Texas Progressives also say RIP Rush Limbaugh, where's Jim Schutze and more

There was enough non-COVID, non-freezeout news to break the weekly Roundup into three parts this week. 

That starts with you know who in the header.

• Peggy Noonan has an insightful never-Trumper type of Republican take on Rush Limbaugh. It's not fully true in its own big picture; for example, she ignores Reagan's Neoshoba, Mississippi, dogwhistle kickoff to his 1980 campaign and other things that show that sometimes, "how it was said" on race issues (though not so much on sex issues) rather than "what was said, or intimated" was what separated Reagan and Limbaugh. And, given her work for St. Ronald of Reagan, she either knows his dogwhistles or else she's morally obtuse. In short, this is like Strangeabbott trying to spin his way away from ERCOT.

• Noah Horwitz gives a proper sendoff to Rush Limbaugh.

• Rick Hasen analyses the SCOTUS refusal to grant cert to Trump's Pennsylvania lawsuit, including the "ticking time bomb" behind the dissent of Clarence Thomas et al. It's ... interesting that Kavanaugh did not follow through on the first tilt of his hand.

• Jacobin has the legend-free facts about New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who was Tony Blair's lapdog in a previous life. New Zealand, which I did not know before, has ZERO capital gains tax. No wonder likes of Peter Thiel talk about decamping there. Of course, for Jacobin to talk about her as a hypocrite when its own publisher refuses to leave the two-party box here in Merika is itself hypocritical.

• Green Feminists have responded to the Lavender Caucus' complaint against the Georgia Green Party.

• For Black History Month, via the Observer, a look at County Line.

• Also for Black History Month: Racism and Monopoly.

• With Austin PD Chief Brian Manley gone, will a new chief force the Austin Police Academy to clean up its horrible act?

• Sometimes "cancel culture" is real, says this leftist who supports BDS but looks askance at SJWs. And cancel culture appears to have hit UNT.

• Jim Schutze has now been AWOL from D Magazine's Frontburner for a month. And, that may be intentional. His Facebook says he's a "contributing editor" for D Mag but a "FORMER columnist." So, he's been put out to some sort of pasture.

• Half of Rethugs would ditch the GOP for a MAGA Party if Trump started it. (Which he won't.)

• Ralph Nader attacks Nancy Pelosi and House Dems for their stupidity on Trump's second impeachment (and background of stupidity on the first), for reasons I totally agree with, as I called out Pelosi for the same.

• Therese Odell goes deep into the latest controversy surrounding The Bachelor and its longstanding problems with race.

Texas progressives read Iowa tea leaves

Texas Progressives this week ponder the Iowa caucus tea leaves and look ahead to the New Hampshire along with other events.

And, speaking of, those tea leaves, per the Old Gray Lady, seem to indicate Sanders and Buttigieg battling it out. Even more, they show that Klobberer Klobuchar actually slipped from Round 1 to Round 2, meaning that she didn't pick up hardly anybody from the first-cut candidates' support. Lizzie Warren didn't do much better. Nor did Sanders. Mayo Pete, at least in the earlier going, looked like the major "backup plan" candidate.

Unfortunately, the tea leaves took an extra-long time to steep. Reportedly, that was due in part to problems with a vote-counting app. Said app was created by Robby Mook. I'm sure you #StillWithering Clintonistas know him. If not, let me remind you:

Robby Mook trying to pull some votes for Joe Biden, aka Hillary's third term, from "out of his app"?#ISeeWhatIDid#IowaCaucuses

— reallyDonaldTrump 🚩🌻 (@AFCC_Esq) February 4, 2020

After much more clusterfuckery and things like #CIAPete and #MayorCheat trending on Twitter, Sanders eventually appeared to have won. But we don't really know, and in that opening, the DNC lost, and Donald Trump is trying to exploit a win for himself.

Now we can get to the rest of the roundup.

Texas politics

Paging Robert Francis O'Rourke, I mean Bob on a Knob, I mean Beto. The Texas Observer reviews a new book talking about how old white families control El Paso politics.  To be fair to Beto's background and real estate grifting, the book does note most of these old white families are Republicans. But to be honest about Bob on a Knob, former El Paso City Council member, the book also notes that council members (including him in the past) have gone along with these old, money-endowed Republicans — or at least, non-Hispanic members have.

Even though Dennis Bonnen is going away from the state House and Speakership, he's still intervening in GOP primaries. The recipients of his largesse are a mixed bag on their past relationships to Bonnen.

Beto's new money and PAC couldn't help flip HD 28 to Dems in a special election. The spinners are already saying don't blame him.

Off the Kuff analyzes the latest poll of Texas, which is also the first poll we've gotten for the state in 2020.

Mustafa Tameez says the road to the majority in the Texas House goes through the middle of the electorate.

Robert Rivard notes that SBOE member Ken Mercer (who represents a district Hillary Clinton carried in 2016) is big ol' peddler of wingnut dishonesty.


Texana

Could the push for full-blown online voter registration lead to a lawsuit, if motor voter in Texas isn't improved?

Google's parent wants to bring self-driving semis to Texas. Texas Monthly looks at the risks to both driving and jobs.

Renters continue to gouge Texans.

Is illegal duck hunting driving down bald eagle numbers at Lake Buchanan, a top roosting site?


Dallas

A civil judge wants to add implicit bias instructions to jurors to civil cases. Her pilot project has been OKed for Round 2.

Dallas County Community College District wants to merge its seven campuses into one college — not one physical space, but one college — to make it easier to get those AA degrees.

Jim Schutze once again calls out former Observer peer and now Dallas Snooze flunky Robert Wilonsky. Schutze actually has several good recent columns, and has gotten away from fellating the police.

But, speaking of? The Snooze reports on the Dallas PD disciplining a number of cops for racist and other bad comments on social media. Let's see if Jim's doppelgänger and Amber Guyger lover, #OKJim, writes about this.

That said, contra #OKJim, I'm sure the Snooze's local editorials suck just as much as state and national level ones.

The DMA is one of several museums with allegedly stolen Nepalese art.


Houston

A state district judge says Harris County's suit against Exxon can proceed, thus cutting one round of Kenny Boy Paxton grifting off at the pass.

A Twitter type on a smartphone, almost surely. But Kim Off is much better for Harris DA than Kim Ogg.

Houston Justice Coalition shows how they're registering voters who are currently in county jail.

Justin Miller analyzes the HD 28 special election runoff.


National

SocraticGadfly saw the Chomskyites ask likely Green Party nominee Howie Hawkins to run a "safe states" strategery, and he loudly applauded when Hawkins essentially told them to STFU.

Brains offered his run-up to Iowa take on Dems 2020.

Carl Beijer says its time for progressive Democrats to get behind Sanders and avoid the risk of a brokered convention and the possibility of Joe Biden. (The brokered convention, especially with hints of desires for rule-changing on superdelegates, is a possibility. The likelihood that Democrats would rally behind Biden rather than either pseudoprogressive Elizabeth Warren or Daddy Warbucks Mike Bloomberg seems slim, though.)

Texas Monthly interviews new FDA head Stephen Hahn, former chief medical guy at MD Anderson, who offers political weasel answers to the tougher questions.

A friendly sports world reminder that Kobe Bryant wasn't quite as nice as his hagiographic fellators claim, and also that management at the Bezos Post sux.

A friendly non-sports world reminder that Rush Limbaugh, if a god existed, would need prayers for contrition and repentance more than for his lung cancer.

Nonsequiteuse thanks the Houston GLBT Political Caucus for listening to members who asked them to hold lawmakers who have been credibly accused of sexual harassment to account.

Pray for Rush? For what?

So, Rush Limbaugh, hypocrite, has lung cancer. And, beyond being a hypocrite on religious values, he's a hypocrite in other ways, which I list near the bottom. And he's a hypocrite on the issue of his health, which we'll get to in just a minute.

But, first, an update. From one pilonidal cyst to another, Trump is giving old Rusty the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

(As for Rush's lack of religiosity, or at least lack of church participation? Not just me; a hardcore denizen of Wingnutistan like Crunchy Con Rod Dreher has called him out.

And as for Trump's lack of religiosity, he's probably praying for more wingnut icons to get sick so he can reward them this way during campaign season.

"Dear God, if Hannity gets the coronavirus, I'll give him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.")

First, let's read Almighty God himself pointing out ol Rusty being hung by his own petard on what's the issue at hand.

"There is no conclusive proof that nicotine’s addictive... And the same thing with cigarettes causing emphysema, lung cancer, heart disease.” --Rush Limbaughhttps://t.co/bj7nNUjJhQ

— almightygod (@almightygod) February 3, 2020

Add this, of related hot take:

Cigar Magazine loses another asshole. Rush Limbaugh has "advanced lung cancer." Will you #PrayForRush? pic.twitter.com/vWC90HL8XD

— Puesto Loco™ (@PuestoLoco) February 3, 2020

There you go.

Now, a few more from yours truly.

First, who doesn't like Twitter polls?

Given that Rush Limbaugh is, AFAIK, functionally irreligious, and certainly acts as irreligiously as Trump, the trending "Prayers for Rush" over his lung cancer diagnosis is:

— reallyDonaldTrump 🚩🌻 (@AFCC_Esq) February 3, 2020

And, yes, his "god," if any, is ultimately the god of Ayn Rand and of social Darwinism. So, I guess ol Rusty isn't the fittest? That poll is open for a week of the time of blogging this.

Per the cigar mag guy, I offer this:

#PrayForRush reminds me of the old political joke when a politician is told his constituents are praying for him and he fires back: "Which way"?

There's more coming, folks.

— reallyDonaldTrump 🚩🌻 (@AFCC_Esq) February 3, 2020

There you go.

And, if you want REAL snark:

It's too late to #PrayForRush — Neil Peart died a month ago.

BOOM

— reallyDonaldTrump 🚩🌻 (@AFCC_Esq) February 3, 2020

As longer-term online and meatspace friends know, I can snark with the best.

Then, one of many from the non-reality based community;

Under the #PrayForRush, we have the Get a Life / Clue / Grip Tweets. I wld cry over the death of an actual family member. An entertainer? I love Tom Hanks, but wouldn't cry over his pending death. Ditto when Alex Trebek's cancer was announced. https://t.co/QbpoeHfld1

— reallyDonaldTrump 🚩🌻 (@AFCC_Esq) February 3, 2020

Seriously. Get a life. And if dittoheads act toward me like Kobestanners did toward Sonmez a week ago?

Meanwhile, this person wants a nonexistent entity to help Rush's cancerous lungs get pneumonia, I guess:

God, please, watch over Rush during this uncertain time in his life. Please Lord, breathe Your Love Into Rush’s lungs. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. 🙏🏻 #PrayForRush

— America is Safe (@AmericaIsSafe) February 3, 2020

THAT's snark.

In reality, as a secularist, I don't pray for anybody.

If there were a god, looking at alleged Christian morality, I would pray for him to bring Limbaugh to the proper humility that would lead to repentance for his many various sins.

Besides his divorces, his mean-spiritedness and his Eighth Amendment violations, I would pray to such an entity for Rush to be enlightened from the sin of willful ignorance, or even the sin of pseudoscience. Besides the above on cancer, and his well-known stance on climate change denialism, Rusty has also been a flirter with the antivaxxer world. More here.

He'll probably go to Mexico for laetrile or some other pseudomedicine, if he can't find it here. And, if he can't stand the pain, will his opioid addiction pop back up? That's among the many other hypocrisies in his life, per RationalWiki.

It's Newt's turn to implode

First, Rick Perry was surging past Mitt Romney, then he crashed and burned. Herman Cain then passed the Mittster only to start self-destructing (an ongoing process).

And now, a known serial adulterer has passed an alleged serial groper as the GOP's preferred candidate.

So, how long before Fig Newton implodes? And, over what?

Another Tiffany's charge account, this one covered by the People's Republic of China?

Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac sweetheart mortgages for his "historic perspective" advice?

A mistress we don't yet know about?

Please, Newt, give us something new and original.

In other news from that poll, it's nice to see that the one real libertarian in the GOP race, Gary Johnson, is now actually drawing polling numbers, and at least equal to Santorum. Will we see him in the next debate?

And, Huntsman rising? This is all too rational. We can't have that.

Gay sex with Rush Limbaugh would be fantastic.

#Debtmageddon roundup for July 25

President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner remain at loggerheads, continuing to offer different plays (with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's plan looking more and more like a surrogate carrying water for Obama).

Both Boehner and Reid have "no new revenues" plans.

The big diff is that Boehner's doesn't kick this past 2013. (Of course, most countries don't have a "debt ceiling" anyway and we didn't before 1917.)

Boehner's short term plan could be bad politics for the GOP if enacted. You want Obama saying "we can't pay Social Security in, say, August 2012?) as well as just stupid.

But, given the way Obama in particular and many Democrats have acted on past issues, why shouldn't John of Orange hold out hope he can further wear down Preznit Kumbaya?

And, maybe part of the problem is that the GOP doesn't do math. John of Orange's "two-step solution" actually has five steps.

More than that, Boehner's continuing to tie a balanced-budget amendment vote to his plan shows how hostage he is to tea partiers. And, yet, they STILL don't like his latest offering. I would say tea partiers are Newt Gingrich of shutdown fame on steroids, but even that isn't right. Tea partiers are like shutdown-Newt on meth.

And, they lie even worse than Newt, too. Here's Ohio's Jim Jordan:

“The credit rating agencies have been clear that no matter what happens with the debt limit, the U.S. will lose its AAA credit rating unless we produce a credible plan to reduce the debt by trillions of dollars.

Nope. Rather, Moody's et al have said AAA is gone unless the debt ceiling is raised now and in a responsible manner. A balanced budget amendment, if passed, could lead to an even worse ratings tank at some point in the future.

Meanwhile, Boehner is trying to get Limbaugh's support. Whether against obama or against tea partiers, I'm not sure. maybe both.

Further proof of nuttery? Tea partier fave Steve King of Iowa wants to impeach Obama if we default.

Folks, we're going to have a default. Accept it. Now, whether Obama invokes the "full faith and credit" clause and/or 14th Amendment when Aug. 2 comes without a deal, who knows.

But, I'm giving 50-50 odds right now that we're going to have a default. No, that's not just me. ABC's "The Note" says 40 percent.

Update: First, Andrew Leonard doubts Obama will pull a 14th, or that it would settle much if he did. He's probably right on the impeachment angle; don't know about the rest.

Second, per Salon, Charles Greenstein has this to say about the "too mild for tea partiers" Boehner plan:

House Speaker John Boehner's new budget proposal would require deep cuts in the years immediately ahead in Social Security and Medicare benefits for current retirees, the repeal of health reform's coverage expansions, or wholesale evisceration of basic assistance programs for vulnerable Americans.

The plan is, thus, tantamount to a form of "class warfare." If enacted, it could well produce the greatest increase in poverty and hardship produced by any law in modern U.S. history.

That default likelihood might be creeping north of 50 percent.

Frank Rich asks two good questions

In a good column about gay marriage, Frank Rich asks why Rush (The Pomposity of Lust, to riff on Steve Miller) Limbaugh would invite Elton John, openly gay and civil-union pseudo-married, to be the wedding singer.

The real question is, why would Elton John even have considered accepting, let alone actually doing it? Was he fame-whoring or something? Does he really need the money that badly?

Elton John just went way down in my book.

Steel cage death match: Sharpton vs. Limbaugh

Don’t you think Court TV would beg or even try to bribe the presiding judge for exclusive and full broadcast rights of a suit by Al Sharpton vs. Rush Limbaugh?

Rush Limbaugh trumped by his own kind

Dan Wetzel has the details on how a bunch of old white men, many of whom may listen to him, surely will NOT let Rush Limbaugh join their exclusive club of NFL owners. Hoist by his own petard:

“We’re all held to a high standard here and divisive comments are not what the NFL’s all about,” said league commissioner Roger Goodell. “I would not want to see those kind of comments from people who are in a responsible position in the NFL, no. Absolutely not.”

Jason Cole has more.

Red Dreher calls Limbaugh out as racist

I couldn’t have said it better myself, but it’s nice to see a religious conservative pundit with a certain amount of credibility spell it out in black and white. Dreher worries that Limbaugh is going to keep digging lower, too.

Rush Limbaugh = Jesse Jackson

That’s what conservative insider David Frum strongly argues, after presenting his bona fides as a conservative insider.

Frum says the comparison holds true even down to the insatiable drive for headline-grabbing, in speaking of Rush’s famous quote about President Obama, “I hope he fails”:

Notice that Limbaugh did not say: “I hope the administration’s liberal plans fail.” Or (better): “I know the administration’s liberal plans will fail.” Or (best): “I fear that this administration’s liberal plans will fail, as liberal plans usually do.”

If it had been phrased that way, nobody could have used Limbaugh’s words to misrepresent conservatives as clueless, indifferent or gleeful in the face of the most painful economic crisis in a generation. But then, if it had been phrased that way, nobody would have quoted his words at all — and as Limbaugh himself said, being “headlined” was the point of the exercise. If it had been phrased that way, Limbaugh's face would not now be adorning the covers of magazines. He phrased his hope in a way that drew maximum attention to himself, offered maximum benefit to the administration and did maximum harm to the party he claims to support.

For more of Frum’s takedown of the bloviating Rush (who looks more bloated than the Ted Kennedy he recently mocked ever did) read the full story.

VD Hanson licks Rush’s pilodinal cyst; Crunchy con Dreher says wake up

And finds it quite tasty.

Classicist prof, neocon, and Islamic red tide worrier V(ictor) D(avis) Hanson decries what he sees as a tide of “highbrow conservative attacks” against the Rushster, and then licks the cyst hard by saying the non-churchgoing Rush never would have stayed in Rev. Wright’s church, or the white-supremacist equivalent, and other stupidities.

So,. Mr. Crunchy Con, Rod Dreher, tells VD to buy a clue, even calling him a “Mongoloid.”

Ahh, some of the few conservatives who do have brains, arguing over the bloated, bloviating carcass called Rush Limbaugh. Gotta love it.

Rush is having fun

Why?

Because, as the Politico hints in an interview, he’s gotten inside Obama’s head with “Operation Chaos,” among other things.

For Obama, this should fall under the rubric of “worry about your own side of the street.”

Besides, Rush is doing this to prop up flagging ratings. That’s the same reason he bashed McCain, talked about supporting Clinton, etc.

Beyond dispute is that many know Limbaugh exists. His weekly audience is estimated at about 13.5 million listeners, and his numbers spiked in the first three months of the year when campaign-related interest in politics was intense.

And, “Dittoheads” who had fallen asleep at the switch suddenly woke up.

And THAT is what was up Rush’s sleeve all along.

There’s going to be no “Operation Chaos” for the general election, anyway – just the usual Rush stupidity and inanity.

Rush 7 percent effect in Indiana?

Did Rush Limbaugh’s “marching orders” for Indiana Republicans to cross over and vote Hillary really make up 7 percent of the Democratic electorate, as Obama claims?

Indiana exit polls showed that four in ten Democrats who said they would vote for McCain over Clinton in a general election nonetheless voted for Clinton on Tuesday; however, just twelve percent who would vote for McCain over Obama voted for the Illinois senator.

However, as Obama has lost Indiana by less than 7 percentage points, the most obvious thing is that this is Obama spin: “Real Democrats would have given Obama the state.” That of course ignores crossovers for Obama in places like New Hampshire.

Besides, other folks, like Crooks and Liars, minimize the Rush effect. (Will popping Rush give you a headache in the men’s room?)

News briefs – Rush’s commercials more popular than Rush, 1,000 word picture, new magic act of Penn and Bush?

Rush beaten by his own down time

That’s right, Rush Limbaugh, Talent on Loan from a Cesspool™ gets worse ratings than the commercials on his own show. That gives a whole new meaning to Pilodinal Bloviating.

Coleman insights, who did the study, claims that because “dittoheads” (from being hit in the head with a ditto machine many years ago) actually are tuning in during commercials, they’re so anxious to hear Rush.

The sign that speaks 1,000 words

Gee, Terry McAuliffe, aren’t you Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman?

Bush and Penn tag-team on Columbia?

President Bush has given Congress 90 days to pass a free trade deal with Columbia. No word if he has hired Mark Penn, the “I’m not quite resigned yet” former chief strategist for Sen. Hillary Clinton, who got into hot water (briefly) over his open support for the deal, which she opposes.

Speaking of that, no word has leaked out from the Clinton campaign as to whether or not Penn was asked to stop his Burton-Marsteller lobbying for the Columbia deal.

Can Limbaugh be nailed for Ohio election fraud?

Short answer, for those of you familiar with the developing story, appears to be No, we apparently can’t put Rush’s pilonidal cyst behind bars for recreational fun for some some Ohio criminals named “Bubba.”

Whether you are familiar or not with the story, read on:

Truthout reports Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) is investigating GOP crossovers voting in the Ohio Democratic primary. In Ohio, doing a temporary party change for that reason (Ohio primaries are semi-closed or semi-open, depending on which way you look at it) is a criminal offense, and Rush Limbaugh (and Laura Ingraham) encouraged exactly such behavior:

While this all makes for great talk radio and sounds like fun, there is one catch: What Limbaugh encouraged Republican voters to do in Ohio was a fifth-degree felony in that state, punishable with a $2,500 fine and six to 12 months in jail. That is because in order to change party affiliation in Ohio, voters have to fill out a form swearing allegiance to that party’s principles “under penalty of election falsification.”

That said, if Truthout, beyond the direct quote, is getting the gist of the law right, I don’t know that it applied to Limbaugh.

Indeed, the law applies only to individual voters:

3599.36 Election falsification.

No person, either orally or in writing, on oath lawfully administered or in a statement made under penalty of election falsification, shall knowingly state a falsehood as to a material matter relating to an election in a proceeding before a court, tribunal, or election official, or in a matter in relation to which an oath or statement under penalty of election falsification is authorized by law, including a statement required for verifying or filing any declaration of candidacy, declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate, nominating petition, or other petition presented to or filed with the secretary of state, a board of elections, or any other public office for the purpose of becoming a candidate for any elective office, including the office of a political party, for the purpose of submitting a question or issue to the electors at an election, or for the purpose of forming a political party.

Whoever violates this section is guilty of election falsification, a felony of the fifth degree.

Every paper, card, or other document relating to any election matter that calls for a statement to be made under penalty of election falsification shall be accompanied by the following statement in bold face capital letters: “Whoever commits election falsification is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree.”

And, the Ohio statute on conspiracy does not cover this level of felony.

Sorry, Truthout, and other people wanting to put Rush’s pilonidal cyst behind bars for some Ohio criminals’ recreational fun, but it ain’t gonna happen.

Will Congressional Democrats launch a “condemn Limbaugh” resolution?

Yes, it would be petty and tit-for-tat to counter the GOP-pushed MoveOn condemnation resolution with one against Rush for calling war-protesting soldiers “phony soldiers,” but it would be, at the same time, just desserts for the GOP, and send a signal that it needs to stop this type of bullshit in the future.

For all of those reasons, the Democrats probably won’t do it.

Why I will NEVER AGAIN buy a GM

You just lost me forever with a Rush Limbaugh commercial.