Dr. Rachel Levine was sworn in as an admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Tuesday to take command of the 6,000-person strong medical force and the rank of four-star admiral, becoming the first openly transgendered person to hold the military rank and the first woman to hold the command, NBC News reports.

A pediatrician and the former Pennsylvania Secretary of Health, Levine was appointed to the command by President Joe Biden.  The Harvard College and Tulane Medical School alumnae led Pennsylvania’s initial response to the coronavirus before joining the Biden Administration earlier this year.

“This is a momentous occasion, and I am honored to take this role for the impact I can make and for the historic nature of what it symbolizes,” Levine said in a speech at her swearing-in ceremony. “I stand on the shoulders of those LGBTQ+ individuals who came before me, both those known and unknown. May this appointment today be the first of many more to come, as we create a diverse and more inclusive future.”

Associated Press:  “Former President Donald Trump wants to countersue a former ‘Apprentice’ contestant who accused him of defaming her when he denied her sexual assault allegations.  Saying that Trump is being harassed to keep him from speaking freely, his lawyer asked a court’s permission Monday to pursue a counterclaim against Summer Zervos.

“The request comes as Zervos’ nearly five-year-old defamation suit is nearing an important phase. Both he and she are due to undergo questioning under oath by Dec. 23.  Zervos says Trump hurt her reputation by saying she lied in accusing him of unwelcome kissing and groping in 2007 — claims she aired publicly during his 2016 presidential campaign.  His denials included retweeting a message that called her claims ‘a hoax.’ He also described a series of women who accused him of sexual assault and harassment as ‘liars’ trying to torpedo his White House hopes.

“Trump’s former lawyers responded years ago that he didn’t defame Zervos. They said his statements were true and protected by free speech rights.  Now he wants to bolster his defense by drawing on a 2020 New York law that makes it easier to defeat defamation claims involving public communication on issues of public interest.  The law was envisioned as helping journalists, activists and others beat back groundless claims from powerful interests that want to sue them into silence. Trump lawyer Alina Habba argues it applies to statements the future president “made at the highest levels of the national stage,” including during a debate.  Zervos sued ‘for the sole purpose of harassing, intimidating, punishing or otherwise maliciously inhibiting’ Trump and his free speech rights, Habba wrote in court papers filed Monday. They seek unspecified damages, plus attorneys’ fees.”

“The owners of Maryland’s fugitive zebras have a new approach to catching the two zebras who are still on the run: They’ve placed two more zebras in a corral, hoping to attract the zebras with food and ungulate companionship. This approach, Prince George’s County Department of the Environment says in a press release, has the support of both veterinarians from the USDA and the county Department of the Environment’s Animal Services Staff.”

“The owners reportedly keep more than three dozen zebras. The Washington Post reported last week that Croom Road in Upper Marlboro has been a fruitful spot for zebra sightings. Chris Horrell of Upper Marlboro managed to record a sighting on his phone, an encounter that led him to ‘stare into the zebra’s soul,’ WUSA reports. Horrell told the station in a must-watch video that he didn’t think that the government agencies engaged in tracking down the zebras were trying hard enough: ‘I found them that easy,’ he said” – Washingtonian.

NBC News:  “An escape artist fell 40 feet to the ground — missing a safety air bag below — while rehearsing a stunt for an “America’s Got Talent” spinoff in Georgia, authorities said Tuesday.  Production of ‘America’s Got Talent: Extreme’ has been paused after Jonathan Goodwin was injured Thursday while practicing for a segment.

“Goodwin was trying to pull off a stunt in which he’d dodge two colliding cars while suspended in the air at Atlanta Motor Speedway, according to an incident report from Henry County Sheriff’s Department, obtained Tuesday by NBC News.

“‘Goodwin experienced difficulties and was struck by two vehicles suspended in the air along with him, which caused him to fall 40 feet and miss the airbag that was supposed to catch him,’ Sgt. Sean Free wrote.  ‘I was able to observe Goodwin and was able to tell that he was conscious and alert. EMTs advised me on scene that Goodwin suffered multiple broken bones in both his legs and lacerations on the face, and also burns.'”

New York Times: “President Trump’s defense secretary thought the idea was outrageous. In the spring of 2020, Mark T. Esper, the defense secretary, was alarmed to learn of an idea under discussion at a top military command and at the Department of Homeland Security to send as many as 250,000 troops – more than half the active U.S. Army, and a sixth of all American forces – to the southern border in what would have been the largest use of the military inside the United States since the Civil War. With the coronavirus pandemic raging, Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s immigration agenda, had urged the Homeland Security Department to develop a plan for the number of troops that would be needed to seal the entire 2,000-mile border with Mexico. It is not clear whether it was officials in homeland security or the Pentagon who concluded that a quarter of a million troops would be required. The concept was relayed to officials at the Defense Department’s Northern Command, which is responsible for all military operations in the United States and on its borders, according to several former senior administration officials.”

“Officials said the idea was never presented formally to Trump for approval, but it was discussed in meetings at the White House as they debated other options for closing the border to illegal immigration. Esper declined to comment. But people familiar with his conversations, who declined to speak about them on the record, said he was enraged by Miller’s plan. In addition, homeland security officials had bypassed his office by taking the idea directly to military officials at Northern Command. Around the same time that officials considered the huge deployment to the American side of the border with Mexico, Trump also pressed his top aides to send forces into Mexico itself to hunt drug cartels, much like American commandos have tracked and killed terrorists in Afghanistan or Pakistan, the officials said.”

In a grotesque op/ed, The Federalist columnist Joy Pullmann proclaimed that Christians should welcome the cold finality of death from the coronavirus and should not seek the safety of the vaccine–because, she claims, Christians should welcome death in any form.

“Blaming people for contracting a catchy virus has been one of many widely deployed COVID manipulation tactics.  That has shifted into blaming people for dying of a catchy virus after they decided their risks from taking the vaccines outweighed their risks from catching the disease,” Pullmann whines without mentioning the costs, personal impact, family tragedy and long-term generational change that a family member’s death causes.

Claiming that life–and death–are determined solely by God, Pullmann makes fallacious argument after fallacious argument against people taking the vaccine.  Christians shouldn’t take it because if they contracted the coronavirus, God should be the one who decides who lives and dies, and humans should not interfere with God’s choice because He’s God, fer gawd’s sake.

It’s like arguing people shouldn’t get on lifeboats because God sunk the boat so everyone would drown. 

“A federal grand jury today charged U.S. Representative Jeff Fortenberry, who represents Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District, with concealing information and making false statements to federal authorities who were investigating illegal contributions made by a foreign national to the congressman’s 2016 re-election campaign.” The notice is posted to the US Department of Justice website.

“Fortenberry, 60, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was named in an indictment that charges him with one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators. Fortenberry has served in Congress since 2005.”

“I’m going to share a secret I’ve never spoken before:  I’m immunocompromised.  I have multiple sclerosis,” CNN anchor John King told his panelists and members of his audience.  “So I’m grateful you’re all vaccinated.  I’m grateful my employer says all these amazing people who work on the floor who came in here the last 18 months while we were doing this, are vaccinated now that we have vaccines.  I worry about bringing it home to my 10-year-old son who can’t get a vaccine.  I don’t like the government telling me what to do.  I don’t like my boss telling me what to do.  In this case, it’s important.”

Thanks to the CNN crew and guests who get vaccinated, the risk to King is reduced.  If this scenario were put before anti-vaxxers–would you get a vaccine to protect a vulnerable co-worker?–would they change their attitude when they have a face and a name who would be threatened?

“The U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear an emergency appeal of a Covid vaccine requirement imposed on Maine health care workers, the latest defeat for opponents of such mandates. It was the first time the Supreme Court weighed in on a statewide vaccine mandate. It previously rejected challenges of vaccine requirements for New York City teachers and Indiana University staff and students” – CNBC.

“I bet they knew he wasn’t home, I doubt that they would have enjoyed dealing with his private security detail. You just don’t go to a Russian Billionaire’s home and arrest him without incident. This was posturing because he probably missed a payment to Hunter or the Big Guy”

– The current top comment on the FoxNews.com article “FBI swarms DC home of Russian billionaire with ties to Putin” posted Tuesday afternoon.

Arkansas Online: “A federal judge Monday denied motions to suppress evidence from electronic devices seized from Josh Duggar, which federal prosecutors are expected to use during his upcoming child pornography trial. US District Judge Timothy L. Brooks also said a hearing on the issues isn’t warranted. Duggar, 33, of Springdale, is charged with two counts involving receiving and possessing child pornography. Brooks set the case for jury trial Nov. 30. Duggar’s attorneys argued several points in asking Brooks to suppress evidence in the case, including that a magistrate judge who issued a search warrant was misled by federal agents about whether a video was completely downloaded, that an examination of the devices took too long, and that evidence in the case became ‘stale’ because of the amount of time that lapsed between agents downloading files from a computer at Duggar’s Internet address and the issuance of a search warrant.”

“Brooks’ ruling said a fatal flaw in Duggar’s argument is even if one video wasn’t completely downloaded, a second video was. Brooks said agents were also able to view the content of the video that may not have fully downloaded and determined it contained child pornography. The second video alone provided probable cause to search his electronic devices for evidence of a crime, Brooks wrote. Brooks said child pornography cases are different in that evidence doesn’t become stale. Brooks noted the courts have found on numerous occasions staleness wasn’t an issue, even when files were downloaded many months prior to the issuance of search warrants.”

Coup cucks klanmates Ken Paxton and Jenna Ellis will appear at a “ReAwaken America” event scheduled for December in the Dallas area, alongside disgraced traitor Michael Flynn and renowned Demon Sperm expert Dr Stella Immanuel, Right Wing Watch reports. The seminars, which is kind of like a fucked up fascist conspiracy theorist version of Ted Talks, are run by some crazy asshole “entrepreneur” Clay Clark, whom we’ve previously mentioned here in a report with a clip of famous Michigan Booze Lady Melissa Carone delivering a rousing speech on the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus to thunderous applause the ReAwaken America crowd in her home state.

Salt Lake Tribune: “There’s an innocuous-looking item on Wednesday’s Judiciary Interim Committee agenda titled ‘Election Integrity,’ which says the panel will ‘hear presentations on perspectives regarding election integrity.’ In reality, the event has turned into a rallying point for right-wing groups who are pushing for a ‘forensic audit’ of the 2020 election in Utah. There’s a coordinated effort on social media to turn the meeting into a show of force, which activists hope will be a springboard to pressure lawmakers into launching an Arizona-style audit of the election results. It’s important to note that former President Donald Trump won Utah by nearly 21 points over Joe Biden. One message in a Telegram group focused on auditing Utah’s election says the meeting is ‘the lynchpin (sic) for an audit.’ There’s also a pre-meeting rally scheduled for Wednesday. ‘This committee is FRIENDLY and should be treated as an ally (for now),’ the post reads.”

“The item was placed on the agenda by House co-chair Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield. ‘Since the beginning of this interim, election integrity has been an approved study item on our list. For this agenda item we invited the county clerks, the lieutenant governor and anyone who is working on a bill in this policy space to participate in the committee discussion,’ Lisonbee said via text message. Lisonbee did not answer whether she favors an audit of the election, but the committee is giving a prime speaking slot to Rep. Steve Christiansen, R-South Jordan, who has become one of the leaders of the effort. Biden bested Trump in Salt Lake County by nearly 11 percentage points. Christiansen has been pushing for an audit since right after the 2020 election when he asked the Legislative Audit Committee to review the vote in Salt Lake County. That committee, made up of legislative leadership, has not yet acted on his request.”

“This fall, our students have returned to school amid a sense of heightened racial tension, fear and confusion due to the pandemic, and general hostility toward those who don’t tow [sic] the line of radical thought. All of this, along with ongoing battles to stop Critical Race Theory and explicit sex ed lessons have brought us to a tipping point in our public schools. While it is true that some teachers are going rogue, presenting their own political and social ideas in the classroom, it is also true that in many cases, the approved curriculum reflects the very same left-leaning propaganda.”

“We’ve heard stories of teachers telling fifth grade students that if they are white, they’re inherently racist. We’ve heard stories of first graders being taught that they can change their gender if they feel like they were born into the wrong body. This must stop! Are you certain that your child is not falling victim to the leftist agenda? Have you been denied access to questionable material used in your child’s classroom? Are you fed up with a system that has shut you out of your own child’s education? Please join us as we fight back and demand accountability by putting CAMERAS IN THE CLASSROOM” says the intro at CamerasInTheClassroom.org, launched by the Capitol Resource Institute and the Nevada Family Alliance. Unhinged fascist Mark Levin is listed as a “top supporter”, along with Hertiage dipshit and Former Trump White House OMB director Russ Vought.

A new report on the findings from the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis majority staff’s investigation of the administration of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program by the United States Department of Agriculture finds that – surprise! – the Trump Administration managed the emergency food aid program as corruptly and incompetently as you’d expect, plus they improperly politicized it too with a stupid letter from Trump in the boxes. Lowlights include:

Read more at the subcommittee’s website.

Cruz introduces bill to bring immigrant processing centers 'where Democrat elites host their cocktail parties'https://t.co/R767c0MTkv

— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 19, 2021

Politico: “The Jan. 6 committee has hit the judicial jackpot. Donald Trump’s lawsuit seeking to kneecap the committee before it obtains his White House records has landed on the docket of Judge Tanya Chutkan. Chutkan, an Obama appointee to the federal district court of Washington D.C. in 2014, has even imposed sentences that went beyond prosecutors’ requests in recent Capitol riot cases. Chutkan also presided over the case of Maria Butina, the Russian spy who sought to infiltrate influential Republican circles. During the sentencing of Jan. 6 rioter Carl Mazzocco, Chutkan specifically called out his allegiance to Trump. ‘He went to the Capitol in support of one man, not in support of our country.'”