Prominent Texas Republican endorses Democrats Kamala Harris and Colin Allred

Former Tarrant County Judge Glenn Whitley began breaking with his now-radicalized party in 2022, when he endorsed Mike Collier over Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

But while he's not switching parties, Trump was the final straw as far as federal races (he's also endorsing Colin Allred).

"A lot of Republicans are afraid to stand up."

It's way too much fun to watch Kathy Bates in CBS' 'Matlock' reboot

Did you have "Kathy Bates plays a septuagenarian lawyer in a shockingly good 'Matlock' reboot on CBS" on your 2024 TV bingo card? Because I sure didn't!

But in this day and age on TV - with the chaos of streaming and the decline of traditional broadcast - there's no limit to the Mad-Libs-style shenanigans we'll see when it comes to what makes it on the air.

And while it could have been a train wreck of an intellectual property grab (we're looking at you, "Murphy Brown" revival), it is actually a darling little legal drama.

Bates, 76, is a doll, the cast is charming and the legal-plots-of-the-week are compelling.

At: https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2024/09/22/matlock-reboot-cbs-kathy-bates-review/75248246007/

Legendary actress Kathy Bates is on the case as Madeline "Matty" Matlock in CBS' masterful reboot of "Matlock" - 9 EDT/PDT Thursdays on Oct. 17.

Argentina's Milei sole western head of state to refuse to endorse UN Pact for the Future

Argentina declined on Sunday to endorse a key United Nations pact that aims for member countries to commit to action on issues including peace, poverty, climate change, and gender equality - the only one of 193 UN member states to do so.

Foreign Minister Diana Mondino - who once compared homosexuals to “lice” - announced that Argentina would distance itself from the 56-point Pact for the Future while speaking at the Summit of the Future at the UN’s General Assembly in New York.

She said the country’s decision was based on prioritizing “the defense of economic freedom and private property.”

“Many points in this pact go against or would hold back Argentina’s new agenda,” Mondino said.

Far-right President Javier Milei - who tasked Mondino with addressing the UN General Assembly - rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.

While many traders applauded Milei, 53, his 10 month-old administration has failed to secure significant foreign investment despite shredding a wide range of labor regulations by decree within days of taking office and narrowly obtaining passage of his laissez-faire Incentive Regime for Large Investments (RIGI) on June 28.

Local investment for its part, has collapsed outright. Fixed investment plunged by a near-record 26.7% in the first six months of 2024, compared to a year earlier - and nearly 233,000 registered jobs were lost.

Some 11,185 employers in Argentina went out of business in the same period - among them 57 large employers (with a staff of 500 or more). These include major multinational firms such as Adidas, Clorox, HSBC, Nike, Procter & Gamble, Xerox, and Zara.

At: https://buenosairesherald.com/world/international-relations/argentina-refuses-to-sign-un-pact-for-the-future-at-new-york-summit

An exultant Argentine President Javier Milei gavels in the opening of trading on Monday at the NYSE.

Milei opted out of addressing the UN General Assembly on Sunday - and left Argentina as the sole member state out of 193 to refuse to sign the UN's Pact for the Future.

While Milei has reaped international condemnation for the arbitrary use of the country's intelligence services and brutally quashing protests recently - including the use of masked agents provocateurs and the macing of a 10 year-old girl - Argentina's already-weak economy has been among the world's worst performers this year, with GDP falling 4.6% in the first half of 2024 despite a sharp recovery in harvests form a record 2023 drought.

Argentina: Milei's veto of $15 pension raise upheld

The Lower House of Argentina's Congress voted to uphold President Javier Milei veto overturning a $15 pension increase that had been approved by both chambers.

Overturning the veto would have required a special majority of two thirds of deputies (85 votes needed to uphold the veto). Ultimately, 87 voted against overturning and 153 in favor, while eight abstained.

Most of the opposition voted for the raise when it was first debated; but some deputies from the center-right UCR party changed their position - including one, Pedro Galimberti, who resigned after being revealed to have accepted a lucrative government contract in dollars.

On August 22, the Senate approved a pension formula reform that the Lower House had passed in June. The new law established a hike of AR$15,000 (US$15) and guaranteed to prevent retirees’ income from falling behind inflation - which, while slowing, remains at 237%.

Congressman Germán Martínez, leader of the Peronist opposition Unión por la Patria caucus, argued that Argentina could afford the pensions raises. “All the calculations that we and the Congress budget office did […] said that it was absolutely sustainable,” he told the C5N news channel.

“Today, La Libertad Avanza [Milei’s coalition] didn’t know how to defend a president who never said that he would impose austerity measures on pensioners, and who is now managing for 30 in every 100 pesos that he cuts to be paid for by retirees.”

Outside Congress, protesters gathered to demand Milei’s veto be overturned. After the vote, police used tear gas and water cannon against the demonstrators. Previous protests by pensioners in recent weeks have likewise been met with a violent police response.

At: https://buenosairesherald.com/politics/milei-set-to-get-major-win-as-deputies-convene-to-debate-veto-of-pension-raise

Argentina's National Gendarmerie - a militarized police force controlled by the president - quashed protests by retirees and left-wing activists in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.

Far-right President Javier Milei had vetoed a $15 emergency hike passed by Congress for the $307 minimum standard pension collected by over half of retirees - around a third of the poverty line.

Sergio Mendes, Grammy-winning Brazilian music legend, dies at 83

Sergio Mendes, the celebrated Brazilian musician whose 1966 hit “Mas Que Nada” made him a global superstar and helped launched a long, Grammy-winning career, has died after months battling the effects of long COVID. He was 83.

The death Thursday of the Brazilian pianist, songwriter and arranger was confirmed in a statement by his family.

Mendes was born in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro’s sister city, and studied classical music at a conservatory before joining jazz groups.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he began playing Bossa Nova as the genre was heating up in Rio’s nightclub scene with Antonio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto and others.

In 1962, they traveled to New York for a Bossa Nova festival at Carnegie Hall. During the trip, Cannonball Adderley invited Mendes to collaborate on the album “Cannonball Adderley and The Bossa Rio Sextet,” leading to his first American record, “The Swinger from Rio,” after signing with Atlantic Records.

At: https://apnews.com/article/sergio-mendes-obituary-brazil-bossa-nova-4eccfe92f2868249c2d7975e666428ec

Legendary Brazilian composer Sergio Mendes, 1941-2024.

I take on fraudsters and scammers for a living. Take it from me: Tim Sheehy is one of them

Have you ever met someone who calls themselves a “successful businessman,” but lost his company $77 million, is being sued by former employees for allegedly stiffing them out of their pay, fraudulently certified his company as a socially disadvantaged business to try to win government contracts, prompted his biggest investor to cash out of the company and abandon their stake in it, and has had multiple board members resign from his company on his watch – all while paying himself fat multimillion-dollar bonuses?

Maybe you haven’t met him in person, but you’ve certainly heard of him. His name is Tim Sheehy, and he’s running for the United States Senate.

At: https://dailymontanan.com/2024/08/31/i-take-on-fraudsters-and-scammers-for-a-living-take-it-from-me-tim-sheehy-is-one-of-them/

Confidence man: Tim Sheehy greets supporters outside of a rally in Bozeman on August 9.

Infant and newborn deaths increase nearly 13% following Texas abortion ban

Texas' infant mortality rate - 5.72 per 1000 live births - was similar to those in Chile, Iran, and Romania.

And that was in '22. Rates in '23 were likely even higher.

Jesse Ventura EXPLODES on Republican lies against Tim Walz

About Walz: "E-9s are not operational anymore."

About the Iraq War: "That's the question that should be asked: why was the Guard being sent to foreign countries?"

"Had Bush wanted the Minnesota National Guard in Iraq, I would've refused - and can you imagine a draft dodger like Bush relieving a Navy frogman like me from command?"

'The fever is breaking': DeSantis-backed school board candidates fall short in Florida

Source: AP

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign to expand his conservative education agenda in Florida schools didn’t quite go the way he wanted on Tuesday.

Of the 23 school board candidates that DeSantis endorsed this cycle, preliminary results show more of them appeared to lose their election races than win them.

Unofficial vote tallies show 11 candidates backed by the governor lost on Tuesday, including some incumbents in conservative-leaning counties. Meanwhile, six of DeSantis’ preferred candidates won their races and six were poised to advance to a November runoff after no one in their contests cleared 50% of the vote.

Those runoffs could still go in DeSantis’ favor.

Read more: https://www.kron4.com/news/national/ap-us-news/ap-the-fever-is-breaking-desantis-backed-school-board-candidates-fall-short-in-florida/

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the Parental Rights in Education bill - widely known as the "Don't Say Gay" law - in 2022, at the height of his political power.

A weak performance in school board elections on Tuesday, however, suggest that Florida voters may be souring on DeSantis' extreme agenda.

Thank You, America

Thank you, Joe!