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Many of the bodies recovered from nearly 450 makeshift graves uncovered near the Ukrainian city of Izium show signs of torture and abuse with many having their hands tied behind their backs when he was shot, the Associated Press reports.

The revelation strengthens accusations of Russian war crimes made by Ukrainian authorities and human rights observers, and the Ukrainian government said the vast majority of the people buried in the forest site were civilians.  Locals say the victims died of by gunshots, from artillery wounds and in Russian bombing.  Some also died after triggering mines laid by Russian forces.

Associated Press journalists and war crimes investigators found the mass burial site outside of Izium when the city of 45,000 was liberated by Ukrainian forces earlier this week.  Russia has been accused of war crimes for intentionally targeting civilian populations with their bombardments, with additional accusations of abuse and crimes committed by soldiers on the ground.

Records obtained by the New Jersey Globe show that, like his fellow Republican, Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz, hardcore MAGA Pennsylvania gov candidate Doug Mastriano was, until recently, registered to vote in the neighboring Garden State. While both are pretty fucking blatantly stupid, Doug’s is extra egregious as he’s been a Pennsylvania state Senator since 2019. Just forget the whole “election integrity” crusade, that kind of hypocrisy is already priced in with MAGA candidates.

In yet another sign of just how badly Lindsey Graham is (possibly) fucking this up for the GOP in the closing stretch before the midterms, Republican Nevada governor candidate Joe Lombardo told a crowd of fans Thursday he would “fight” against Graham’s proposed national ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, the AP reports. “It’s the vote of the people within the state of Nevada, and I will support that. That is an issue that doesn’t need to be in politics,” said Lombardo, as if the GOP did not put the issue in politics by confirming pro-forced birth justices to the Supreme Court.

All this being said, we have to consider Lindsey Graham’s push for a national 15-week ban is actually kind of tactically shrewd in a way, if still a desperate break-the-glass move. If the math to get to 50% + 1 of the vote in a blue but tight state like Nevada means Lombardo has to piss off some extremists to reach independents who are pro-choice but would otherwise be receptive to the economy song and dance, then it makes makes sense. Lindsey’s taking the flak for what a dickheads like Charlie Kirk think is bad timing – even calling it “election interference” because God forbid a leading Republican be (relatively) honest and forthright with voters.

But as you can see right here he’s also giving Lombardo and other Republican candidates room to differentiate themselves from the party itself. Never mind this asshole would happily abide a national 15-week ban if still in office in 2025, which is the earliest possible year one could be implemented, the point is to just help him and others get elected. If they lose the 15% of hardcore MAGA voters in their states but gain 20% of pro-choice moderates then that’s 5% more votes they would’ve had. Time will tell if it’ll actually work – and our guess is probably not given the momentum Dems have on the issue, but having considered it further after seeing Lombardo using it to try to sell a moderate stance, we see how it can be used to help the GOP on the margins.

Democrats lead Republicans 46 to 44 percent on the latest New York Times/Siena College polling survey, an improvement by one point over the Dems’ July lead by the same pollster. The same survey found that 43% of respondents described the Republican Party as “extreme” compared to 37% for the Democratic Party. Democrats also lead on the question of which party has the corner on the most important issues, 40 to 38 percent, even though overall the survey found most respondents rating economic issues of the highest importance.

Justice Department: “A California man pleaded guilty on Sept. 8, 2022 in federal court in Springfield, Mass. to making threats to commit anti-LGBTQ violence against Springfield-based Merriam-Webster, Inc. and others. Jeremy David Hanson, 34, of Rossmoor, Calif., pleaded guilty to one count of interstate communication of threatening communications to commit violence against the employees of Merriam-Webster, and to another count charging the same offense, initially filed in the Eastern District of Texas, targeting the President of the University of North Texas.”

“On April 20, 2022, Hanson was arrested and charged by criminal complaint and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury on May 5, 2022. Between Oct. 2 and Oct. 8, 2021, Springfield-based Merriam-Webster, Inc. received various threatening messages and comments demonstrating bias against specific gender identities submitted through its website’s ‘Contact Us’ page and in the comments section on its webpages that corresponded to the word entries for ‘Girl’ and ‘Woman.’ Authorities later identified the user as Hanson. Specifically, on Oct. 2, 2021, Hanson used the handle ‘@anonYmous’ to post the following comment on the dictionary’s website definition of ‘female:’ ‘It is absolutely sickening that Merriam-Webster now tells blatant lies and promotes anti-science propaganda. There is no such thing as ‘gender identity.’ The imbecile who wrote this entry should be hunted down and shot.'”

You can’t really blame Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for his publicity stunt of flying undocumented migrants to Martha’s Vineyard blowing up in his face:  he’s a Republican, and the only way Republicans know how to get things done is to pay someone else to do the work.

As the Miami Herald reports, it appears that the flights of migrants to the Massachusetts vacation spot DeSantis has made his central talking point over the last two days originated from Texas.  Those undocumented migrants, who DeSantis attempted to portray as being uprooted from Florida, had never stepped foot in Florida.

Questions have arisen if DeSantis broke the law by using money from a $12 million fund set up to “remove” undocumented immigrants from Florida.  DeSantis reportedly defended the expenditure by claiming that trafficking his human chattel to a sanctuary city makes it unlikely they’ll ever go to Florida.

File this with the “It took this long?” Department:  On Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rays became the first team in Major League Baseball history to start a batting lineup consisting of all Latino players, CBS News reports.

The feat took place on the day the league honors Roberto Clemente day, remembering the Puerto Rican player for the Pittsburgh Pirates who died on a humanitarian flight to help earthquake victims in Nicaragua in 1971.  All the Latino players on the Rays wore Clemente’s number 21 on their jerseys to commemorate the day.

According to MLB.com, the starting lineup was:  Yandy Díaz and Randy Arozarena from Cuba; Wander Franco, Manuel Margot and Jose Siri from the Dominican Republic; Harold Ramírez from Colombia; David Peralta and René Pinto from Venezuela; and Isaac Paredes from Mexico.  (The pitcher, a position that no longer bats, was Shane McClanahan of Baltimore, Maryland.)

Federal Judge Aileen M. Cannon has baffled legal experts and at least one former Attorney General with her legal rulings, and tonight’s is no different.  The jurist, however, made a very telling statement in the last paragraph of her ruling noted below (with my emphasis).  Not only does Cannon openly state that she doesn’t believe the prosecutors’ claims, made in sworn statements, but she also acknowledges she’s giving Donald Trump special treatment because of his old job.  Apparently, she never learned the adage, “Justice is blind.”

III. Relevant Principles

The Government also presents the argument, in passing, that making the full scope of the Lastly, the Court agrees with the Government that “the public is best served by evenhanded adherence to established principles of civil and criminal procedure,” regardless of the personal identity of the parties involved [ECF No. 88 p. 10]. It is also true, of course, that evenhanded procedure does not demand unquestioning trust in the determinations of the Department of Justice. Based on the nature of this action, the principles of equity require the Court to consider the specific context at issue, and that consideration is inherently impacted by the position formerly held by Plaintiff. The Court thus continues to endeavor to serve the public interest, the principles of civil and criminal procedure, and the principles of equity. And the Court remains firmly of the view that appointment of a special master to conduct a review of the seized materials, accompanied by a temporary injunction to avoid unwarranted use and disclosure of potentially privileged and/or personal materials, is fully consonant with the foregoing principles and with the need to ensure at least the appearance of fairness and integrity under unprecedented circumstances.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Thursday that his government has located at least one mass burial site outside the newly-liberated city of Izium, furthering the evidence of Russian war crimes, the Associated Press reports.

Situated in a forest, hundreds of graves are marked with simple crosses with numbers written on them.  One of the markers notes that it is the grave of 17 Ukrainian soldiers.  Investigators say posting made to social media accounts by Russian soldiers point to 25-30 bodies in the grave.

The graves document the massive loss of civilian life that occurred as the Russians attempted to seize Ukraine.  Scores of those buried are dead as the result of a missile attack on an apartment complex in Izium. 

“And I have come to the conclusion–and I want to be definitive on this–the election was not stolen,” New Hampshire Republican gubernatorial nominee–and a guy who just last month spouted election conspiracy theories at Republican rallies–Don Bolduc says on Fox during his rehabilitation tour just two days after winning the nomination.  Bolduc finishes his statement by acknowledging, “Elections have consequences, and unfortunately, President Biden is the legitimate president of this country.”

Granite Staters obviously told him to cut the bullshit about the election being stolen because it makes you look like an idiot, so he’s going to do his predetermined election strategy which is to abandon the far-right whackjob antics that helped him win the primary and would’ve drowned him in the general.  In other words, MAGAts, Bolduc knows you’re an anchor on his election hopes.

REDS RISING: Xi Tells Putin 'We are ready to team up' | Just The Newshttps://t.co/XYxyTRVxow

— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) September 16, 2022

Donald Trump is already winnowing down his list of potential candidates for the second slot on the Republican presidential ticket in 2024, and those options will not include either his former Vice President Mike Pence or his former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Yahoo News reports.

In “The Divider:  Trump in the White House, 2017-2021,” writers Peter Baker and Susan Glasser say Trump told them in an interview he wouldn’t choose Pence because “[i]t would be totally inappropriate,” adding, “Mike committed political suicide,” which, if I’m Mike Pence, political suicide is better than my actual lynching.

Trump also ruled out former South Carolina governor Haley, who has been a loyal Trumpian while still attempting to stay grounded in reality.  That’s not good enough for Trump because, he’s told various people, she has a “complexion problem.”  Haley, whose first name is Nimrata, is the child of immigrants from India.

Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon has ruled in favor of her client, disgraced former President Trump and denied the Justice Department’s motion for a stay, appointing New York Senior Federal Judge Raymond Dearie to serve as a special master to review the documents the Orange Satan stole from the White House, Politico’s Kyle Cheney reports.

In another sign of how socially inept Republicans are, Senate leadership has postponed a vote on a bill that would codify marriage rights for LGBTQ couples in the United States because they can’t secure commitments from just ten GOP Senators to support the legislation, Reuters reports.

With more than 70% of Americans supporting the right of non-traditional couples to marry, supporting such legislation would help Republicans fend off attacks that they’re out of touch with the nation’s populace and that they’re not out to strip people of their rights, particularly after dancing in the streets when Roe was overturned.  But Republicans aren’t interested in protecting people’s individual rights unless they’re paid to do so by groups like the National Rifle Association.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2019 there were an estimated 543,000 same-sex married couple households and 469,000 households with same-sex unmarried partners living together.  In his concurring opinion to the Dobbs verdict, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas announced his intention to ensure the right for LGBTQ couples to marry should be reexamined by the Court, which has Democrats and other human rights supporters working to codify the right to marriage into law.

“I’ve got some of the best lawyers in the country:  Alan Dershowitz, Ala- um, Andrew Parker, Kurt Olsen amongst others,” packaged foam salesman and Zelig of the January 6th plans Mike Lindell tells convicted criminal Steve Bannon.  “What can we do with what happened on, on, ah, with this seizure of my phone, thi-al FBI corruption and ah, we are suing–you’re hearing it hear first, everybody–we’re suing the United States government and the FBI.”

We all know accused child predator Alan Dershowitz.  Andrew Parker, who nobody has heard of, is a local labor and employment lawyer in Minnesota who apparently dabbles in constitutional law while also taking on property tax appeals and civil rights lawsuits.  And Kurt Olsen is also part of the Department of Justice investigation into his attempts to overturn the Constitution.

FBI agents on Tuesday seized the phone of “Doctor” Doug Frank, an Ohio high school teacher who thinks his theory of a “sixth-order polynomial” or some sort of horseshit explains how the election was stolen from President Trump because it’s a super secret algorithm and…

…well it’s great to know this asshole is also under federal criminal investigation along with his buddy Mike Lindell for their tampering with election equipment in Colorado in a scheme that also involves Overstock.com founder Patrick Byrne and Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.

In remarks at a press conference following an important meeting with his more powerful partner in the fight for global repression and authoritarianism, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said ChiCom dictator Xinnie the Pooh had expressed some “concerns” about how badly the Russians are getting their asses kicked by the furious Ukrainian counteroffensive, the New York Times reports.

Xi didn’t say anything publicly about Ukraine, an omission taken by the Times as a sign the ChiComs are not going to help turn the tide. Since we don’t have any further info to report about the meeting and don’t feel like filling in three paragraphs of background info, we’re just going to pretend Xi told Putin “YOU INSOLENT FOOL! We worked for decades to develop these carefully laid plans to defeat Dark Brandon and you’ve been made to look weak and cowardly by a TV comedian!” as a lightning bolt split the sky outside of the the Jade Palace and Xi’s pet mutant dragon tigers growled and bared their golden teeth at Putin. “And your supposed brilliant mad scientist Doctor Arkady Fenix choked on his own vomit from drinking homemade vodka mixed with paint thinner and died the day before he was supposed to complete the time portal and send modern ChiCom-Russian commandos to invade Washington in 1925! I’m tiring of your incompetence!”

A woman who lives about 100 miles from Boston was arrested Thursday for making a bomb threat against Boston Children’s Hospital, a provider targeted by the intolerant right because it provides medical care to transgender children, the Boston Globe reports.

Thirty-seven-year-old Catherine Leavy of Westfield, Massachusetts was arrested in connection with a phoned threat to the hospital on August 30th.  Investigators have said Leavy has not been connected to a second bomb threat to the hospital, received on September 9th; that incident is still unsolved.

Boston Children’s Hospital has been targeted by right-wing professional whiners and windbags like Matt Walsh have launched what critics call a “stochastic terror” attack on the hospital because it has a care program for trans children.  Walsh has inaccurately stated that Boston Children’s performs sterilizations and gender reassignment surgery on children under the age of 18, among other graphic lies, to stoke anger and hatred in his audience, pushing them to attack–figuratively and physically–the institution and the people who work there.

KWTV News chopper pilot Jim Gardner was a little sheepish on Wednesday when asked point blank by the in-studio anchor what it was spilled all over the I-40 offramp west of Oklahoma City, but according to TheLostOgle.com it was indeed a shit ton of sex toys destined for adults of all ages with certain desires they like to enjoy privately, so how about don’t be so fucking judgey, okay?

CNN reports that the subpoena provided to torn foam magnate and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell when the FBI seized his cell phone while he was at a drive-thru at a Hardee’s in Minnesota named seven people federal authorities were seeking information from relating to illegal access to election machines and data.  And one of the people on that list had their cell phone seized Thursday.

The Washington Post reports that one of the people on the list, Doug Frank, had his phone taken by federal investigators on Thursday.  A one-time math and science teacher in Ohio, Frank claims to have reconstructed algorithms used by Dominion Voting Systems to flip votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden, thereby giving Biden the victory.  Computer scientists have scoffed at Frank’s claims, and no reputable researcher has been able to verify anything he claims.

The investigation seems to center on the efforts by people including Colorado election clerk Tina Peters, assisted by Belinda Knisley and Sandra Brown, members of her Mesa County election bureau staff who helped her provide confidential data to people trying to overturn the certified results of the 2020 presidential election in Colorado.