Year: 2023
NYT: Trump Is Still Trump
“It was evocative of the former president’s time in office: an at-times meandering address, punctuated by self-promotion — his brand-name Trump Water — and an undercurrent of grievance…. He still appeared to struggle with showing empathy in public.”
— New York Times
Pompeo Buys Own Book to Juice NYT Best-Seller List
$42,000
“Mike Pompeo’s political action committee shelled out $42,000 on books the day his memoir hit bookshelves,” Forbes reports. “Pompeo’s memoir debuted at No. 3 on the New York Times best-seller list for hardcover nonfiction. Two weeks later, it remains on the rankings at No. 5. The Times notes that retailers reported bulk orders of Never Give An Inch.”
Republicans Who Criticize Biden’s Ukraine Trip Are ‘Fools”
“It’s really not even worth my brain space to spend time responding to fools. These people know nothing about national security and foreign policy.”
— Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), in a NBC News interview, responding to the Republicans criticizing President Biden for making a surprise visit to Ukraine.
Record Number of Guns Confiscated at U.S. Airports
6,542
The Associated Press reports 6,542 guns were intercepted last year at airport checkpoints across the country. The number — roughly 18 per day — was an all-time high for guns intercepted at U.S. airports, and is sparking concern at a time when more Americans are armed.
U.S. COVID DEath Toll Continues to Rise
1.1 million
Wall Street Journal: “The U.S., which recently topped 1.1 million Covid-19 deaths since the pandemic began, continues to record several hundred more each day, death-certificate data show. The people who are dying remain old, often with underlying health issues such as heart and lung ailments, the data indicate.”
Graham: If You Back Putin Now, You’re ‘Dumber than Dirt’
“If you jump on the Putin train now, you’re dumber than dirt. It would be like buying a ticket on the Titanic after you saw the movie. Don’t do this. The most catastrophic thing that could happen to the U.S.-China relationship, in my opinion, is for China to start to give lethal weapons to Putin in his crime against humanity.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by Politico.
Florida Workers Owed Billions in Unpaid Overtime
$11.4 billion
According to a wages study done by law firm Bisnar Chase, the average Florida employee in the private sector worked about 2.5 hours of “unpaid overtime” per week during 2022. The national average for unpaid OT is 2.1 hours. When this figure is applied to the number of exempt workers in the Sunshine State (and based on the median wage), and then annualized, Florida workers are collectively owed about $11.4 billion in backpay, researchers said.
Move over George Santos. Meet Rep. Andy Ogle (R-TN), Another Freshman Liar in the GOP House
News Channel 5 Nashville: “If you believe Middle Tennessee’s newest congressman, he’s not only a businessman, he’s also an economist, a nationally recognized expert in tax policy and health care, a trained police officer, even an expert in international sex crimes.
“But an exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation discovered that Andy Ogles’ personal life story is filled with exaggerations, a story that’s often too good to be true.”
Read the full report.
