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Four police officers delivered harrowing testimony at the January 6 select committee’s first hearing on Tuesday, as House lawmakers finally launched their investigation into the key powerful individual behind the insurrection: Hmm, says here, Nancy Pelosi?
- Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, a 13-year veteran of the force, recounted the racist abuse he endured during the attack, and said he hoped the committee would investigate not just the bigoted insurrectionists, but the guy who called them to action: “There was an attack carried out on Jan. 6 and a hit man sent them. I want you to get to the bottom of that.” DC police officer Daniel Hodges made a similar plea: “I need you guys to address if anyone in power had a role in...this terrorist attack because we can’t do it. We’re not allowed to. And I think a majority of Americans are really looking forward to that as well.”
- DC police Michael Fanone described the brutal physical assaults he and his colleagues faced, and vehemently called Republicans’ indifference to that trauma “disgraceful”: “Nothing, truly nothing, has prepared me to address those elected members of our government who continue to deny the events of that day. And in doing so, betray their oath of office.” How have GOP leaders responded to such damning testimony? Alas, they’ve been very busy plotting how to parachute Matt Gaetz into the room dressed as Ashli Babbitt or whatever, and didn’t have time to watch.
- Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) laid out the stakes for the committee in her opening statement, stressing the importance of overcoming her party’s attempted coverup: “If those responsible are not held accountable, and if Congress does not act responsibly, this will remain a cancer on our Constitutional Republic, undermining the peaceful transfer of power at the heart of our democratic system.” Just a classic RINO (who voted in lockstep with Trump 97 percent of the time, by her own estimation) failing to give voice to the Pro-Cancer position of the GOP.
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Blocked from sending MAGA rabble-rousers to sabotage the panel, House Republicans did their best to put on a circus from outside.
- As the hearing kicked off, Rep. Elise Stefanik (D-NY) found some microphones and showed off the reality-denying talents that qualified her to replace Cheney as House GOP conference chair: “The American people deserve to know the truth, that Nancy Pelosi bears responsibility, as speaker of the House, for the tragedy that occurred on January 6.” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) introduced a resolution to expel Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) from the GOP caucus, and Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz (R-HELL) tried to hold a pro-insurrectionist press conference outside the Justice Department, only to be thwarted by a guy with a whistle and chased away by a reporter/protester/inquisitive citizen yelling “ARE YOU A PEDOPHILE?”
- So what’s next? Chairman Bennie Thompson said the committee would reconvene in August and will “soon” issue subpoenas (to as-yet unnamed witnesses), without wasting time writing letters requesting voluntary testimony first. In other good news, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) told Pod Save America that members were prepared to use all tools at their disposal to enforce those subpoenas. In even more good news, the Justice Department has decided that former Trump administration officials can testify before the various committees investigating the insurrection and the events leading up to it.
It’s amazing how functional a House investigation can be when Democrats decide not to include the GOP clowns who have sworn an oath to sabotage it. But Tuesday’s hearing was the easy part: We’re about to find out just which Trump loyalists the committee plans to summon in pursuit of the truth, and how doggedly it responds when those witnesses try to hide it.
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On today’s episode of America Dissected, host Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is joined by Harvard Professor of Medicine Dr. Aaron Kesselheim to discuss the FDA’s approval of aducanumab–an Alzheimer’s drug evidentially proven to not work. Because of this, Kesselheim stepped down from his position on the FDA advisory panel after vehemently opposing the drug’s passing. For more powerful conversations like this, listen and subscribe to America Dissected wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Tuesday.
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Tuesday brought two major developments for Delta Era Americans: First, the CDC has issued a “whoopsy-daisies” update to its May mask guidance, and now recommends that vaccinated people resume wearing masks in public indoor spaces in parts of the country with high coronavirus-transmission rates. (Which right now is...most of the parts.) The revision was based on new unpublished data showing that, unlike with past strains, vaccinated people can carry high viral loads of Delta variant, even if they never show symptoms, and thus be contagious. The CDC has also recommended that everyone in schools wear masks, regardless of vaccination status. Second, President Biden will reportedly announce on Thursday that all federal workers must get vaccinated or submit to regular testing, a significant shift in the administration’s approach to boosting vaccinations. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has moved seamlessly into Phase II of the GOP’s master plan to undermine the pandemic recovery: Blaming Biden for the plateauing vaccination rates, by lying a bunch.
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- California State University, the largest four-year university system in the country, will require that all students, faculty, and staff get vaccinated before returning to campus in the fall.
- Pfizer and Moderna will expand their clinical vaccine trials for kids ages five to 11, at the urging of FDA regulators who said the initial studies weren’t large enough to detect rare side effects.
- Simone Biles withdrew from the team-gymnastics final at the Olympics to protect her mental and physical health rather than risk an injury by competing while struggling under extreme pressure.
- Former U.S. Air Force intelligence analyst Daniel Hale, who leaked classified documents exposing the high civilian cost of U.S. drone warfare, has been sentenced to 45 months in prison for violating the Espionage Act.
- Someone carved a swastika into a State Department elevator near the office of its special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the vandalism and said that the department’s security arm will investigate it.
- California’s likely voters are now almost evenly split on whether to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), according to a new poll. If you live in California, take a few seconds to make sure you’re registered to vote?
- Hundreds of Arizona small businesses have called on Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) to reform the filibuster, pass the For The People Act, and stop embarrassing them.
- Donald Trump has endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his bid for re-election, even after George P. Bush made all those beer koozies selling out his own family.
- The Israeli government has formed a special task force to pressure Ben & Jerry’s into once again selling its ice cream in West Bank settlements, without at any point saying "sike."
- Former Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) has died after being injured in a bike accident. He was 77.
- The Justice Department has (punches headline-generator button) sold Martin Shkreli’s one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album, and (punches button so hard it breaks) seized a cuneiform tablet featuring a portion of the epic of Gilgamesh from Hobby Lobby.
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Justice Stephen Breyer has become the latest data point in a pattern of liberal Supreme Court justices who stay on the bench through their golden years, while conservative justices step aside for younger replacements. No modern conservative justice has skipped the chance to be replaced by a GOP president after turning 80, whereas liberal justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and now Breyer have found dubious justifications for sticking around. On August 15, Breyer will become the fifth liberal justice in recent decades to turn 83 on the job. That pattern (with an admittedly very small data set) isn’t the only reason conservatives dominate the Court—hi, Mitch—but between the consequences it’s already had and a razor-thin Democratic Senate majority that could collapse at any moment, it’s a pattern worth interrogating.
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In 2021 mental health is finally a thing, especially as people are not feeling like their normal selves. Let’s support one another and talk openly. Whether or not therapy is your thing, knowing it’s available and affordable is important, for you or perhaps a loved one.
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It’s always a good time to invest in yourself, because you are your greatest asset. See if online therapy is for you by heading to BetterHelp.com/crooked for 10% off your first month.
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The bipartisan infrastructure deal would create about half a million new manufacturing jobs by 2024, according to a new analysis.
BioNTech announced that it plans to develop an mRNA-based malaria vaccine, with clinical trials beginning by the end of 2022.
Lebron James’s More Than A Vote has launched Protect Our People, a new campaign focused on criminal justice reform.
The Bureau of Land Management has issued new protections for wild horses and burros, aiming to avoid the sale of adopted wild animals for slaughter.
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