Daily Beast: “In the months since the U.S. Capitol assault, Donald Trump has led the GOP efforts to distort and dismiss the realities of the anti-democratic and deadly riot that the former president himself instigated. In his retelling, Ashli Babbitt – who was shot and killed trying to enter the House chamber on Jan 6 – wasn’t so much a rioter as she was an ‘innocent, wonderful, incredible woman.'”

“And, in Trump’s mind, some of the police officers who defended the Capitol that day aren’t the real heroes, calling them liberal ‘pussies’ who loathe MAGA, and outliers within a broadly pro-Trump law enforcement community. In private discussions this summer, Trump has told some people close to him that several of these officers strike him as weak and as ‘pussies,’ according to two sources familiar with the comments and who described them independently. Trump has also maintained that these men seem ‘broke[n]’ by the events of Jan. 6, and that they do not have the supposed toughness or character of the law enforcement officers who, on the whole nationally, still widely support Trump and his policies. According to these two people, and another source with knowledge of the matter, the twice-impeached former president has also alleged that these particular police officers are letting themselves be used as pawns by anti-Trump Democrats, like Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), or simply despise Trump and are Democrats themselves.”

“So then what does Senator Cramer think about the killing of the international hero and American Military Patriot George Floyd? Cramer has just proved he’s a Never-Trumper. With this he proves he supports the status-quo, Swamp, and a 2 tiered justice system that has nothing to do with race but with political affiliation”

– The current top comment on the BizPacReview.com article “Republican senator calls Ashli Babbitt ‘a criminal’, defends the officer who killed her“, posted Thursday afternoon.

The United States Navy charged a member of the ship’s crew for the 2020 fire that destroyed the amphibious warship USS Bonhomme Richard while it was in port in San Diego for maintenance, CNN reports.  An unnamed sailor will likely be referred to a court martial based on charges Vice Adm. Steve Koehler, commander of the 3rd Fleet, would recommend under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The fire aboard the Bonhomme Richard raged for four days while the ship was docked in port.  The billion-dollar ship, commissioned in 1992, sustained damage with an estimated repair cost of $2.5- to $3.2-billion, so the Navy decided to scrap the ship, and it was decommissioned in April.

https://youtu.be/6rYiQGnSP1A

A 27-second rambling mess.

“Yeah, I, I, I speak, I mean, I spoke last week.  I spoke to the president all the time.  I spoke to him on January 6th.  I mean, I talked with President Trump all the time, and that’s, that… I don’t think that’s unusual.  Um… I would expect [Jordan looks up as if the answer is written on the ceiling] members of Congress to talk with the President of the United States when they’re trying to get done the things they told the voters in their district they’ll do… ah… I-I-I-I… I’m, I’m actually kinda amazed sometimes people keep asking [Jordan’s voice gets high like his panties tightened]… Well, of course, I talk to the president all the time.  I talked to him, like I said, I talked to him last week.”

If Jordan speaks to the president so often, why doesn’t someone ask him the last time he spoke to President Biden.

In a recent interview with Slate, Alabama Representative Mo Brooks revealed that he was wearing body armor during his January 6th speech at the Ellipse, which immediately preceded the storming of the US Capitol by rabid Trump supporters. This little detail creates serious legal jeopardy for Brooks, as it means that he may have failed to engage in due diligence to try to prevent a violent attack on the US Government, and left for the Ellipse that day with an expectation that there would be violence. He then engaged in provocative and inflammatory speech that contributed to the agitation of a violent crowd. Mo Brooks must be subpeonad, placed under oath, and made to testify before both the House January 6th Committee and a Grand Jury. I’ll now present an opening series of fifteen initial questions that should be asked of Brooks while he’s on the witness stand.

Pic by Jeff Weinsier, WPLG.

“Kelly Wagner had to sit in her car and take a deep breath after she saw the face mask full of swastikas being sold inside a Shell gas station in Fort Lauderdale. ‘After the initial shock – horror – I asked the woman behind the counter, ‘Is Shell actually selling swastika face masks?’’ Wagner told Local 10 News. ‘And she outright said yes. Her response to me was, ‘Whatever. We sell what it is that they give us to sell.” It’s unclear how many of the masks were sold at that Shell located at 6201 Powerline Road, on the corner of Powerline and Cypress Creek Road. Local 10 News reached out to Shell, and we bought the last one of those masks, which also includes Nazi eagle insignia.”

“‘I’m deeply offended by it,’ said Rabbi Arnie Samlan of the Jewish Federation of Broward. ‘I find this deeply offensive. ‘What we have in the United State is a lack of understanding and knowledge of what Natzism stood for and of the symbols used by the Nazis.’ After purchasing the mask off the shelf, Local 10 News confronted the Shell station’s manager Mohammad Hossin about it. ‘I have no idea,’ he said when asked if he knew what the symbols meant. ‘You don’t know what a swastika is?’ we asked. ‘Trust me, I have no idea,’ Hossin said” WPLG reports.

The most likely explanation for all this is some run down Chinese factory with no idea of the significance of the Nazi swastika just cut whatever patterns they had and dumped them in a box to sell at American gas stations for 99 cents each. However, if it was somehow ordered intentionally it raises an interesting question: Was it meant more for the kind of assholes who think having to wear a mask is basically like being a Holocaust victim, or is it for actual Neo-Nazis showing support for their team the same way a Miami Dolphins fan would wear a Dolphins-branded mask?

Attorney General Merrick Garland has notified Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott that the Department of Justice will sue Texas if the governor doesn’t rescind his executive order allowing Texas cops to pull over any car they believe are carrying “migrants” who could spread the coronavirus.

According to a letter Garland sent to Abbott, the executive order is both “dangerous and unlawful” because of it allows the state to override the authority of the federal government regarding immigration as granted by the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

“The United States advances its immigration and public health functions in Texas through a variety of federal officials, contractors, and grantees,” Garland notes.  “Some federal officials who work in Texas on behalf of agencies including the Department of Health & Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency may not be considered ‘enforcement official[s ]’ exempted from the Order.”

WFSA: “Sarah Nafziger, M.D., vice president of UAB Hospital Clinical Services, said Thursday that Alabama now has the highest COVID positivity rate in the country. Nafziger said the reasons are the Delta variant and Alabama’s low vaccination rate. According to the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), Alabama’s percent positive rate is 21.5% as of July 29, 2021. The statewide percentage of Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests that were positive during the past seven days was 21.5. According to ADPH, 49,661 COVID-19 tests were performed in the past 7 days in Alabama.”

“Nafziger said people are starting to fill up hospitals again and 97 percent of the people who are being treated for COVID-19 are unvaccinated. The average age of admitted COVID-19 patients is about 55 years old. She said the difference is Alabama’s older population, 65 and older, took the vaccine. That is keeping them out of the hospital. Nafziger said almost every one of the patients in the hospital who did not get the vaccine, now said they wish they had. Nafziger said if case numbers continue to grow, UAB doctors will have to cancel or postpone elective procedures because they will need the beds. ‘To me it’s like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute. We have a parachute, why would you jump out of an airplane without a parachute?’ asked Nafziger.”

Capitol rioter Jack Griffith pleaded guilty Thursday to charges relating to his participation in the January 6th domestic terrorist attack, but he hopes his fame and fortune comes from a video game he’s designing featuring Donald Trump, armed with an assault rifle, taking out antifa and Democratic opponents.

According to BuzzfeedNews, Griffith added a disclaimer onto Facebook postings about the game that “not meant to incite violence in any way.”  It does, however, feature memes that are common among far-right Trump lovers, such as anti-semitic messages.

The game won’t likely lead to riches for Griffith.  Although the representation of Trump is highly unrealistic–the game shows the digital Trump running–Trump has shown a likelihood of suing anyone who makes money using his brand.  At one point, he sent a cease-and-desist order against Republican candidates who used his likeness for campaign fundraising.

Vice President Kamala Harris has outlined her plan to impact the long-term causes of migration for Central Americans to the United States via a multinational effort to reduce the risks in the home countries that spur the people to make the 2,000 mile trek, the Associated Press reports.

Citing  corruption, violence and poverty in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, Harris stated that she’ll be working with the governments of Mexico, Japan and South Korea, along with the United Nations to address the longstanding and deep-seated motives for migrants to leave their native countries.

“We will build on what works, and we will pivot away from what does not work,” Harris wrote in an introduction to the 20-page plan. “It will not be easy, and progress will not be instantaneous, but we are committed to getting it right.”

According to TMZ, Donald Trump is attempting to sell one of his few remaining air assets:  a 1990 Sikorsky S76B helicopter.  The aircraft is advertised on the website AeroAsset with photos that show the chopper has been stripped of any Trump branding.

Unlike previous presidents whose Oval Office connection to a product typically increases the price, Trump is not being associated with the helicopter.  It could be because of his record unpopularity, or it could be because of Trump poor history of aircraft maintenance:  Trump’s Boeing 757 airplane is sitting neglected on a New York runway, needing a new engine and an estimated one million dollars in restoration.

The aircraft broker, who is not setting a price and taking offers for the helicopter, states that the interior of the 31 year old aircraft underwent a “complete refurbishment in 2012,” meaning you’ll only have six years of Trump stink to scrub off.

“House clears supplemental spending bill for Capitol Police, National Guard and Afghan resettlement… Going to Biden’s desk” reports Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News.

Headed to the Senate floor with my colleagues to protest Nancy Pelosi’s tyrannical mask mandate pic.twitter.com/78704tojew

— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) July 29, 2021

“A former suburban Kansas City police chief who helped rescue a baby from an icy pond and later assaulted the man accused of trying to kill the infant has pleaded guilty in the case. Greg Hallgrimson, 51, pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday, the Kansas City Star reported. He was indicted in 2019 on a single count of violating the civil rights of Jonathon Zicarelli.”

“Prosecutors have said Hallgrimson threw a handcuffed Zicarelli to the ground, punched him in the face and told Zicarelli, ‘You deserve to die,’ after returning from the rescue mission to the Greenwood, Missouri, police station. Zicarelli had walked into the police station in December 2018 and said he had tried to drown his 6-month-old daughter in a nearby pond, police said. Hallgrimson and another officer rushed to the pond and found the unconscious infant floating face up and her lungs filled with water. Hallgrimson and the other officer worked to warm and revive the baby until paramedics arrived and rushed her to a hospital, where she was treated for severe hypothermia. Hallgrimson was put on administrative leave shortly after being accused of assaulting Zicarelli, which prosecutors say was captured on video. He resigned in May 2019” – AP.

New York Times: “Republicans in Georgia’s General Assembly have requested a performance review of the top election official in Fulton County, the first step in a possible takeover of the county’s electoral process that could give the Republican-led legislature more control over an area with the largest concentration of Democratic voters in the state… Fulton County, which includes much of Atlanta, has a record of problems with its elections. Most recently, its June 2020 primary contest was marred by voting machine difficulties that were exacerbated by the small size and poor training of its staff, causing lines to stretch for hours across the county.”

“But the November general election and the January runoff elections in the county ran relatively smoothly on each Election Day, with few reports of lengthy waits or other complications. There were no legitimate questions about the accuracy of the results in any of the three recent elections. In the presidential race, President Biden carried the county with more than 72 percent of the vote and more than 380,000 votes. The review process for local election officials is a newly critical element to Georgia elections after state Republicans passed a sweeping new voting law in April. It includes several provisions that lay the groundwork for an extraordinary takeover of election administration by partisan lawmakers. Under the new law, the State Elections Board is permitted to replace county election board members after a performance review or investigation. But the new law also restructures the state board, stripping the secretary of state of his authority and giving the legislature the ability to appoint members, including the chair.”

A National Zero investigation revealed an “advertorial” piece by “USAFirstReporting.com” describing a purported fury erupting among American liberals over the fact that a free Trump 2024 hat was being made available to fans of the former president of the United States on Thursday.

The unsigned combination of editorializing and advertising (hence “advertorial”) spoke directly to Trump fans, saying “As an American I’m sure you feel attacked by the lying Liberal Mainstream Media” before launching into its call-to-action “If you’re a God Fearing American Christian and if you love this great nation it’s more important than ever to stand up for your nation! You can do this by claiming this Limited Edition ‘Trump 2024’ Hat for FREE!” The unidentified author or authors of the piece then warned “These have been flying off the shelves, so act fast. There’s no telling how many are left” which apparently was intended to invoke a sense of panic over the possibility of being deprived a complimentary Trump 2024 hat to wear in public and inform all whom they encounter of their support for the not-yet-existent Donald Trump 2024 United States Presidential Campaign.

A pilot program in Columbus, Ohio testing the effectiveness of non-police responses to emergency calls has shown initial success in reducing the number of calls requiring police and fire units on the scene, the Associated Press reports.

More than 60% of the calls were resolved without dispatching police and/or fire department personnel to respond to the scene, thanks to assistance from mental health professionals or referrals to other social services, Mayor Andrew Ginther’s office said in a release.

The pilot program, done over 72 hours of operation, demonstrates how impactful non-law enforcement assistance can be, with the responses being assessed by a “triage pod” of paramedics, public health clinicians and dispatchers.  The experiment was developed in response to a national movement to reallocate civic resources to de-escalate emergency calls without using an armed police officer who may not be properly trained in dealing with the situation. 

Embattled National Rifle Association Executive Director Wayne Lapierre had the carcasses of various animals he and his wife slaughtered during an NRA-paid 2013 safari secretly shipped to the United States so a taxidermist could turn them into trophies and accessories like umbrella stands, stools, purses and a trash can, the New Yorker reports.

The safari to Botswana, the fees associated with shipping the animal remains to the United States, and the taxidermy costs were all paid for by the NRA, amounting to thousands of dollars in unreported income to the Lapierres and violating the NRA’s own rules that bar gifts for executives over $250.

The Lapierres were careful to ensure that the shipment of animal remains–which included one cape-buffalo skull, two sheets of elephant skin, two elephant ears, four elephant tusks, and four front elephant feet–were labeled in a way that could not be immediately linked to them.  The shipment was sent directly to the taxidermist, and the Lapierres’ name did not appear anywhere on the bills of lading. 

My colleagues and I were locked out of the Deplorable Jail!

Members of Congress need to conduct oversight, yet our letters and calls get ignored. Then we get told we are trespassing.

The American people deserve answers! It’s outrageous!!https://t.co/EmPjJfvupH

— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) July 29, 2021

“The conservative House Freedom Caucus is calling for the removal of Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois from the Republican caucus, an effort to punish the pair for joining the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Cheney and Kinzinger were added to the committee by Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a bid to ensure some Republican voices.”

“House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy initially named five additional Republicans to join the committee, but when Pelosi rejected two of them because of their past remarks, McCarthy withdraw all his picks, leaving only Cheney and Kinzinger. ‘It was antithetical to have sitting in your conference, individuals who have professed they want to take out the minority leader,’ House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said during a news conference Thursday. In Congress, a party caucus or conference serves as the official arm of the party and organizes lawmakers’ committees, leadership and other important roles. Biggs wants to create a new rule for the Republican conference that any member who accepts a committee assignment outside the normal procedure ‘shall immediately cease to be a member of the conference'” – NBC News.