“Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter on Saturday registered her candidacy for vice president in next year’s elections and was chosen as the running mate of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the late dictator’s son, in an alliance that has alarmed human rights activists. Sara Duterte backed out this week from her reelection bid as mayor of southern Davao city then took the place of a largely unknown vice-presidential candidate of her political party, Lakas CMD, in a maneuver that allowed her to seek the second-highest post even after a deadline lapsed for candidates in the May 9 elections. Marcos Jr. filed his papers at the Commission on Elections last month.”

“His party, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, named Sara Duterte on Saturday as his running mate. In a chaotic turn of events that bolstered speculations of a discord between the president and his daughter, the elder Duterte suddenly trooped to the elections commission Saturday to accompany his former aide, Sen. Bong Go, who shifted his VP candidacy to a presidential run. Duterte may even reconsider his earlier plan, which he has dropped, to run for vice president, said Comms Secretary Martin Andanar. Such a race would pit the president, constitutionally limited to a single six-year term, against his daughter. Philippine presidents and vice presidents are elected separately and could forge an alliance even if they run under different political parties” the AP reports.

Non-Correction: The current version of this article misspelled Sara Duterte’s first name as ‘Ivanka’ in the headline. National Zero does not regret the error and will not be correcting it.

“Eric Holder was in contempt of congress. Nothing happened to him”

– The current top comment on the Gateway Pundit article “Steve Bannon Indicted for Contempt of Congress after Ignoring Jan.6 Witch Hunt Committee Subpoena“, posted Friday evening.

• Britney is free and Bannon is indicted.  Happy Friday!
• Can’t wait to see the photos of Mike Pence (and his brother, Republican Indiana Congressman Greg Pence) cowering on a loading dock at the Capitol on January 6th, hiding from the “peaceful” and “nonviolent” Trump insurrectionists.
• The federal misdemeanor with which Steve Bannon has been charged has a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 days and a max sentence of 364 days.  He will be convicted because it’s a clear-cut case.  It will also send a chill to all the others who have ignored the House subpoenas.  It also means that if all Trump aides attempt to ignore the subpoenas, Trump’s entire 2024 “re-election’ circus staff could be in jail during the midterms.
• Remember when Trump thought it was a smart move to put Bannon on the National Security Council?  
  Read More ▶ “Random thoughts Friday, Volume XLIV”

They make a lovely couple, don’t ya think?

	Anderson Cooper	Chris Hayes	Tucker Carlson
A Block	Bannon indictment	Bannon indictment	Violence in Chicago
B Block	Bannon indictment	Bannon indictment/ J6 attack	Michael Flynn, the victim*
C Block	Rittenhouse Trial	Trump’s comments on J6/Pence	Sex trafficking of children at the border
D Block	Avery Trial/ New NYC Mayor Adams	Trump’s comments on J6/Pence	Show’s 5th Anniversary Look-back
E Block	Trump Admin pressured CDC on COVID	Fox News manipulated Biden video	Mysterious illness in Canada

*Shockingly, Tucker Carlson mentioned Steve Bannon in the B Block of his show, using Bannon’s indictment to have disgraced general Mike Flynn play victim and claim he’s oppressed, with Carlson claiming Bannon was jailed (he’s not) for his views (no, for his refusal to comply with a subpoena).

Associated Press:  “The Supreme Court of Virginia, now tasked with drawing new legislative districts in the state to conform with the 2020 census, has told Republicans to submit three new nominees to help it in its task amid complaints that they are too partisan.  In a unanimous ruling signed by the chief justice, Donald Lemons, the court said the nominees ‘must be neutral and must not act as advocates or representatives of any political party.’

“Democrats had objected to the three nominees put forth by Republicans, saying all three had a history of partisanship that was disqualifying. Republican legislative leaders defended their nominees and said Democrats’ objections were ‘a media and mud-slinging attack meant to dirty the process before it even starts.’  The court’s order outright disqualifies one of the three nominees and expresses that the other two have similar conflicts. The order requires Republicans to come up with at least three more nominees by Monday.

“The court also rejected one of the three nominees put forward by Democrats. The ruling said that nominee had cited his own reservations about working under the process set forth under Virginia law. Democrats were told to submit at least one more name by Monday.”

Days after laughing off his Congressional subpoena with Laura Ingraham, former Donald Trump advisor Stephen Miller dashed off to Fox News to urge members of the Biden Administration be prosecuted for crimes against humanity for their handling of migrants at the border.  (Yes, you read that right:  Miller wants someone else arrested for crimes related to the border.)

“What they are doing is morally unforgivable,” the architect of the Trump Administration’s illegal family separation policy said, “and I hope every person involved in this will be brought and hauled before Congress if the Republicans take back the majority to answer for their crimes against humanity.”

Associated Press:  “Donald Trump’s company won’t have to pay hefty legal bills incurred by his former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who became a vocal critic of the ex-president and went to prison after pleading guilty to tax and other crimes, a New York judge ruled Friday.  Judge Joel M. Cohen threw out Cohen’s breach of contract lawsuit against the Trump Organization, rejecting his claims that the company had promised to cover his legal bills and finding that fees he racked up as a result of the criminal investigation into his conduct weren’t the company’s responsibility.

“Michael Cohen said in the lawsuit, filed in March 2019, that the Trump Organization owed him at least $1.9 million for the cost of his defense. The judge noted in his ruling that after the lawsuit was filed, Trump’s company did go ahead and pay some of his bills.  ‘In a nutshell, Mr. Cohen’s legal fees arise out of his (sometimes unlawful) service to Mr. Trump personally, to Mr. Trump’s campaign, and to the Trump Foundation, but not out of his service to the business of the Trump Organization, which is the only defendant in this case,’ the judge wrote in his decision.  Michael Cohen and the judge are not related.

“Lanny Davis, a lawyer for Michael Cohen, tweeted that the decision was ‘unfair,’ and asked for contributions to a GoFundMe page set up for Cohen’s legal defense in 2018. So, far the page has raised more than $217,000.”

New York Times:  “After more than 13 years, a Los Angeles judge has set Britney Spears free.  At a hearing on Friday afternoon in Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge Brenda Penny said the conservatorship that has long overseen the singer’s life and finances should be terminated effective today.

“In June, Ms. Spears, 39, told the court that the arrangement, which stripped her of control in nearly every aspect of her life, had traumatized and exploited her. She asked for it to end without her having to undergo additional mental evaluations.  On Friday, Judge Penny agreed.  ‘The conservatorship of the person and estate of Britney Jean Spears is no longer required,’ she said.  Judge Penny found that there was ‘no need for a capacity declaration’ of Ms. Spears, noting that it had been a voluntary conservatorship.

“The judge said Ms. Spears’s current estate conservator would continue working to settle ongoing financial concerns related to the case. John Zabel, the certified public accountant who took over the estate in September, would retain power to execute estate planning and transfer outside assets into an existing trust for Ms. Spears, she said.”

“Former President Donald Trump avoided having to sit for a deposition in a defamation lawsuit after former ‘Apprentice’ contestant Summer Zervos agreed to drop her claims, according to a court filing. Zervos had sued Trump in 2017 after he denied allegations that he sexually assaulted her. A judge had recently ordered Trump to sit for a deposition in the case by December 23. Zervos’ attorneys said in a statement, ‘Today the parties have ended Zervos v. Trump. After five years, Ms. Zervos no longer wishes to litigate against the defendant and has secured the right to speak freely about her experience. Ms. Zervos stands by the allegations in her complaint and has accepted no compensation.’ No additional details were available about the agreement or why Zervos decided to drop the lawsuit” – CNN.

“For eight or nine months, we’ve asked for documents, and that’s all we want, are the documents,” then-North Carolina Republican Congressman Mark Meadows told Fox News hostess Laura Ingraham (as sexual assault misprisioner Jim Jordan looked on) in  July 2018, relating to then-acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein not turning over information to the then-Republican-run House requested.  “And what we’ve found is that not only subpoenas have been ignored, but information has been hidden and the efforts have been stonewalled, and I guess for us, it’s all about transparency so the American people, uh, can judge for themselves.  So they might be able to ignore Congress but they can’t ignore the American people.”

Joe Biden has evicerated Executive Privilege.

There are a lot of Republicans eager to hear testimony from Ron Klain and Jake Sullivan when we take back the House.

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) November 12, 2021

Pete Williams of NBC News reports that Trump advisor Steve Bannon will turn himself in to authorities on Monday, in response to the indictment on two charges handed down by a federal grand jury Friday.  It will be the second time he’s facing federal charges in 15 months.

“Steve Bannon has been indicted by a federal grand jury. Prosecutors presented an indictment and arrest warrant to a federal magistrate on Friday afternoon, according to CNN reporters in the magistrate courtroom. The judge signed an arrest warrant for an indicted defendant with the initials ‘SB.’ A source confirmed it’s Bannon. ‘Bannon, 67, is charged with one contempt count involving his refusal to appear for a deposition and another involving his refusal to produce documents, despite a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol,’ DOJ confirms” CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins reports.

“Approximately 500 Wisconsin Army National Guard troops are reporting for State Active Duty as authorized by Gov. Tony Evers to support local partners in ensuring public safety in conjunction with hundreds of officers from volunteering law enforcement agencies. Members of the Wisconsin National Guard will stage outside Kenosha in a standby status to respond if requested by local law enforcement agencies. Pursuant to Section 321.39(1)(a) of the Wisconsin Statutes, the governor ordered into state active duty members of the Wisconsin National Guard deemed necessary to support local law enforcement and first responders in Kenosha. As has been the case under previous missions, Guard members called to active duty may only be used to provide support to local law enforcement and to protect critical infrastructure and cultural institutions necessary for the well-being of the community, and to provide support to first responders such as the Kenosha Fire Department. The National Guard may not be used to impede the ability of people to peacefully protest or impede the ability of the media to report” – Evers press release via WisPolitics.

Daily Beast:  “Entrepreneur Glen de Vries, who blasted into space alongside Star Trek’s William Shatner last month with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, was killed in a plane crash on Thursday, New Jersey State Police said.  The single-engine Cessna 172 crashed in Sussex County, New Jersey, shortly before 3 p.m., according to FAA data. De Vries, 49, and Thomas P. Fischer, 54, were killed. Rescue crews found the wreckage about an hour later. Their identities were withheld in the immediate aftermath of the crash, which is being investigated by the FAA, a state police spokesperson said.

“De Vries, a private pilot, marathoner, and ballroom dancer during his off-hours, was a molecular biologist who cofounded Medidata Solutions, a clinical research platform that was acquired by Dassault Systèmes in 1999 for $5.8 billion.  His father, Alan, told The Daily Beast that he ‘hadn’t really thought about a statement to the press,’ and spoke about his late son off the cuff.

“’I can only just tell you the family is devastated by this extraordinary loss,’ he said. ‘He was one of the most amazing human beings you could’ve ever met. He gave so much to so many people, and as a result of his work, probably millions of lives have been saved.  There is so much to say about him. We’re just devastated. I’m still totally in a state of shock—myself and his mother’s family and my daughter, we’re just all still in a state of shock. He lived life to the fullest, and I think he gave to the fullest. It’s just who he was.'”

“The judge in the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse said on Friday he would allow the jury to consider that the teenager provoked an encounter with one of two men he is charged with killing during racial justice protests in a Wisconsin city last year. The ruling is a boost for prosecutors because it opens the door for them to argue that Rittenhouse was the aggressor, which would raise the bar for the teenager’s argument that he was ambushed and acted in self-defense.”

“Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney James Kraus showed grainy drone video of the Rosenbaum shooting as he argued that Rittenhouse raised his AR-15-style rifle shortly before the deadly encounter, initiating the confrontation. Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder stepped down from the bench to watch the video on a TV with Rittenhouse standing close behind him leaning in and looking on. The judge agreed the issue should be up the jury to decide. ‘It’s the jury’s case and I think they should make the critical decisions,’ Schroeder said. ‘My decision will be to submit the case to the jury with the provocation instruction and you can argue the strength or lack of strength of the evidence'” – Reuters

Molly Jong-Fast, Vogue: “AOC isn’t the first woman to be harassed by Republican men. There’s a long list of women who have been through this, from Hillary Clinton to Vice President Kamala Harris to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Powerful women are one of Republicans’ go-to punching bags – but why? I think it’s too easy to blame misogyny. Sure, the Republican Party has many misogynistic tendencies: they elected Donald J. Trump, they let the Violence Against Women Act expire, they don’t believe in paid leave or legal abortions. But I think there’s more to it than that. What really seems to rankle Republicans is that AOC is, quite simply, very effective at her job.”

“AOC is a small-dollar donation raising powerhouse. When the Texas power grid froze and Ted Cruz went to Mexico on vacation, AOC raised nearly $5 million for those affected. She raised another $26,000 for an abortion fund on her Instagram. And her Met gala dress spurred an entire news cycle and a spike in googling ‘Tax the Rich.’ AOC is her own trending topic – and in a world where attention is currency, this is a big deal. Ocasio-Cortez is also extremely talented at something that other Democrats have trouble with: messaging. They pass popular legislation and don’t claim credit for it. AOC, on the other hand, is able to explain to people how Democratic policies help them in a way that they can understand – probably her single greatest asset. We’re living in a political climate where everything is dialed up to an 11. Fox News targets different people every night; the 13 Republicans who voted for Biden’s infrastructure bill were inundated with death threats. But it’s worth asking why AOC has become such an obsession of the right. Historically, powerful women have often been the target of slander or aggression – so maybe, disturbingly, what all this means is that AOC is doing something right.”