Kevin McCarthy’s Impeachment Inquiry Provokes Predictably Polarized Reactions

Published

2 years ago

September 14, 2023

admin

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s announcement of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden over his connections to his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings is provoking some predictably polarized reactions. Most liberal commenters and Democratic elected officials have largely dismissed the effort as a hypocritical, evidence-free witch hunt, while ardent conservatives are cheering the effort to finally hold the Biden Crime Family accountable.

“Launching this illegitimate inquiry is a distraction,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.) yesterday. “Instead of focusing on doing the business of the American people, Extreme MAGA Republicans are doing the bidding of their puppet master in chief, Donald Trump.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries addresses Kevin McCarthy's impeachment inquiry:

"Extreme MAGA Republicans are doing the bidding of their puppet master in chief, Donald Trump. When Donald Trump says jump, the extreme MAGA Republicans say how high." pic.twitter.com/P1ZzDT8AJG

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 12, 2023

It’s “based on the weakness of Kevin McCarthy’s speakership, the fact that he doesn’t have the moral authority with his members, doesn’t have control over his caucus, and is beholden to the most extreme elements who want an impeachment of Joe Biden, an impeachment without evidence,” Rep. Adam Schiff (DCalif.) told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer yesterday. Kevin McCarthy’s announcement of a bogus impeachment inquiry into President Biden is based on two things: McCarthy’s weakness as speaker, and his willingness to do Trump’s bidding.

It’s certainly not based on evidence or facts. pic.twitter.com/Ey4qnyIetY

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) September 13, 2023

House Republicans meanwhile are arguing there’s ample cause to proceed with an impeachment inquiry.

“Bank records, suspicious activity reports, emails, texts, and witness testimony reveal Joe Biden allowed his family to sell him as ‘the brand’ around the world to enrich the Bidens,” said Reps. James Comer (RKy.), Jim Jordan (ROhio), and Jason Smith (RMo.) who have been leading the House’s investigation into the Biden’s foreign business dealings, in a joint statement. ????IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY????@HouseGOP has uncovered anoverwhelmingamount ofevidence showing @POTUS lied to the American people about his knowledge & participation in his family’s influence peddling schemes.

I fully support @SpeakerMcCarthy opening an impeachment inquiry.???? pic.twitter.com/feFLOMU6HN

— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) September 12, 2023

Most Republican presidential candidates, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, had given their support to a formal impeachment inquiry before McCarthy’s announcement. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christe said an investigation into Biden’s alleged corruption is warranted, but a full impeachment inquiry is premature.

Some journalists and liberal commenters have criticized Republicans’ procedural hypocrisy. In 2019, Republicans criticized then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (DCalif.) for opening an impeachment inquiry without a full vote of the House. Now, McCarthy is doing the same thing in 2023. In 2019, Kevin McCarthy blasted Nancy Pelosi and Democrats for opening an impeachment inquiry into President Trump without a full House vote, asking her to suspend the probe.

Now, he is opening an impeachment probe into President Biden without a House vote. pic.twitter.com/GWxzwHHMBH

— Stephen Neukam (@stephen_neukam) September 12, 2023

The conservative pushback is that it’s all part of the reaping/sowing process. Here's the pattern:

-Democrats make unprecedented rule change
-Republicans warn of consequences if Democrats lose
-Democrats lose
-Republicans operate under new rule
-Democrats complain
-Media dutifully screams hypocrisy

See: filibuster, committee ousters, and now impeachment https://t.co/tyAV4yRwMh

— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) September 12, 2023

Some conservative writers are landing between “impeachment now” and “politicized witchhunt” when assessing McCarthy’s impeachment inquiry.

“In announcing the move, McCarthy noted that to date, ‘House Republicans have uncovered serious, credible, allegations into President Biden’s conduct.’ This is true, and a tribute to the GOP investigation, but all of it has happened through a vigorous oversight process that has operated outside of impeachment,” reads a National Revieweditorial from yesterday. “The speaker argues that having an open impeachment inquiry will provide more power to investigators to get more answers, but it also creates more pressure to produce a smoking gun and, potentially, to proceed further down the impeachment track regardless.”

Republican senators have expressed similar concern that the impeachment inquiry is premature, reportsThe Hill. It won’t remove Biden but will plausibly derail negotiations over a spending resolution that must pass by the end of the month to avoid a federal government shutdown.

The Libertarian Party, meanwhile, has thrown its support behind the Republicans’ impeachment inquiry while insisting the best remedy is to place Biden under conservatorship. The Libertarian Party is in full support of Speaker McCarthy's impeachment inquiry into President Biden, based on the allegations of corruption. But it shouldn't stop there, and his lack of effort in calling for an actual vote to give it legal pertinence means it will accomplish…

— Libertarian Party (@LPNational) September 12, 2023

FREE MINDS

A federal appeals court has ruled that a Catholic group doesn’t need special permission from zoning officials in Michigan to install a Stations of the Cross prayer trail on private property. ReportsCBS: The court ruled 3-0 in favor of the group and issued an injunction Monday, saying Genoa Township in Livingston County was likely violating the rights of Missouri-based Catholic Healthcare International, which controls the 40-acre wooded parcel.

The township had said a special-use permit was needed because the project was the equivalent of a church building. The religious group objected but ultimately responded with a plan for a chapel and trail after spending thousands of dollars on the application. It was rejected.

Catholic Healthcare obtained the land from the Lansing Catholic Diocese to create a trail with the Stations of the Cross, 14 stops that commemorate the suffering and death of Jesus.

Stations of the Cross stayed up until the township in 2021 persuaded a state judge to order removal. Catholic Healthcare, meanwhile, filed a lawsuit in federal court, invoking a law that protects religious groups in zoning matters. FREE MARKETS

Inflation continues to make Americans poorer.The latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau found that cost of living increases have surpassed rising incomes for the third year in a row, reports The Wall Street Journal:

Americans’ inflation-adjusted median household income fell to $74,580 in 2022, declining2.3%from the 2021 estimateof $76,330, the Census Bureau said Tuesday.The amount has dropped 4.7% since its peak in 2019.

Nevertheless, things could be looking a little brighter for workers by the end of 2023: This year could be different. Earnings and inflation trendshave improvedas a strong labor market and cooling price increases boosted household purchasing power, saidBill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank.

“Shifting into the present and into the future, the prospects are better for wages to make up for some of the ground lost during the last couple of years,” Adams said. QUICK HITS Markets in everything? The Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary organization, has been trying to win hearts and minds in Africa with its own brand of beer. In non-impeachment Congressional news, House Republicans are pushing a defense spending bill to end the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates and stop the transfer of cluster bombs to Ukraine. Just finished Rules Committee tonight. On defense appropriations bill we will have votes on amendments to

Prohibit COVID militay vax mandate

Prohibit military mask mandate

Prohibit xfer of cluster munitions

Prohibit US troop deployment to Ukraine

and 180 other amendments.

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 13, 2023

Transportation modes, both old and new, did no favors to a San Francisco man who was struck by a public bus. The ambulance that took him to the hospital reportedly got stuck behind two stopped driverless cars. Senate Democrats are holding a closed-door forum today with tech billionaires Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Sundar Pichai about the promise and perils of artificial intelligence. Surely, they won’t use the opportunity to push protectionist regulations. Speaking of protectionist regulations: California lawmakers are considering limiting the use of artificial intelligence to replace actors. Yet another public official overseeing construction activity is being charged as part of a corruption investigation. Former New York City Buildings commissioner Eric Ulrich is supposed to surrender to local law enforcement this morning, reports Politico. It’s not an accident that this keeps happening.

UK

VE Day: Veterans to join King for tea party as Keir Starmer praises ‘selfless dedication’

Published

2 hours ago

May 5, 2025

admin

VE Day: Veterans to join King for tea party as Keir Starmer praises 'selfless dedication'

Veterans are set to join the King for a VE Day tea party today as the prime minister has paid tribute to the “selfless dedication” of the war generation.

Among them will be a 99-year-old who took part in the D-Day landings and a 100-year-old woman who worked in the Special Operations Executive, known as Churchill’s Secret Army.

Director general of the Royal British Legion, Mark Atkinson, said the charity was “proud” to be taking a place “at the heart of these national celebrations and commemorations” on the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

He said it would be “one of our last opportunities as a nation to pay tribute to those veterans still with us today”.

Evacuees from World War Two and veterans who were still in active conflict after VE Day are among the other guests set to attend the tea party, which will take place in the presence of the King and other members of the Royal Family.

At 12pm, the Royal Family will observe a military procession, followed by a flypast.

It will be the first major VE Day anniversary without any of the royals who stood on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on the day victory in Europe was declared, after the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

‘Not just for Britain’

The celebrations come as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer praised veterans for their “selfless dedication” and thanked them for a “debt that can never fully be repaid” in an open letter ahead of VE Day.

He said the stories which will be heard this week from those who fought in the Second World War would be a reminder that the victory “was not just for Britain” but was also “a victory for good against the assembled forces of hatred, tyranny and evil”.

Sir Keir said the WW2 veterans “represent the best of who we are” and that without their service “the freedom, peace and joy that these celebrations embody, would not be possible”.

Personnel from NATO allies the US, France and Germany will be among those taking part in the procession in London.

The commemorations will begin with the words of Sir Winston Churchill‘s 1945 victory speech, spoken by actor Timothy Spall.

Thousands of people are expected to line the streets of the capital to witness the celebrations.

On the anniversary itself on Thursday, marking exactly 80 years since the Allies formally accepted Germany’s surrender, a service of commemoration will be held at Westminster Abbey, to include a national two minutes’ silence.

Pubs across England and Wales, which usually close at 11pm, will also stay open for an extra two hours to allow punters more time to celebrate.

Sports

Logano gets 1st win this season in OT at Texas

Published

2 hours ago

May 5, 2025

admin

Logano gets 1st win this season in OT at Texas

Associated Press

May 4, 2025, 09:23 PM ET

FORT WORTH, Texas — Reigning NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano overcame a lot to get his first victory this season.

It came a week after Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric‘s win at Talladega, where Logano had a fifth-place finish that became 39th after a postrace inspection found an issue with the spoiler on his No. 22 Ford. There was also Logano’s expletive-laden rant on the radio toward his teammate in the middle of that race that the two smoothed out during the week. Oh, and he started 27th at Texas after a bad qualifying effort on the 1½-mile track.

But Logano surged ahead on the restart in overtime Sunday to win in the 11th race this year. He led only seven of the 271 laps, four more than scheduled.

“After what happened last week, to be able to rebound and come right back, it’s a total ’22’ way of doing things. So proud of the team,” Logano said.

On the final restart after the 12th caution, Logano was on the inside of his other teammate, Ryan Blaney. But Logano pulled away on the backstretch and stayed easily in front for the final 1½ laps, while Ross Chastain then passed Blaney to finish second ahead of him.

“Just slowly, methodically,” Logano said of his progression to the front. “Just kept grinding, a couple here and a couple there and eventually get a win here.”

Logano got his 37th career victory, getting the lead for the first time on Lap 264. He went low to complete a pass of Michael McDowell.

“I mean, there’s always a story next week, right?” Logano said. “So I told my wife last week before we left, I said, ‘Watch me go win this one.’ It’s just how we do stuff.”

On a caution with 47 laps left, McDowell took only two tires and moved up 15 spots to second. He ended up leading 19 laps, but got loose a few laps after getting passed by Logano and crashed to bring out the caution that sent the race to overtime. He finished 26th.

“We were giving it everything we had there to try to keep track position,” McDowell said. “Joey got a run there, and I tried to block it. I went as far as I think you could probably go. When Blaney slid in front of me, it just took the air off of it and I just lost the back of it. I still had the fight in me, but I probably should have conceded at that point.”

Odds and Ends

William Byron, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott remained the top four in season points. … Elliott left Texas last spring with his first victory after 42 races and 18 months without one. He hasn’t won since, and now has another long winless drought — this one 38 races and nearly 13 months after finishing 16th. … A crew member for Christopher Bell crawled in through the passenger side of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and was fully in the car to reconnect an air hose to the driver’s helmet during a caution in the second stage. It took two stops during that caution, and twice climbing into the car, to resolve the issue.

Fiery end to Hamlin streak

Hamlin had finished on the lead lap in 21 consecutive races, but a fiery finish on Lap 75 ended that streak that had matched the eighth longest in NASCAR history. He was the first car out of the race.

After the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota lost power, something blew up when Hamlin recycled the engine. Flames were coming from under the car and it was engulfed in smoke when it rolled to a stop on the inside of the track, and Hamlin climbed out unharmed.

Youngest pole sitter

Carson Hocevar, the 22-year-old driver who is McDowell’s teammate with Spire Motorsports, was the youngest pole sitter in Texas. He led only the first 22 laps of the race, losing it while pitting during the first caution. He finished 24th after a late accident.

Stage cautions

Both in-race stages finished under caution. Cindric won Stage 1 after Hamlin’s issues, and Kyle Larson took the second after a yellow flag came out because of debris on the track after the right rear tire on Chris Buescher‘s car came apart.

Larson got his 68th overall stage win and his sixth at Texas, with both marks being records. He has won a stage in each of the past five Cup races at Texas, starting in his 2021 win there.

US

Trump calls for reopening of Alcatraz to house ‘most ruthless and violent offenders’

Published

4 hours ago

May 5, 2025

admin

Trump calls for reopening of Alcatraz to house 'most ruthless and violent offenders'

US President Donald Trump has called for the reopening of notorious prison Alcatraz.

In a post on his social media site Truth Social, Mr Trump said America had been “plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat criminal offenders”.

He added that when the United States was “a more serious nation” it “did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals”.

“That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt Alcatraz, to house America’s most ruthless and violent offenders,” he wrote.

Mr Trump said the reopening of the San Francisco prison would “serve as a symbol of law, order, and justice”.

The US president’s latest policy announcement comes after he fired national security adviser Mike Waltz last week in the first major change to his administration.

Alcatraz was infamously inescapable and in the 29 years it was open, 36 men attempted 14 separate escapes, according to the FBI.

Nearly all of them were caught or did not survive the attempt at escaping.

The prison housed some of America’s most notorious criminals, including Al Capone and George Kelly.

It has also been the subject of a number of films, including The Rock, starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage.

Alcatraz Island, which is surrounded by strong ocean currents and cold Pacific waters, is now a major tourist site, operated by the National Park Service.

The prison’s closure in 1963 was attributed to crumbling infrastructure and high repair costs.

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons said it would “comply with all presidential orders”.

The Bureau of Prisons currently has 16 high-security prisons, including its maximum-security facility in Florence, Colorado, and a facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, which is home to the federal death chamber.

The United States’ federal law enforcement agency has been the subject of increased scrutiny in recent years after Jeffrey Epstein‘s suicide at a federal jail in New York City in 2019.