“So we’re about 45 minutes into our interview with Kyle Rittenhouse and the picture that emerges is of a working class kid who sincerely believes in America,” Tucker Carlson says sincerely into the camera.  “His community falls apart, and he tries his best to do the right thing at a time when almost nobody else in the community is trying to do the right thing.  He does.  And in return for that, the state, under political pressure, throws him in prison, then the people who swear they will help him, take advantage of him.  ‘ts a lot.”

Somehow, Carlson neglects to mention Rittenhouse killed two people, or that he bought the gun illegally, or that he made a white power sign while hanging out in a bar with white nationalists.

It’s here! pic.twitter.com/9kjM5tl40u

— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) November 23, 2021

Reuters:  “U.S. President Joe Biden intends to run for re-election in 2024, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday.  Biden, 79, has suffered a dip in his job approval ratings in recent months, leading some Democrats to wonder whether he might not seek another four-year term.

“‘He is. That’s his intention,” Psaki said as Biden flew aboard Air Force One for a Thanksgiving event with U.S. troops in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  Democrats were rattled by Republican victories in Virginia’s state elections earlier this month and a narrow Democratic victory in New Jersey.

“Questions have arisen about the viability of Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 should Biden decide not to run again. A recent USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll found her with a 28% job approval rating.  Biden underwent his first physical examination on Friday since taking office in January and doctors found he has a stiffened gait and attributed frequent bouts of coughing to acid reflux. Doctors said he was fit to serve.  Biden’s political prospects appeared to have been buoyed last week by congressional passage of a $1 trillion infrastructure plan. Still being debated is another $2 trillion in spending on a social safety net package.”

“A supporter of former president Donald Trump was sentenced to 19 months in prison for threatening to ‘slaughter’ members of Congress days after the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol – a threat that tested the limits of free speech in an era of contentious political division. Brendan Hunt, 37, still doesn’t recognize the severity of the violent rhetoric in the 88-second message he posted online 12 days before Joe Biden’s inauguration, said the judge who sentenced him Monday in federal court in Brooklyn. Hunt did not go to Washington on Jan. 6, when a mob of Trump supporters forced their way into the Capitol to try to disrupt the certification of Biden’s victory. But he posted a video to the online site BitChute on Jan. 8 citing Trump’s false claims that the election was tainted and saying Trump’s followers should ‘take up arms’ and head to Washington to kill lawmakers he thought were traitors for confirming the Biden win” – Washington Post.

While awaiting trial at the lockup in Brooklyn, Hunt drew a comic book depicting his workout routine with his cellmate R Kelly and included it in an affidavit to the court. Yeah, really.

New York Times:  “The Justice Department will pay about $130 million to 40 survivors and families of victims of the 2018 massacre at a high school in Parkland, Fla., over the F.B.I.’s failure to properly investigate two tips in the months before the shooting that suggested the gunman might open fire at a school. One of the tips, six weeks before the shooting, detailed how the gunman, Nikolas Cruz, was posting on Instagram about amassing weapons and ammunition. “I know he’s going to explode,” the woman said on the F.B.I.’s tip line, adding that she feared Mr. Cruz, then 19, “was going to slip into a school and start shooting the place up.”

“Forty days later, Mr. Cruz did just that, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where he had previously been a student. The F.B.I. acknowledged two days after the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting that it had received the tips about Mr. Cruz but had not investigated them in accordance with its protocols. Mr. Cruz, now 23, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder last month. He is scheduled to go on trial early next year. A jury will decide if he faces capital punishment or life imprisonment.

“‘Although the financial details of the agreement are presently confidential, it is an historic settlement and the culmination of the Parkland families’ long and arduous efforts toward truth and accountability,’ the law firm representing the families, Podhurst Orseck, said in a statement. The Justice Department said in court papers that it was in the process of completing a settlement, without disclosing the amount. Two people familiar with the case said it would total about $130 million, though the precise number could change before the final agreement.”

“His ex is a Demoncrap helping Conor Lamb”

– The current top comment on the Breitbart article “Pennsylvania Senate Candidate Sean Parnell Suspends Campaign After Custody Loss: ‘I’m Devastated by’ Court Decision“, posted Monday.

Politico:  “Could former President Donald Trump be charged with a crime for urging then-Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the electoral vote tally? That appeared to be the thrust of a question U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols posed on Monday at a court hearing for one of the hundreds of Americans charged in the Capitol riot.

“The judge and both sides in the case found themselves debating the scope of a law being wielded against many Jan. 6 defendants that makes it a felony to ‘corruptly’ interfere with an official federal government proceeding and carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. The statute is typically applied to court-related conduct, like threatening judges, jurors or witnesses. However, prosecutors have leveled the obstruction charge against about a third of the roughly 700 Jan. 6 defendants over their alleged efforts to disrupt the electoral vote tally that Congress was undertaking when a crowd loyal to Trump broke through police lines and forced their way into the Capitol.

“At a hearing on Monday for defendant Garret Miller of Richardson, Texas, Nichols made the first move toward a Trump analogy by asking a prosecutor whether the obstruction statute could have been violated by someone who simply “called Vice President Pence to seek to have him adjudge the certification in a particular way.” The judge also asked the prosecutor to assume the person trying to persuade Pence had the “appropriate mens rea,” or guilty mind, to be responsible for a crime. Nichols made no specific mention of Trump, who appointed him to the bench, but the then-president was publicly and privately pressuring Pence in the days before the fateful Jan. 6 tally to decline to certify Joe Biden’s victory. Trump also enlisted other allies, including attorney John Eastman, to lean on Pence.”

CNN:  “Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is donating $100 million to the Obama Foundation in honor of Congressman John Lewis, a hero of the U.S. civil rights movement of the 1960s who died last year, the foundation said on Monday. As part of the gift, Bezos has asked that the plaza at the Obama Presidential Center be named the John Lewis Plaza, the foundation said in a statement.

“‘Freedom fighters deserve a special place in the pantheon of heroes, and I can’t think of a more fitting person to honor with this gift than John Lewis,’ Bezos said in the statement. A protege of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis led sit-ins to integrate all-white lunch counters, was one of the original ‘Freedom Riders’ who integrated buses, and endured beatings by white police and mobs.”

“The Republican National Committee is paying some personal legal bills for former president Donald Trump, spending party funds to pay a lawyer representing Trump in investigations into his financial practices in New York, a party spokeswoman said Monday. In October, the RNC made two payments totaling $121,670 to the law firm of Ronald Fischetti, a veteran defense attorney whom Trump hired in April. According to a person with direct knowledge of the payments, the requests came earlier this summer but were only voted on by the party’s executive committee in recent weeks. Fischetti has been representing Trump as he faces investigations by Manhattan DA Cyrus R. Vance and New York AG Letitia James. There has been no indication that either investigation involves Trump’s time as president, or any of his political campaigns” – Washington Post.

CBS News:  “A Florida judge has exonerated the ‘Groveland Four’ — four Black men who were accused of attacking and raping a White teen at gunpoint in 1949. Bill Gladson, the local state attorney, fought for the men’s convictions to be overturned. ‘We followed the evidence to see where it led us, and it led us to this moment,’ Gladson said at a news conference Monday.

“When 17-year-old Norma Padgett made the accusation, the Ku Klux Klan torched Black neighborhoods in Groveland and an angry mob killed one of the men, Ernest Thomas. The others, Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin and Samuel Shepherd, were beaten into confessing. After an all-White jury convicted the men, Thurgood Marshall, who was a lawyer for the NAACP at the time, won them a new trial. But the local sheriff shot and killed Shepherd, claiming he tried to escape. Greenlee and Irvin were sentenced to life in prison.

“An independent investigation later determined the men were innocent and they were granted pardons by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the state’s clemency board in 2019. … The families of the exonerated men celebrated the judge’s ruling on Monday. ‘Wow, it’s been a long time coming,’ Gerald Threat, Irvin’s nephew, said in a news conference. ‘This Thanksgiving, we can have an entirely different atmosphere without this hanging over our head.’ Carol Greenlee, the daughter of Charles Greenlee, said, ‘My father was a caring, loving, compassionate person that did not rape anybody.'”

Associated Press:  “Vice President Kamala Harris announced Monday that the Biden administration is investing $1.5 billion from the coronavirus aid package to address the health care worker shortage in underserved communities. The funding will go to the National Health Service Corps, Nurse Corps and Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery programs, all federal programs that offer scholarship and loan repayments for health care students and workers if they pledge to work in underserved and high-risk communities.

“’Our nation must invest in a health care workforce that looks like America, and provide access to equitable health care for all Americans,’ Harris said. The money, which includes funds from the American Rescue Plan and other sources, will support more than 22,700 providers, marking the largest number of providers enrolled in these programs in history, according to the White House. It comes in response to recommendations laid out earlier this month by the White House’s COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, which issued a report outlining how the administration could address systemic inequality in the health care system.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has both highlighted and exacerbated health care disparities for minority and underserved communities. According to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, over the course of the pandemic, minority Americans have seen higher numbers of cases and higher rates of death than their white counterparts.”

Washington Post:  “The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol issued subpoenas Monday to more people involved with the Stop the Steal rally, including conspiracy theorist and right-wing media figure Alex Jones and longtime Donald Trump ally Roger Stone. The committee has asked Stone and Jones to provide testimony by Dec. 17 and Dec. 18, respectively, and to provide the panel with requested documents by Dec. 6.

“Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) wrote that Jones’s coordination with Cindy Chafian and Caroline Wren in organizing the rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol, along with his promotion of Trump’s false claims of election fraud and urging of people to travel to Washington for the Jan. 6 rally, make him a person of interest. Thompson cites Stone’s appearance at rallies on Jan. 5 at the Supreme Court and Freedom Plaza as reason for the subpoena and his use of ‘Oath Keepers as personal security guards, several of whom were reportedly involved in the attack on the Capitol and at least one of whom has been indicted.’

“The roles that the high-profile right-wing figures played in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach — and their potential ties to those who committed violence in the riot — are also being investigated by the Justice Department and the FBI. The investigation is ongoing. Investigators have been working to determine whether Stone and Jones, the host of Infowars, should face potential criminal charges for influencing Capitol rioters through their networks and actions.”

AP: “A Florida man photographed carrying a lectern belonging to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection pleaded guilty Monday for his part in the riot. Adam Johnson, 36, pleaded guilty in Washington federal court to one count of entering or remaining in any restricted building, according to court records. Federal prosecutors have agreed not to seek prison time for the Parrish man, but a judge will make a final decision at a hearing scheduled for Feb. 25. A plea agreement recommends that Johnson pay $500 restitution for his share of the damage. A photo that circulated around the world after the violent uprising showed a grinning, waving man identified as Johnson carrying the lectern through the Capitol rotunda.”

“I strongly disagree with the ruling today and I’m devastated by the decision. I plan on asking the court to reconsider this decision. In the order, two of the leading factors that weighed heavily in the judge’s decision revolved around me being a leading U.S. Senate candidate. There is nothing more important to me than my children, and while I plan to ask the court to reconsider, I can’t continue with a Senate campaign. My focus right now is 100% on my children, and I want them to know I do not have any other priorities and will never stop fighting for them. Thank you” – Statement from now former Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Sean Parnell, dropping out almost immediately following the loss of custody of his children following abuse allegations by his wife.

Parnell had managed to secure Trump’s endorsement in the race and now his dropping out is a serious blow to Trump’s (largely made-up) credibility as kingmaker within the Republican Party.

“I do want to make this promise to you and to all your viewers,” Michael Cohen states. “I may have been prosecuted and right now I am the only one but I will not be the only one at the end of the–”

“For this crime?” asks host Alisyn Camerota.

“For this crime and others,” Cohen replies. …

“Who else was involved?” Camerota asks.

“Well, there were quite a few people that were involved,” Cohen continues. “Eric, Eric Trump was involved. Obviously, Allen Weisselberg, who is already under indictment. Don, Jr. Ivanka. There were a slew of people that were involved in this. I obviously wasn’t alone. This wasn’t a one-on-one conversation with Donald.”

USA Today:  “The driver of an SUV that hurtled through a barricade and slammed into a Christmas parade in suburban Waukesha on Sunday was fleeing from a domestic disturbance moments before he killed at least five people and injuring more than 40 others, police said. Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said Monday that Darrell Brooks Jr., 39, was fleeing a domestic disturbance with a report of a knife when he rammed into the parade. Brooks was not being chased, Thompson said. He will be charged with five counts of intentional homicide, Thompson added.

“The victims’ ages ranged from 52 to 81 years old. Thompson said 48 others were injured in the crash, which was captured on the city’s livestream as the car rammed struck high school band, children’s dance group and the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies. Local hospital officials said earlier Monday at least six children remain in critical condition. Children’s Wisconsin Hospital received 18 patients from the ages of 3 to 16, including three sets of siblings, doctors say.

“‘Today we experienced a horrible, senseless tragedy. I walked in the parade at the beginning,’ Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly said at a news conference. ‘I saw the happy children sitting on the curb. I saw happy parents behind their children. I can still see the smiling faces.’ Gov. Tony Evers ordered that flags be flown at half staff Monday and on the days when funerals for the victims take place. Evers said he and wife, Kathy, were ‘praying for Waukesha tonight and all the kids, families, and community members affected by this senseless act.’ The city of Waukesha said it would hold an interfaith prayer vigil Monday.”

New York Times: “There were biscuits, just not the kind British people know. ‘It looks like a scone,’ Victoria Ubochi said after trying a biscuit, ‘but it doesn’t taste like one.’ One of the challenges for any company expanding internationally is translating the cultural elements of its brand to a new market. For Popeyes, the American fried chicken chain that opened its first outlet in Britain over the weekend, the challenge was biscuits, which in British English means cookies, not flaky, tender bread. On Saturday, hundreds of customers waited in line for hours in a food court at the Westfield Stratford City shopping mall in East London for their first taste of Popeyes.”

“Some said they had heard about the frenzy it stirred in the United States in 2019. Others had heard about the brand through references in rap music. Some Americans living in London said they were eager for a taste of home. Tom Crowley, the chief executive of Popeyes U.K., said that it was clear from focus groups that the typical British customer was confused about the concept of a buttermilk biscuit. Further complicating matters was that biscuits looked like scones, which are typically dunked into hot tea, not eaten with fried chicken. Focus group participants, he recalled, would say: ‘Why are you giving me a scone with chicken? I have no idea what you are doing'”.

“Last week, a steady stream of House Republicans took to the floor to defend Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.), who posted a video on social media that depicted him killing a fellow member of Congress. (Gosar also continues to wrongly insist that Donald Trump won the 2020 election.) As I watched the debate over censuring Gosar – utterly depressed by the state of American politics – a question gnawed at me: Is there any way to reverse the Republican Party’s lurch toward violent, authoritarian lunacy? For the past decade, I’ve studied the rise of authoritarianism and the breakdown of democracy around the world. Traveling from Madagascar to Thailand and Belarus to Zambia, I’ve tried to understand how despotic politicians and authoritarian political parties systematically destroy democracy. And based on that research, I have some bad news: The party of Reagan and Romney is long dead. The party of Trump is here to stay.”

“What has happened in the United States over the past five years is, in many ways, a classic of the autocratic genre. A populist leader rose to power, attacked the press, politicized rule of law, threatened to jail his opponents, demonized minorities, praised dictators abroad, spread conspiracy theories and lies, and then sought to seize power despite losing an election. When such despotic figures emerge in democracies, their political party has two options: push back against the would-be despot while reasserting democratic principles, or remake the party in his image. Republicans have quite clearly chosen the latter path. The big question now is: Can this be reversed? Can Republicans go back to being a broadly pro-democracy party that operates within democratic constraints and accepts election defeats without inventing false claims? There are a few ways political parties that drift toward authoritarianism can be brought back from the brink. Sadly, none of them can save the modern GOP” – Brain Klaas, Washington Post.

Philadelphia Inquirer: “Senate candidate Sean Parnell has lost his battle for custody of his three children after his estranged wife accused him of physical and verbal abuse, a ruling likely to deal a devastating setback to his campaign. A judge in Butler County has awarded Parnell’s wife, Laurie Snell, primary physical custody and sole legal custody of their three children, according to a portion of a ruling made public Monday. A docket entry for the ruling said the judge found Snell to be ‘the more credible witness.’ Both parents were seeking primary custody in a private fight that drew national attention due to its potential impact on a race that could decide control of the Senate.”

“Parnell will be allowed to have the children, ages 8 to 12, three weekends a month. The parents until now have split custody. Parnell had been a leading GOP contender, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, in the race to succeed Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey. His allies had hoped a favorable ruling in the custody case would help discredit the abuse accusations that he had denied under oath.”

“Weeks after they first gathered near Dealey Plaza, dozens of believers in the furthest fringe of the QAnon conspiracy theory remain in Dallas, expecting long-dead John F. Kennedy Jr. to reveal himself in the city where his father was assassinated and usher in the reinstatement of Donald Trump as president. While their beliefs are patently absurd, the fervency and devotion of this particular group, along with their loyalty to a leader known as Negative48 and unwillingness to leave Dallas, is unique – and cause for alarm and concern, according to an expert who has followed QAnon for years. ‘I think what you’re seeing here is really, undeniably a cult,’ said Mike Rothschild, author of The Storm Is Upon Us, which chronicles the rise of, and fallout from, QAnon.”

“The leader of the group is Michael Brian Protzman, a Washington man who amassed a following on social media with his version of gematria, a Hebrew numerology language. Interpreting codes that include numbers and letters, and using elements of Christianity and QAnon, his followers have come to believe that Kennedy, who died in a plane crash in 1999, will reappear in Dallas and commence a new Trump administration. Some of Protzman’s followers believe President John F. Kennedy wasn’t assassinated in 1963; others believe he was, but then resurrected as a messiah shortly thereafter. Despite the failure of either Kennedy – or other dead celebrities who were expected, including Michael Jackson and Princess Diana – to appear during the initial Nov. 2 rally that drew hundreds to downtown Dallas, a hardcore group of Protzman’s followers remain in Dallas, expecting their arrival” – Dallas Morning News.