New York Times: “Jurors on Tuesday found the main organizers of the deadly right-wing rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017 liable under state law for injuries to counterprotesters, awarding more than $25 million in damages. But the jury deadlocked on federal conspiracy charges. The case in U.S. District Court in Charlottesville, was brought by nine plaintiffs, four men and five women, including four people injured in the same car attack that killed one counterprotester, 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

“In addition to their physical injuries from the crash, including three concussions and a skull fracture, the plaintiffs testified that they suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, including insomnia, the inability to concentrate, flashbacks and panic attacks. All were seeking compensatory and unspecified punitive damages, including payment for medical costs as well as $3 million to $10 million for pain and suffering depending on the degree of their injuries.

“They said that in addition to holding march organizers responsible for the violence, they hoped to deter hate groups from mounting similar toxic spectacles in the future. The defendants, 10 individuals and 14 organizations, were a mix of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and white supremacists who used the rally in Charlottesville to mobilize supporters and show that they were a force on the streets, not just on the internet.”

Who told Kyle (whom I like and support) to say that about Lin Wood? Then the pile on afterwards. Any Communist operatives in his inner circle or advising him? Sounds like a #DeepState ambush to me. Something very fishy going on.👀

— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) November 23, 2021

Rittenhouse fired the utterly insane QAnon fan lawyer Lin Wood long before his trial started, but now Rittenhouse has been acquitted Wood’s fighting him for the $2 million raised for his bail.

“Matthew Smith, chairman of the Genesee County Republican Party in Michigan, pleaded guilty Monday to harassing Jennifer Kelly, a Democratic clerk in Houghton County, as well as threatening to poison her dogs. Smith, 24, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 11 for a misdemeanor by Genesee District Court Judge William H. Crawford, the Associated Press reported. He could face a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail. Because of the pleas, Smith could possibly be sentenced under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, which is a law that expunges records of criminal action for young offenders if they can avoid further trouble. Most sentenced under the act often plead guilty and are put on probation, according to the AP. It has been yet undecided if Crawford will allow Smith to be sentenced under the act” – Newsweek.

Washington Post: “The Biden administration on Tuesday said it was tapping U.S. oil reserves in an effort to combat high gasoline prices, the White House’s second move in a week to try to address rising energy costs at a time when millions of Americans are preparing to hit the road. The administration said the Department of Energy will release 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — an emergency pool kept by the United States — in conjunction with similar actions by several other countries.

“The move comes as President Biden is under mounting pressure from Republicans over pump prices and as Americans are preparing for Thanksgiving travel. Some leading Democrats had called for the White House to take the action for weeks, but it could trigger a showdown with other major oil producing nations, which could allege the White House is attempting to improperly distort energy markets. While energy experts have consistently said such a release would do little to lower prices at the pump, the White House said the effort would be undertaken “in parallel” with similar efforts by China, India, Japan, South Korea and Britain. India, for instance, also announced it would release 5 millions barrels of oil from its strategic reserves.

“Last week, the White House called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether oil companies were improperly raising prices in a way that rips off consumers. The oil industry has denied any wrongdoing and said market forces are to blame for the elevated costs at the pump. The average price for a gallon of gas was $3.40 on Tuesday, down a penny from Monday, according to AAA. Costs are even higher in states such as Pennsylvania, California and Nevada. The average price is up two cents per gallon from one month ago but markedly higher than the $2.11 price per gallon one year ago. In November 2020, however, global demand plummeted during a deadly wave of the coronavirus pandemic.”

The whole point of this article was supposed to be that MyPillow assclown Mike Lindell is (supposedly) doing a full 96 hour marathon livestream starting Wednesday about his batshit Thanksgiving Supreme Court case for the 2020 election – which cannot be filed without at least one state attorney general joining the complaint. Lindell currently has zero. Those theoretically more newsworthy developments take a backseat however to National Zero discovering that Lindell’s site FrankSpeech uses Disqus as its commenting platform, the implications of which need not be explained to our commenters. Apologies to our lurkers for the Disqus supremacist content.

“Distributional Effects Of The Revenue Provisions Of Title XIII – Committee On Ways And Means, Of H.R. 5376, The ‘Build Back Better Act,’ As Passed By The House Of Representatives. The staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation has discovered an error in the calculation of the average tax rate for calendar year 2022 for taxpayers with incomes in excess of $500,000. JCX-47-21 will be replaced with JCX-47-21R, which reports the proper calculation” says the JCT website.

Associated Press:  “The Sugar Bowl Resort at Lake Tahoe has postponed the start of ski season, becoming the third resort in the region to delay their opening days due to uncooperative weather. Sugar Bowl, on the north side of Lake Tahoe, had planned to open Friday and did not immediately have a rescheduled opening date, the Sacramento Bee reported.

“‘We had held onto hope as long as we could but with a forecast calling for more mild and dry weather in the week ahead, we must delay the start of our winter season,’ the resort said on its website Monday. Earlier, the Heavenly and Northstar resorts announced they would not be open by the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and also did not have updated openings.

“There had been high expectations when storms delivered enough snow to allow three other Sierra Nevada resorts to open early at the end of October.”

Prank website RentAHitman.com, created by Northern California web developer Bob Innes in 2005 as an inchoate cybersecurity testing service (the “hitman” referred to a white hat hacker hired to try to expose vulnerabilities needing repair) that accidentally evolved into a trap to lure dumbasses into being arrested for attempted murder-for-hire plots celebrated yet another successful conviction this month. Wendy Wein, of South Rockford, Michigan pleaded guilty on November 12th to solicitation of murder and using a computer to commit a crime after her inquiry about hiring an assassin to kill her husband on Innes’ site was forwarded to law enforcement. RentAHitman.com, which boasts of its compliance with the “HIPPA (Hitman Information Privacy & Protection Act of 1964)”, has prevented more than 140 murders since its founding, per Fox 2 Detroit.

“Whatever happened to the Rigged and Stolen Arizona Presidential Election that is being investigated, or maybe the words should properly be ‘looked at,’ by Attorney General Mark Brnovich? When will the legislature vote to decertify? People are very upset in Arizona that it is all taking so long, especially when the findings of the State Senate’s Forensic Audit were so conclusive, not even including the recent revelation of 35,000 fictitious votes in Pima County, and precincts with over 100 percent turnout (how do you like that one?). The people of Arizona are anxiously awaiting the decision of the Attorney General. They know what really went on during that Election” says the Orange Caligula in yet another bullshit statement.

Biden spending bill would drive out in-home, faith-based child care providers, critics say | Just The News https://t.co/tOhu2DsFc3

— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) November 23, 2021

In the text of the HR 5376, The Build Back Better Act, page 163 it says specifically “Nothing in this section shall preclude the use of such certificates for sectarian child care services if freely chosen by the parent”. The article itself is just a bunch of bitching about how federal funding for child care by religious organizations comes with the standard non-discriminatory strings attached that have already existed for decades in pre-existing federal grant programs. Nice work John.

“For decades our Country’s very important Strategic Oil Reserves were low or virtually empty in that no President wanted to pay the price of filling them up. I filled them up three years ago, right to the top, when oil prices were very low. Those reserves are meant to be used for serious emergencies, like war, and nothing else. Now I understand that Joe Biden will be announcing an ‘attack’ on the newly brimming Strategic Oil Reserves so that he could get the close to record-setting high oil prices artificially lowered. We were energy independent one year ago, now we are at the mercy of OPEC, gasoline is selling for $7 in parts of California, going up all over the Country, and they are taking oil from our Strategic Reserves. Is this any way to run a Country?” – Former Guy

“Less than a year ago, America was led by a man who governed to please the Fox News host Tucker Carlson and toyed with the idea of imposing martial law. After Donald Trump, you’d think the American people would just enjoy having a normal president who doesn’t use his Twitter account to threaten neighboring countries or corporations. But they don’t. Take one look at national polling numbers and you’ll see that Americans are unhappy with Joe Biden: According to FiveThirtyEight, 51.7 percent of Americans disapprove of his job performance. A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed that 50 percent disapprove of Biden’s handling of the pandemic and 59 percent disapprove of his handling of the economy. To improve Biden’s popularity, earnest consultants might tell him to work on the fundamentals. But the fundamentals are actually good: The economy is getting better.”

“Americans have both cash and jobs. Sure, inflation is an issue, but it’s a global phenomenon and not unexpected, because we’re coming out of a pandemic. The disconnect between the facts and the polls suggests that Biden’s true problem is a narrative one. Specifically, he doesn’t have an enemy, a punching bag to absorb anger (rational or irrational)” – Molly Jong-Fast, The Atlantic

CNBC:  “’QAnon shaman’ Jacob Chansley, the most notorious of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants, has hired a new lawyer and may launch a long-shot bid to get his recent guilty plea and 41-month prison sentence tossed out, according to a court filing and press release Monday.

“Chansley, 34, also may pursue a claim that his other attorney, Albert Watkins, provided ineffective assistance during the criminal case, according to a press release from a legal non-profit group founded by John Pierce, the lawyer who says he now represents Chansley. But Watkins quickly fired back and said ‘has been and remains counsel of record for Mr. Chansley.’

“‘Upon noting today’s entry of appearance of John M. Pierce, Esq. in Mr. Chansley’s J6 case, Watkins personally spoke with Mr. Chansley who confirmed he did not personally authorize Mr. Pierce to represent him and confirmed Watkins’ continuing representation of the man who has become universally known as “The Shaman,”‘ Watkins said in an email to CNBC. ‘Watkins issued a letter to Mr. Pierce confirming he had not received any contact from Mr. Pierce and requesting the prompt withdrawal of his entry of appearance,’ Watkins said in his email. ‘No response from Pierce has been forthcoming.’

Associated Press:  “Jill Biden opened the holiday season at the White House on Monday by breaking off a sprig from the official Blue Room tree and giving it — and a big smooch — to her toddler grandson. ‘Look how beautiful this is,’ the first lady said of the 18 1/2-foot (5.6 meter) Fraser fir that was delivered by wagon to her Pennsylvania Avenue doorstep by Clydesdale horses named Ben and Winston. ‘It is beautiful. It’s magnificent, really,’ she said.

“The first lady later joined President Joe Biden for a visit to the Army’s Fort Bragg in North Carolina to celebrate ‘friendsgiving’ with service members and military families. The two events set off a White House holiday season that is expected to be much more festive this year, as public health officials encourage those vaccinated against COVID-19 to get together in person, instead of begging Americans to stay home, as they’ve done for holidays past.

“The holiday tree was presented by the father-and-son team of Rusty and Beau Estes of Peak Farms in Jefferson, North Carolina — a three-time winner of the National Christmas Tree Association’s annual contest. The winner gets to present its official tree to the White House. Son Hunter Biden, his wife, Melissa, and their toddler, Beau, were among a sizable group of White House aides, guests and others who braved crisp winds to watch the brief ceremony marking the start of the administration’s first Christmas in the White House.”

WBAL NBC-11 Baltimore:  “A Baltimore County police officer was sentenced Friday to home detention in the 2019 rape of a 22-year-old woman, prosecutors announced Monday. Anthony Westerman, 27, was convicted in August of two counts of second-degree rape, third- and fourth-degree sexual offense and second-degree assault of a 22-year-old woman in October 2017. In addition, Westerman was convicted of second-degree assault of another woman in June 2019.

“Prosecutors said Westerman was off duty at the time of the rapes and assaults. He has been held on home detention until his sentencing. A judge found Westerman guilty of rape and assault four years after Westerman offered to get a 22-year-old woman an Uber from a bar in White Marsh, but instead took her to his house and raped her, prosecutors said. The woman came forward in 2019 after Westerman was accused of assaulting and raping other women that same year. Those cases and the 2017 rape were tried at the same time.

“At sentencing on Friday, Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Keith Truffer determined that he had only intended to convict Westerman of one of the counts of second-degree rape and merged the sentences for all of the other counts into his sentence for the rape, prosecutors said. The judge then sentenced Westerman to 15 years of incarceration but suspended all but for four years of home detention. Westerman will then be on probation after his home detention. ‘Which means this defendant, who has been convicted of second-degree rape, will be serving the sentence in the privacy of their own home and that was certainly not something we were expecting or looking for,’ Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger said. The judge then permitted Westerman to remain released to private home detention pending his appeal of the convictions.”

Washington Post:  “A federal judge has ordered two Colorado lawyers who filed a lawsuit late last year challenging the 2020 election results to pay nearly $187,000 to defray the legal fees of groups they sued, arguing that the hefty penalty was proper to deter others from using frivolous suits to undermine the democratic system. ‘As officers of the Court, these attorneys have a higher duty and calling that requires meaningful investigation before prematurely repeating in court pleadings unverified and uninvestigated defamatory rumors that strike at the heart of our democratic system and were used by others to foment a violent insurrection that threatened our system of government,’ wrote Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter.

“’They are experienced lawyers who should have known better. They need to take responsibility for their misconduct,’ he wrote. The two lawyers, Gary D. Fielder and Ernest John Walker, filed the case in December 2020 as a class action on behalf of 160 million American voters, alleging there was a complicated plot to steal the election from President Donald Trump and give the victory to Joe Biden.

“The two argued that a scheme was engineered by the voting machine vendor Dominion Voting Systems; the tech company Facebook, its founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan; and elected officials in four states. They had sought $160 billion in damages. Their case was dismissed in April. In August, Neureiter ruled that the attorneys had violated their ethical obligations by filing it in the first place, arguing that the duo had run afoul of legal rules that prohibit clogging the courts with frivolous motions and lodging information in court that is not true. At the time, he called their suit “the stuff of which violent insurrections are made,” alleging they made little effort to determine the truth of their conspiratorial claims before filing them in court. He ordered them to pay the legal fees of all of the many entities that they had sued.”

Thanks to GrahamCrackers for the tip.

Talking about conservative politicians who have self-promoted themselves by offering acquitted murderer Kyle Rittenhouse, Rittenhouse’s lawyer did not mince words.  Speaking of people exploiting the trial, CNN host Chris Cuomo said, “… or let’s have a ‘Kyle’ sale until Thanksgiving, a sale on guns ’cause we’re celebrating, or the politicians who have said, oh, I want to give him an internship, without knowing anything at all about the kid, just knowing that he was acquitted, um, what kind of message do you think that sends?  Do you think that’s something Kyle endorses?”

“I don’t think it’s something he endorses,” Rittenhouse’s attorney Mark Richards declares.  “I think it sends a message that certain people are morons.”

Associated Press:  “Gun manufacturers asked a federal court in Massachusetts on Monday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Mexico’s government in August arguing that U.S. gun manufacturers and distributors fueled violence in Mexico through their negligent and illegal commercial practices. Gun maker Beretta U.S.A. Corp. argued there is no basis for the court to exercise jurisdiction over Beretta in the case.

“’Plaintiff is the government of Mexico. Beretta is a Maryland corporation with its corporate home, headquarters, and principal place of business in Maryland. And the harm for which Plaintiff seeks redress all occurred in Mexico,’ the company wrote in a document filed with the court Monday. Other gun manufacturers — including Smith & Wesson, Colt’s Manufacturing, Glock Inc., and Sturm, Ruger & Co. — also sought to have the suit dismissed. Another defendant is Interstate Arms, a Boston-area wholesaler that sells guns from all but one of the named manufacturers to dealers around the U.S.

“The Mexican government has argued the companies know their practices contribute to the trafficking of guns to Mexico and facilitate it. The government demanded a number of changes in how the companies do business, and compensation for the costs of the violence. Mexico’s government estimates 70% of the weapons trafficked to Mexico come from the U.S., according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, and that in 2019 alone, at least 17,000 homicides were linked to trafficked weapons.”

Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert officially launched his campaign for Texas Attorney General on Monday, challenging another corrupt, misshapen scumbag Ken Paxton in the primary, and further dooming the already doomed hopes of George P Bush in the race for the office.