August 10, 2023

Texas Lawmanker Seeks to Create God’s Government on Earth

August 10, 2023 Buck Banks

“You know, people say, ‘Well, the Bible is not a political book, and we shouldn’t be involved,’ and I’m just like, ‘Have you ever read it?’ It’s like every single chapter is like dripping in it!”

— Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) told a gathering of Christian nationalists that they have been called by God to establish Christ’s kingdom and government here on Earth.

A Media Matters analysis of Fox’s new prime-time lineup finds that ratings have fallen roughly 30% since Tucker Carlson’s firing, and over 45% in the key 25-54 year-old demographic.

Christie Accuses Trump of Being Gutless

August 10, 2023 Buck Banks

“If you had the guts you would show up to the debate and say it to my face.”

— Chris Christie, responding to Donald Trump calling him a “fat pig.”

Tampa Mayor Catches $1.1 Million in Cocaine on Fishing Trip

August 10, 2023 Buck Banks

$1.1 million

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor (D) was fishing off the Florida Keys and hauled in a package that turned out to be 70 pounds of cocaine with a street value worth $1.1 million, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

— Mike Pence, quoted by the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Trump Holds Commanding Lead in GOP Primary Race

August 10, 2023 Buck Banks

59%

The Morning Consult tracking poll after Donald Trump has been indicted three times shows the former president leading the GOP primary field nationally with 59%, followed by Ron DeSantis at 16%, Vivek Ramaswamy at 8%, Mike Pence at 6%, Nikki Haley at 3%, Tim Scott at 3% and Chris Christie at 3%.

DeSantis Replaces State Attorney with Federalist Society Judge

August 10, 2023August 17, 2023 Pensito Editors

To diffuse claims of racism for groundlessly removing Monique Worrell, a Black state attorney who was elected by a two-to-one margin, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis replaced her with a Black judge who is a member of the Federalist Society. But, according to the Orlando Sentinel, Andrew Bain is also not a very good judge:

In his time overseeing criminal cases in county court, Bain received low marks in a judicial qualifications poll by the Central Florida Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, ranking last among Orange County criminal judges, with respondents describing him as “state-leaning” or prosecution-biased.

At a press conference announcing his appointment, Bain offered a word-salad nonexplanation of why he’s a member of the Federalist Society, a powerful group that is uncannily influential in getting presidents and governors to name conservatives to top judicial posts, including the Supreme Court:

“I am a member simply for this reason: My grandmother was a sharecropper, so when she came time to harvest her harvest in her family and the landowner shorted her, she had no legal recourse because the judges made the laws,” he said. “And that’s purely unfair. And that stuff’s been going on forever.”
[…]

“You know, people say, ‘Well, the Bible is not a political book, and we shouldn’t be involved,’ and I’m just like, ‘Have you ever read it?’ It’s like every single chapter is like dripping in it!”

— Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) told a gathering of Christian nationalists that they have been called by God to establish Christ’s kingdom and government here on Earth.

45%

A Media Matters analysis of Fox’s new prime-time lineup finds that ratings have fallen roughly 30% since Tucker Carlson’s firing, and over 45% in the key 25-54 year-old demographic.

“If you had the guts you would show up to the debate and say it to my face.”

— Chris Christie, responding to Donald Trump calling him a “fat pig.”

$1.1 million

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor (D) was fishing off the Florida Keys and hauled in a package that turned out to be 70 pounds of cocaine with a street value worth $1.1 million, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

“We are well known, but we are not known well.”

— Mike Pence, quoted by the New Hampshire Union Leader.

59%

The Morning Consult tracking poll after Donald Trump has been indicted three times shows the former president leading the GOP primary field nationally with 59%, followed by Ron DeSantis at 16%, Vivek Ramaswamy at 8%, Mike Pence at 6%, Nikki Haley at 3%, Tim Scott at 3% and Chris Christie at 3%.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“As is so often the case, Donald Trump’s opponents are playing into his hands. This is exactly the kind of fight that Donald Trump loves, with his opponents carrying Mexican flags past burning cars.”

— Republican pollster Whit Ayres, quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

“Don’t kid yourself they know they are absolutely getting cooked politically with their terrible bill and rising prices, and they want to create a violent spectacle to feed their content machine. It’s time for the mainstream media to describe this authoritarian madness accurately.”

— Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), reacting on X to President Trump sending National Guard troops to Los Angeles.

“The people have spoken. A new political party is needed in America to represent the 80% in the middle! And exactly 80% of people agree. This is fate.”

— Elon Musk floated a new political party on Friday after falling out with President Trump over the big, beautiful bill, The Hill reports. He followed up with a potential name for the group, “The America Party.”

“Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s alliance took off like one of SpaceX’s rockets. It was supercharged and soared high. And then it blew up.”

— Associated Press

“The BBB will increase by orders of magnitude the scope, scale and speed of removing illegal and criminal aliens from the United States. For that reason alone, it’s the most essential piece of legislation currently under consideration in the entire Western World, in generations.”

— Trump aide Stephen Miller, on X, defending the Republican budget bill after Elon Musk called it a “disgusting abomination.”

Numerati

53% to 27%

As the Senate debates the GOP tax and spending bill titled One Big Beautiful Bill Act and President Donald Trump pushes for a July 4 deadline to sign it, a new Quinnipiac poll finds voters overwhelmingly oppose the legislation, 53% to 27%, with 20% not offering an opinion.

47% to 34%

A new YouGov poll finds that President Trump’s deployment of Marines to Los Angeles is deeply unpopular, with a 47 percent disapproval mark, compared with 34 percent who approve. Dispatching the National Guard isn’t much better: 45 percent disapprove and 38 percent approve.

$134 million

After persistent questioning about the cost of sending National Guard members and Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests over immigration raids, Hegseth turned to his acting comptroller, Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, who said it would cost $134 million, the Associated Press reports.

8

Eight states, including Florida and Tennessee, have introduced or passed legislation to ban planes from emitting “chemtrails” to poison Americans or control the weather, The Guardian reports. Of course, there’s no credible evidence that this is even happening.

70%

A new KFF Health poll finds that more than 70% of Americans are worried about the impact of Medicaid cuts in the bill leading to more people uninsured and hurting hospitals.