.html
Spoiler: Who's the one who got charged? The one who threw the water bottle at the other...
Iran vows crack down on people who promote removing the veil
People who encourage women to remove the hijab will be prosecuted in criminal courts and will have no right of appeal against any conviction, Iran's deputy attorney general was quoted as saying on Saturday.
His comments come as an increasing number of women have been defying Iran's compulsory dress code, appearing unveiled in malls, restaurants, shops, streets, and other public areas.
Several female celebrities and activists have also in recent months posted photos of themselves on social media without the veil.
Iranian police on Saturday installed cameras in public places to identify and penalise unveiled women, Iranian media reported. Police announced the plan last week.
https://news.yahoo.com/iran-vows-crack-down-people-092856738.html
Concerns that Texas abortion ruling will upend FDA authority are 'alarmist': Sen. Cassidy
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., on Sunday dismissed concerns that the Texas judge’s recent abortion pill ruling will upend the Food and Drug Administration’s authority and have wider consequences on other drugs.
In an exclusive interview on “Meet the Press,” NBC News' Chuck Todd said that U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk's ruling to suspended the FDA’s longtime approval of key abortion pill mifepristone appears to call into questions FDA approvals on other drugs.
“Do you worry about the upending a status quo and sort of upending the FDA’s authority in a way that will be— create sort of chaos in the pharmaceutical industry?” Todd asked.
Cassidy replied: "I think that’s totally alarmist. It’s totally alarmist. And by the way, when did the FDA think they could go above the law?"
"It can ignore it — it can ignore the Administrative Procedure Act, which every other agency has to follow theoretically, but they don’t have to? So, so I mean, I think that’s alarmist and I also think that the FDA should not be above the law," Cassidy added.
https://news.yahoo.com/concerns-texas-abortion-ruling-upend-165314314.html
Former Indian lawmaker slain live on TV while in police custody, state restricts gatherings
A former lawmaker in India's parliament, convicted of kidnapping, was shot dead along with his brother while police were escorting them for a medical check-up in a slaying caught on live television on Saturday.
The dramatic footage of the men being killed was shared across broadcast channels and social media. A gunman is seen reaching over the shoulders of police to point a pistol at the temple of the former lawmaker, Atiq Ahmed, whose turban is blown off as the gun discharges.
His brother, Ashraf Ahmed, was shot a split second later.
In other footage, filmed by Reuters partner ANI, one gunman is seen firing repeatedly at brother's bodies as they lay on the ground.
https://news.yahoo.com/former-indian-lawmaker-slain-live-080647020.html
U.S. House Republicans chart new strategy to pressure Biden, Democrats
U.S. House Republicans will try to agree on a plan to lift the federal $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and cut government spending when Congress returns this week, after being stymied for months by Democratic President Joe Biden's demands they do so without conditions.
House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a Monday speech at the New York Stock Exchange will lay out the conditions Republicans want Democrats to agree to in exchange for movement on the debt ceiling.
He has offered few specific details ahead of the talk, but Republicans have proposed holding annual spending growth to 1% for a decade, reducing regulation and boosting energy production.
Members of McCarthy's sometimes-fractious caucus, who hold a narrow 222-213 majority, have yet to agree on actual legislation. Any proposal Republicans introduce would need to be negotiated with Biden's Democrats, who control the Senate, before it could become law.
The White House, which is leading the Democrats' approach to the debt ceiling, has dismissed the Republican proposals as unrealistic.
https://news.yahoo.com/u-house-republicans-chart-strategy-100656923.html
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