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— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) May 18, 2024

Three Republican primary candidates vying for the nomination to the Michigan seat being vacated by retiring Dem Senator Debbie Stabenow are facing the very same type of fraudulent ballot access petition shitshow that felled no fewer than five gubernatorial hopefuls back in 2022, the AP reports.

The Michigan Dem Party and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on Friday alleged in a letter sent to the Michigan Board of Canvassers that the campaigns of former Congressmen Mike Rogers and Justin Amash, and businessman Sandy Pensler, have submitted ballot access signatures showing “a possible repeat of the conduct of petition circulators during the 2022 election.”

At least 15,000 signatures were due on April 23. Rogers, the Trump-endorsed frontrunner, submitted 30,000, the maximum permitted (it’s best practice for campaigns everywhere to pad it as much as they can to withstand challenges). Pensler submitted 26,000. Amash’s campaign didn’t respond to the AP’s request for comment. Worth noting is that the 2022 gubernatorial bid by former auto industry exec Perry Johnson submitted more than 15,000 signatures, which means that Rogers and Pensler at least have a lot of room for error. That said, the fuckery that got Perry Johnson, former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, and three scrubs tossed from the 2022 gov race was borderline systemic. In Craig’s case alone 9,879 out of 14,310 signatures were determined to be fraudulent.

On one hand you’d think that maybe Michigan Republicans would’ve learned and lesson and gotten their shit together and that it’s quite possible that the Dems are needling them just for the hell of it and to cover their bases. On the other, lol if the GOP didn’t learn that lesson and are blowing their chance for the seat by doing the very same stupid shit that blew up their 2022 gubernatorial bid.

• Republicans got exactly what they asked for:  they kowtowed to the ultra-rich, and now one of those ultra-rich used his ultra-wealth to buy the leadership of the GOP even though he was thoroughly unqualified and completely sociopathic.  They keep their lips firmly attached to his ass because they made themselves reliant on his ability to raise funds from his cult to support their own political futures.  
• Biden controls the debate narrative, and he baited Trump expertly.  Now Trump wants to schedule a third Fox-controlled event and he’s complaining about the debates he agreed to.  Even Trump doesn’t like Trump’s decisions. 
• At this point, I give the Trump trial a 60% chance of ending in conviction, a 20% chance of ending in a hung jury, 12% of conviction on misdemeanor charges only, 5% complete acquittal, and 3% Other (deal struck, guilty plea for misdemeanors, juror tossed, etc.) but that may change after closing arguments.
• Fuck Alito.  Fuck Thomas.  And fuck John Roberts most of all.  Time will ultimately correct the injustices they’ve pushed from the bench, but the divots in the Supreme Court’s legitimacy will remain forever. 
  Read More ▶ “Random thoughts Friday, Volume CLXXIII”

Three Spanish tourists were among four killed during a gunfight between religious factions in Bamyan, a town in central Afghanistan; a fourth tourist was among the wounded in the shooting that happened in Afghanistan, CNN reports.  The governments of both Spain and Afghanistan expressed remorse for the deaths of the tourists, who chose to vacation in Afghanistan, which has been involved in some type of war for nearly half a century.  Glad they got to check it off their bucket list before… y’know.

Awww shucks President Trump is speechin to the Lincoln Day Dinner the Minnesotato Republicans have thrown for him on Friday night. Yah, that there trial for fuckin’ a pornstar and paying little secret hish money must be a real doozy for him, right? At least he gets a little break like this special one here. Y’know, some time to unwind and all that with the State Republicans. Just him and all his fellas in the party that feel like he’s Jesus Christ himself even though Jesus Christ would never be caught fucking a pornstar and have himself all embarrassed at the trial in New York for Pete’s sake.

Silicon Valley sugar mama Nicole Shanahan deposited $8 million dollars in the bank account for her and running mate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign in April, a huge cash infusion that went to their efforts to get on the ballot in more states, Politico reports.

Kennedy spent more than $6.5 million in April–more than twice the amount it spent in March–with Shanahan’s donation funding most of it.  Kennedy has raised more than $27 million and currently has about $5 million on hand.  By comparison, Biden has $71 million in cash while Trump has $33.5 million.

Another stat from RFK Jr.’s campaign finance reporting:  his amount raised from small donors–those giving less than $200–dropped by about one-third in April, falling below $900,000 after hitting $1.3 million in March.

Now that he’s secured the GOP Senate nomination, Larry Hogan is going full speed in decrying his earlier statements and now claiming to be pro-choice, a clear effort to fool voters in the statewide race where abortion access is on the ballot around the country, the Washington Post reports.

The one-time governor and a No Labels Party recruit, Hogan voiced his anti-abortion cred early in his career, but while in office, Hogan didn’t block many of the Democratic-led legislature’s bills that provided protections for abortion and birth control.

Now, however, Hogan steps forward as squarely in the pro-Roe camp, decrying the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, claiming this was always his position, not a new view to counter his popular vocally pro-choice Democratic opponent, Angela Alsobrooks.

Boeing announced it delayed the planned launch of the first manned Starliner mission from next Tuesday until the following Saturday, March 25th at 3:09 p.m. as the team continues to fight a helium leak in the fuel system, CBS News reports. Mission commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and co-pilot Sunita Williams were originally scheduled to take off May 6th, but the launch was scrubbed after the helium leak was discovered, but we’re certain they’re okay with the delay.

Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen admitted to recruiting a primary challenger so that he could use the opponent to increase fundraising results according to a recording of Knudsen made at a fundraiser, the Associated Press reports.

A former Speaker of the state house, Knudsen had no GOP challenger to his incumbency but told the audience at a May 11th fundraiser in Dillon, that he made sure candidate Logan Dillon “filed to run against me simply because under our current campaign finance laws in Montana, it allows me to raise more money. So, he supports me and he’s going to vote for me.”

Montana Democrats filed a lawsuit alleging that Knudsen was taking more than the state-allowed $790 per person limit allowed when a candidate runs unopposed, so rather than return the money, he got Dillon to file against him on the deadline day for candidate applications.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 40,000 for the first time Friday, ending the day at 40,003.59, topping another milestone in steady American economy, per CNN.  After dipping its toe over the line in midday trading Thursday, the index opened up and finished the day strong.  While 40,000 is an arbitrary value, the achievement reflects solid market performance since a brief downturn in September 2022.

“On behalf of the future Vice President of the United States, who I have not yet chosen, we hereby accept the Fox Vice Presidential Debate, hopefully at Virginia State University, the first Historically Black College or University to host a Debate – Date to be determined. I urge Vice President Kamala Harris to agree to this,” posted disgraced former President Trump on Friday, apparently still antsy that he said yes to the two debates for himself and for his not yet chosen running mate on CNN, ABC, and CBS, respectively, without trying to get one on more fascist, white nationalist friendly turf.

Unlike when Trump “accepted” an October 2nd debate on the propaganda network between himself and Biden on Wednesday (which Biden’s campaign promptly shut down), Fox is actually on board with this sandbag, with anchor Bret Baier announcing their “proposal” on Friday afternoon. Must be some kind of mea culpa to Trump for not backing him on the October 2nd challenge he made up.

The fat bastard later posted “I have accepted a fourth Presidential Debate against Crooked Joe Biden, this time with NBC & Telemundo. It is important as Republicans that we WIN with our Great Hispanic Community, who Biden has devastated with Crippling Inflation, High Gas Prices, Crime in our Streets, and Border Chaos. This Fourth Debate will go along with our previously accepted Presidential Debates on CNN, ABC, and Fox. This is all in addition to our accepting an invitation from Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum of Fox News to host the Vice Presidential Debate at Virginia State University, or another venue, in Virginia, to be named later. These are the Debates that Voters have been asking for, and these are the Debates that Voters will get!” again lying that Fox News will actually host any debate. NBC/Telemundo does however sound more realistic and palatable to the Biden team as the Spanish-language network (but not NBC) was at least one of the four that fit the criteria set forth by the president’s reelection campaign. So maybe there will be a third showdown.

“Due to the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions against US citizens and interests, the Department of State advises US citizens overseas to exercise increased caution. The Department of State is aware of the increased potential for foreign terrorist organization-inspired violence against LGBTQI+ persons and events and advises US citizens overseas to exercise increased caution. US citizens should stay alert in locations frequented by tourists, including Pride celebrations and venues frequented by LGBTQI+ persons,” says a State Department advisory.

The glass half full of this clip of KSTP Minneapolis’s Tom Hauser is unambiguously a a good glass as he cuts away and makes it clear Trump is full of shit. The half empty part is how he did that instead of just saying it to Trump’s face during the interview. But on net this is the kind of shit local news viewers should be seeing in the coverage of the pornstar fucker… though maybe we could’ve done without the “joking” part. Even if that was true it had nothing to do with whether or not the fat fuck denied saying what he had said to the crowd at the rally in Duluth in the fall of 2020.

Former Pennsylvania Christian school teacher L Brent Bozell IV, son of movement conservative crusader L Brent Bozell III, was sentenced to 45 months in federal prison for felonies committed during his participation in the January 6th, 2021 Capitol insurrection, NBC’s Ryan J Reilly reports.

A federal judge on Friday sentenced San Francisco-area QAnon freak David DePape to 30 years in prison for bashing in the head of Paul Pelosi during an October 2022 home invasion, the AP reports.

DePape, who is not a male hooker hired by Pelosi as the MAGA trolls claimed in the immediate aftermath of the attack, still faces trial on state-level charges of assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary and other felonies, with jury selection set to start next week.

Or maybe not forgot so much as simply claims she did not testify with sometimes graphic detail about the two-minute sexual encounter she had with the white nationalist Congressman’s Orange Jesus.

The swearing-in ceremony for a new county Board of Commissioners in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was supposed to take place Wednesday night is now been postponed indefinitely after the two GOP members of the Delta County Board of Canvassers refused to certify their election because the tallies of the votes in the three races was too proportional, Iron Mountain Daily News reports.

Seriously. “They’re basing their decision on the ratio of the votes, because two of (the races) have the exact same ratio and the third one was a similar ratio, so they think that that shows that the machines were somehow programmed with (an) algorithm,” said County Clerk Nancy Przewrocki, adding “I tried to tell them that the machines have been tested and the results came out exactly as they should. I have every confidence in our voting equipment because it’s always tested and in the recounts and the audits we have done, the ballot hand count has always come out exactly very close to… the tabulator results.” Problem is that three challengers defeated three incumbents with 72 percent of the vote to 27 percent, or 73 to 26 percent in the case of the third.

So the two canvassers – whose job does not entail deciding the validity of the election – refused to certify, with one them, Bonnie Hakkola the county GOP chairwoman, being advised by her son, Seth, who is active in the “Stop the Steal” movement. “A news release dated Monday but sent to the Daily Press late Tuesday by her son, Seth Hakkola, indicates local citizens working with members of Michigan-based groups that deny the validity of the 2020 presidential election have ‘identified certain statistical anomalies and suspicious voting ratios,'” the Iron Mountain Daily News writes.

Complete fucking worm disbarred MAGA lawyer John Eastman pleaded not guilty to crimes related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Arizona on Friday, CNN reports. “I, of course, plead not guilty,” Eastman told reporters outside the Phoenix courthouse after the hearing. “I’m confident that, with the laws faithfully applied, I will be exonerated at the end of this process.”

We question how confident he is really considering that the process which took away his law license, now just steps away from being permanent, did not actually end with his exoneration.

“Flying an upside-down American flag – a symbol of the so-called ‘Stop the Steal’ movement – clearly creates the appearance of bias. Justice Alito should recuse himself immediately from cases related to the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection, including the question of the former President’s immunity in US v Donald Trump, which the Supreme Court is currently considering. The Court is in an ethical crisis of its own making, and Justice Alito and the rest of the Court should be doing everything in their power to regain public trust. This latest story is further proof that Congress needs to pass the SCERT Act to create an enforceable code of conduct for the Supreme Court. Supreme Court justices should be held to the highest ethical standards, not the lowest,” meowed Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Dick Durbin at Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito over the inverted flag “Mrs Alito” flew after fat former President Trump lost the 2020 election.

Grow some fucking balls dude. Just announce a confirmation hearing for six new liberal justices and say Alito is free to retire if he doesn’t like the court having more than nine seats. Time to man up and put them on the defensive while the Dems still have a majority in the Senate. Stop letting them piss on your faces while you say “Well at least it’s not that warm, yellow, and salty this time.”

In related news Alito gave a statement to Fox’s Shannon Bream where he said the neighbors had a “Fuck Trump” sign up and the wife was responding with the upside-down American flag. “Justice Alito says he and his wife were walking in the neighborhood and there were words between Mrs Alito and a male at the home with the sign. Alito says the man engaged in vulgar language, ‘including the c-word’. Following that exchange, Mrs Alito was distraught and hung the flag upside down ‘for a short time’. Justice Alito says some neighbors on his street are ‘very political’ and acknowledges it was a very heated time in January 2021,” Bream wrote. Which means he’s admitting that yes, the Alitos flew a “Stop the Steal” signal in response to their lib neighbors hating Trump.