Former Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue has decided against running to return to the Senate in 2022, reversing course after starting an exploratory committee just last week, CNN reports.

“After much prayer and reflection, Bonnie and I have decided that we will not enter the race for the United States Senate in Georgia in 2022,” Perdue said in an email to supporters Tuesday, adding that it’s “a personal decision, not a political one.”

After serving one term in the Senate, Perdue lost a run-off election against Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff in January.  That Democratic pick-up, along with a win in the other Georgia runoff by Senator Raphael Warnock over incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler, gave Democrats the majority in the Senate thanks to a 50-50 split with Vice President Kamala Harris as the deciding vote.

In its continuing investigation into potential planning of the January 6th domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol, the FBI has seized phone records of many of those involved as well as the logs of members of Congress and their staffs, the Intercept reports.

Using emergency orders applicable during situations of riot and unrest, the FBI started to obtain the phone records from around the Capitol using data from towers and relay stations in the Capitol complex.  The data help identify movements of individuals and connections between the insurrectionists.

A recently-retired FBI official told the Intercept that the information is also being used to identify connections “between suspects, which include members of Congress.”

Where do Americans go to claim asylum from Joe Biden’s policies?

— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) February 23, 2021

“Terabytes of data. Dozens of prosecutors, investigators and forensic accountants sifting through millions of pages of financial documents. An outside consulting firm drilling down on the arcana of commercial real estate and tax strategies. That is the monumental task that lies ahead in the Manhattan district attorney’s criminal investigation into former President Donald J. Trump and his family business after a United States Supreme Court order on Monday cleared the way for prosecutors to obtain eight years worth of Mr. Trump’s tax returns and other financial records.”

“The brief, unsigned order was a resounding victory for the prosecutors and defeat for Mr. Trump, capping his bitter and protracted legal battle to block the release of the records – an effort that twice reached the Supreme Court – and delivering a jolt to the prosecutors’ efforts after the lawsuit stalled them for more than a year. The investigation is one of two known criminal inquiries into Mr. Trump, the other coming from prosecutors in Georgia scrutinizing Mr. Trump’s effort to persuade local officials to undo the election results there. When Mr. Trump left office, he lost the protection against indictment that the presidency afforded him” – New York Times.

You bore us. If science is a “commitment to truth” shall we site all the historical non-truths perpetuated by scientists ? Of course not. It’s not science vs Philosophy … It’s Science + Philosophy. Elevate your Thinking and Consciousness. When you measure include the measurer. https://t.co/hsZzHNwJ0M

— MC HAMMER e/acc (@MCHammer) February 22, 2021

Are you one of the “deficit hawk” assholes who want to complain about the price of the Biden Administration’s new Coronavirus relief bill? Think $1.9 trillion is too much to spend when public debt is increasing (even though you probably had no problem cutting into revenue in with the 2017 tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy)? Is this too much “socialism” for you to handle?

Then do your part and send it back. It’s really simple. Just deposit your stimulus check, go to Pay.gov and pay the $1,400 back to the US Treasury. They accept debit cards, credit cards, direct wire transfers – even PayPal! There’s no gimmick involved. You can literally just make a donation to the United States Government. Here are the details from the Bureau of The Fiscal Service website:

“Citizens who wish to make a general donation to the U.S. government may send contributions to a specific account called ‘Gifts to the United States.’ This account was established in 1843 to accept gifts, such as bequests, from individuals wishing to express their patriotism to the United States. Money deposited into this account is for general use by the federal government and available for budget needs. These contributions are considered unconditional gifts to the government.”

Want to express your patriotism? Are you a patriot? Do you love America? Then go ahead and “stick it to the man” by sending the free money he’s giving you right back to him. Call it “dirty blood money” or whatever the fuck you want to make yourself feel better. Merely not cashing the check isn’t enough. Send it right back where it came from if you want no part of this stimulus package. Do it the minute the money hits your account some time next month.

A Pfizer executive announced that he expects his company to deliver 13 million coronavirus vaccine doses per week to the United States by mid-March, a significant increase in production that will push the nation closer to goal set by the Biden Administration, Reuters reports.

President Joe Biden set a goal of having 100 million people inoculated within his first 100 days in office.  Currently, 46 million people have received at least one dose of one of the available vaccines; about 19 million have received both doses required by currently available vaccines.

Pfizer has already delivered 40 million doses around the US, and is on track to deliver 120 million doses by the end of March.  Moderna, the manufacturer of the second approved vaccine, said it will deliver 100 million doses by the end of March, and it expects to have 300 million doses delivered to US outlets by the end of July.

Do you feel like your voice was heard in the 2020 election? Do you feel your vote was secure?

For too many the answer is NO

& that’s a serious problem.

I’m launching @GreaterGeorgia to register new voters, reach more communities & strengthen our elections.

RT & follow along! pic.twitter.com/vbtFzkuAu7

— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) February 22, 2021

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is expected to release an unclassified report on the murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi and the role that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman played in his death, the Washington Post reports.

Unlike his predecessor, President Joe Biden has made it clear that the current administration intends to exert pressure on Saudi Arabia to change its demeanor in the region.  While promising to support Saudi in its defense against local adversaries like Iran, the Biden Administration has canceled arms sales and pushed the kingdom to temper its support of rebels in the Yemeni civil war.

And unlike the Trump Administration, during which Trump’s son-in-law dealt with MbS, who is believed to have ordered the assassination and dismemberment of US-based Khashoggi, Biden will deal with the king, not the prince.

The National Rifle Association possibly put itself into an no-win situation with its bankruptcy filing, which could lead to its dissolution if a Texas judge grants its application or a criminal trial for its top executives if the application is denied, ABC News reports.

The organization’s fate sits in the hands of Judge Harlin Hale of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas who will decide whether to grant the NRA’s bankruptcy petition.  His decision is not a certainty:  the NRA’s bankruptcy claim is undermined by statements by the organization that it remains financially viable.

Also complicating the filing:  statements by NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre that the NRA intends to reorganize in Texas and flee the “toxic political environment of New York,” even though the organization’s headquarters are in Virginia. 

“One day before the Georgia Senate runoff elections – and two days before the Capitol insurrection – a leadership PAC attached to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to a mystery company that had previously bought copies of Cruz’s book, according to recent filings with the FEC. The expenses raise questions about whether the controversial conservative senator (and Cancún frequent-flyer) used those political campaigns, and Donald Trump’s attempt to subvert the democratic process, to raise money for himself. That could push the FEC to issue a ruling on a pending issue that could have consequences for former President Donald Trump’s fundraising.”

“Over the course of 2020, the Cruz-affiliated Jobs, Freedom, and Security PAC paid $1.2 million – nearly 80% of its operating budget – to a company called Reagan Investments LLC for ‘sponsorship advertising.’ The only other committee to register any disbursements to that company was Trump Make America Great Again, for a fundraising promotion for Cruz’s books in December, according to The New York Times. However, the Trump group clearly marked the payment for ‘collateral: books’; campaign finance experts told Salon that the PAC’s classifications – ‘sponsorship advertising’ – was unusual and opaque” – Salon.

Daily Beast: “We’re one month and change into the Biden presidency, and let’s just say it. He’s been staggeringly good. He has way surpassed my expectations. And it’s small wonder he has a 63 percent approval rating. Most people like what they see. What’s he done, in big-picture terms? Three things. First and foremost, he and his team are not letting themselves be bullied by the economic supply-siders and neoliberals who’ve spent the last few decades transferring $50 trillion in wealth from the middle class to the rich. Second, the Biden team understands that the standard Beltway definition of bipartisanship is useless with today’s Republican Party. The Biden people get that congressional Republicans don’t even really represent most rank-and-file Republicans anymore – hence these polls showing significant support even among Republicans for most aspects of the COVID relief bill. This administration shows every sign of not letting itself get suckered into the false promise of trying to win Republican votes that aren’t likely to materialize.”

“Third, they don’t have contempt for Democrats to their left, which is a great thing to see. History tells us pretty clearly in my view that progress is made in this country when activists on the left go out and agitate and change public opinion and liberals codify that change by writing laws. The Biden people clearly agree with this view. Along these lines, The New York Times reported an amazing anecdote two weeks ago that showed how different this administration is so far from its two Democratic predecessors. An activist named Melissa Byrne was pressuring the Biden team on student loan debt via Twitter and even big ads in the Wilmington newspaper. She expected that she was raising some hackles. Instead, according to the Times, Chief of Staff Ron Klain ‘told her to keep up the pressure, inviting her to more Zoom meetings with the transition team.’ That’s the social-media era version of FDR’s famous challenge to labor leaders of his time to ‘go out and make me do it,’ and it was so encouraging to read.”

“The wife of Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman was arrested Monday in Virginia at Dulles International Airport on international drug trafficking charges, with prosecutors accusing her of participating in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana for import into the US. Emma Coronel Aisupuro is also accused of conspiring with others to assist El Chapo in his July 2015 escape from Altiplano prison and prosecutors said she also planned with others to arrange another prison escape for the drug kingpin before his extradition to the U.S. in January of 2017. She will make her initial appearance Tuesday virtually in D.C. District Court” – ABC News.

CBC: “The RCMP have charged the leader of the Canadian Nationalist Party after he posted an allegedly anti-Semitic video on YouTube. Travis Patron, 29, of Redvers, Sask., has been charged with wilful promotion of hate in connection with a video titled Beware the Parasitic Tribe. The video refers to ‘inside manipulators’ who infiltrate the media and the central bank. The RCMP began investigating after the video was flagged by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network in June 2019.”

“Since then, police have received four additional reports of new videos and flyers issued by Patron. Police are still investigating those reports. The Simon Wiesenthal Center had raised alarms about Patron’s videos, stating that the language he was using was dangerous and hateful. ‘He’s promoting some of the most vile and dangerous anti-Semitic tropes in history,’ said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, director of policy with the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Kirzner-Roberts said Patron ‘refers to Jews as parasites. He accuses Jews of being invaders, of controlling the media, the banking system.'”

We have just learned that someone we invited to CPAC has expressed reprehensible views that have no home with our conference or our organization. The individual will not be participating at our conference.

— CPAC (@CPAC) February 22, 2021

UPDATE 2/22/21 5:31 pm: While unspecified in the CPAC tweet, the Daily Beast reports that the uninvited speaker is indeed the unhinged Anti-Semitic QAnon conspiracy freak Young Pharaoh.

Houston Chronicle: “While millions of Texans languished in their homes last week without heat, many of them racking up astronomical electricity bills, the state official in charge of consumer protection left to take an out-of-state trip. According to a campaign spokesman, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton left the state during the middle of the power outage crisis to meet with a fellow attorney general in Utah for a ‘previously planned meeting.’ The revelation marks the third instance of a Texas public official leaving the state during the disaster that affected nearly every one of the state’s 254 counties. Last week, photos emerged showing that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz flew to Mexico on Wednesday after losing power at his Houston home – a move he’s since said was ‘obviously a mistake’ – and state Rep. Gary Gates, R-Richmond, traveled to Florida on a private jet.”

According to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker, the United States on Monday afternoon surpassed half a million fatalities related to the year-long pandemic.

With its 4:24 p.m. ET update, the site shows 500,071 people in the United States have died from the coronavirus, more than double that of any other nation; Brazil is second with 248,000 fatalities.  The US also has confirmed more than 28 million cases, more than 250% higher than the next nation on the list, India.

“George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures will produce a docuseries about a decades-long abuse scandal in the athletic department at Ohio State University. The series, which hasn’t found an outlet yet, is based on an October 2020 Sports Illustrated story by Jon Wertheim, which detailed a long list of allegations against former Ohio State sports doctor Richard Strauss and university officials’ lack of response. Sports Illustrated Studios and 101 Studios are producing alongside Smokehouse Pictures. ‘This article uncovers the most widespread sexual abuse scandal in the history of American higher education. It is a story about power, abuse, enabling and the hierarchy of college sports that had been concealed for far too long,’ said Wertheim, who will be an executive producer of the series. ‘Because these courageous men made the decision to remain silent no longer, we can finally begin to hold the abuser, and those who were complicit in their silence, accountable for their actions – and inactions. With the help of 101 Studios, [SI owner] Authentic Brands Group and Smokehouse Pictures, their voices and stories will be amplified.'”

“Said Clooney and Heslov in a statement, ‘We’re very pleased to partner with 101 Studios and Sports Illustrated in bringing this devastating and tragic story to light.’ Wertheim’s story includes an account from former Ohio State wrestler (and UFC champion) Mark Coleman about Strauss’ alleged sexual abuse and administration of steroids to athletes. Coleman also alleges that Jim Jordan, then an Ohio State assistant wrestling coach and now a congressman, knowingly ignored Strauss’ abuse. The university quietly released Strauss from his position in the athletic department, but he remained a tenured professor at Ohio State. He also operated a private clinic near the Ohio State campus until committing suicide in 2005” – Hollywood Reporter.

Miami Herald: “Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried intends to defy a call by Gov. Ron DeSantis to lower flags to half-staff to honor conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who died last week. Fried, the only statewide elected Democrat, issued a statement Monday that she will direct offices within her Cabinet agency not to lower flags. ‘Lowering to half-staff the flag of the United States of America is a sacred honor that pays respect to fallen heroes and patriots. It is not a partisan political tool,’ Fried said. ‘Therefore, I will notify all state offices under my direction to disregard the governor’s forthcoming order to lower flags for Mr. Limbaugh – because we will not celebrate hate speech, bigotry, and division.’ Fried added that ‘our flags will remain flying high to celebrate the American values of diversity, inclusion, and respect for all.’ Fried oversees the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which includes nine regional licensing offices, 38 state forests and 23 agricultural law-enforcement inspection stations.”