GOP poison flows in the House; Reality derangement syndrome; Boofer redux

House Republican ill-will and bad faith fatally poison the institution: I was wondering if they were going to do it. They said they were going to do it. By golly, they actually did it. The NYT reports:

McCarthy Ejects Schiff and Swalwell From Intelligence Committee

In an act of official retribution for how Democrats treated Republicans when they were in the majority, the speaker barred the Californians from the panel, arguing that they were not fit to serve

The move was a much-anticipated tit-for-tat after Democrats, then in the majority, voted in 2021 to eject two Republicans, Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona, from congressional committees for internet posts that advocated violence against their political enemies. It was also payback for the decision by Nancy Pelosi, then the House speaker, to bar Republicans who had helped former President Donald J. Trump spread the election lies that fueled the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol from sitting on the special committee investigating the riot.

This is moves the federal government closer to a corrupt, radical right tyranny-Christian theocracy. There is nothing democratic or rational about this. Greene and Goasar publicly advocated for violence. Schiff and Swalwell tried to find and report truth. Pelosi rejected Jordan and another(s) who would have sabotaged the 1/6 committee. Republicans seek retribution in anti-democratic authoritarian bad faith and ill will. Democrats sought truth and civility. 

The House is now a broken partisan, authoritarian institution. Maybe it will recover, but maybe it never will. The 2024 elections will probably shed significant light on which route Americans want to take, knowingly or not. 

This is just more evidence of how terrifyingly radicalized and anti-democratic the GOP has become.

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Reality derangement syndrome: RDS is something that the Republican Party now routinely and heavily relies on. For Republican elites, RDS usually seriously poisons and sometimes completely kills reality, reasoning, rhetoric, policy, behavior, morality and/or democracy. Newsweek reports on an example that is about as clear as it can get:

Microsoft's Changes to Xbox Console Leave Republicans Outraged

Microsoft has announced changes to its Xbox console settings that is to allow users to save more energy and reduce the carbon impact of their gaming. But this has been read (or misread) by Republican representatives and organizations as the "woke brigade" wanting to "take your Xbox."

The company included a feature that allows the console to pick a time of the night for maintenance and updates to use the most renewable energy from the electrical grid, and a "shutdown" setting that can replace the sleep mode, which it says saves 20 times the energy.

His explanation of the new shutdown setting stipulates that it "will not affect performance, gameplay, or your console's ability to receive overnight updates" and can be adjusted "at any time" so users can choose "what works best for you." Hauglie said two consoles that switched to the shutdown setting for a year would save the same amount of carbon as a tree planted and grown for a decade.

However, this was interpreted in an article by Blaze Media, a conservative outlet, as suggesting Microsoft would "force gamers to power down to fight climate change."

"First gas stoves, then your coffee, now they're gunning for your Xbox," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) tweeted on Monday, citing a previous furor over remarks made by an official from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission about the health harms of gas stoves. The CPSC chair stated emphatically at the time that it was not looking to ban gas stoves.

"A default setting does not mean they are 'forcing' anyone to do anything," one user responded. "As an Xbox owner, this has been a choice for a while now. I appreciate that they offer it."

"They want to take your guns. They want to take your gas stoves. And now they want to take your Xbox," Troy Nehls, a congressman for Texas, wrote in a similar vein to Cruz's remarks. "What's next?"

This is more evidence of the extreme radicalization of the GOP and the key role that RDS plays in it. This also points out, once again, the intense elite Republican opposition to any serious effort to acknowledge or deal with climate change. By now, the accumulated evidence strongly evinces the GOP's pro-pollution, pro-climate change stance and policy. That cannot be much clearer.

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A trip down memory lane: Regarding the Kavanaugh non-investigation: Remember the fun exploits of Brett the beer boofer, and his side-kick Squee? Over the last couple of days, multiple sources have been reporting about a documentary that was made in secrecy and released without advance publicity. It was all about the FBI's valiant non-investigation of Brett during his Senate confirmation hearings. The Guardian writes: 

Justice, a last-minute addition to the schedule, aims to shine a light not only on the women who have accused Kavanaugh, a Donald Trump nominee, but also the failed FBI investigation into the allegations. “I do hope this triggers outrage,” said producer Amy Herdy in a Q&A after the premiere in Park City, Utah. “I do hope that this triggers action, I do hope that this triggers additional investigation with real subpoena powers.”

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse questioned FBI director Christopher Wray on this subject back in August:

Whitehouse: As you know, we are now entering the fourth year of a frustrating saga that began with an August 2019 letter from me and Senator Coons, regarding the Kavanaugh supplemental background investigation, and I’d like to try to get that matter wrapped up. First, is it true that after Kavanaugh-related tips were separated from regular tip-line traffic, they were forwarded to White House counsel without investigation?

Wray: I apologize in advance that it has been frustrating for you. We have tried to be clear about our process. So when it comes to the tip line, we wanted to make sure that the White House had all the information we have, so when the hundreds of calls started coming in, we gathered those up, reviewed them, and provided them to the White House—

Whitehouse: Without investigation?

Wray [long pause]: We reviewed them and then provided them to—

Whitehouse: You reviewed them for purposes of separating them from tip-line traffic, but did not further investigate the ones that related to Kavanaugh, correct?

Wray: Correct.

Whitehouse: Is it also true that, in that supplemental B.I. [background investigation], the FBI took direction from the White House as to whom the FBI would question and even what questions the FBI could ask.

Wray: So, it is true that, consistent with the longstanding process that we have had—going all the way back to at least the Bush administration, the Obama administration, the Trump administration, and continue to follow currently under the Biden administration—that in a limited supplemental B.I., we take direction from the requesting entity, which in this case was the White House...

Yuk. That was a nauseating trip down memory lane. Despite the producer's intent to provoke outrage and an investigation with teeth, nothing will probably come of this documentary. It's merely an inconvenient nasty in the punch bowl that can politely be ignored. 

Honestly, just look at Wray's comments in that last paragraph. The FBI takes its orders from the White House. It cannot be independent or competent when it comes to political matters like this. The rule of law just does not apply. But, we can give the people who made the documentary a round of applause for outstanding effort. 👏👏👏 

As we all know, Republican elites vehemently oppose any investigations of the criminality, treason, provocations of violence and sleaze among their own, and that's that. But there will be plenty of investigations of Joe Biden, Hunter, the infamous laptop, the pics of Hunter's junk, and a slew of of other Democrats, and woke people and companies. Bring on the RDS-fueled witch hunts! 

Surprise!! Boofer's on the Supreme Court!