Blast #292

                                                      So Many Stories,
                                                         So Little Time
 
             Well, Congress is back in session, “President” Trump keeps having dinner with Democrats, and by the second week in September, stories are breaking out all over the place!  Let’s take a look.

1. Michael Flynn, Jr. & “Lock who up?”

          As we all know, “apples don’t fall far from the tree,” so are we surprised that Michael Flynn, Jr. has now been caught up in Bob Muellar’s investigative web?  He’s probably a “small fish” for Muellar, but it means the noose is tightening on Dad Flynn, no doubt.  If you’re not familiar with this Junior (as opposed to Trump, Jr.) his most notable “accomplishment” was his involvement in the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory.  If you’ve forgotten about that --- or don’t know what it’s about --- back in the autumn of 2016 some conspiracy wing-nut  (who knows, maybe it was the Russians?) noted that among the Wikileaks John Podesta emails that had been hacked were some from James Alefantis, a Clinton supporter who owned a pizzeria called Comet Ping Pong.  As noted in a December 4, 2016, Politico story:

The baseless online conspiracy theory in question, spread by supporters of President-elect Donald Trump, holds that the pizza shop, Comet Ping Pong, is actually a front for a child sex ring led by Clinton, the Democratic nominee.
 
           Labeled #Pizzagate, Mr. Alefantis and his business were not only harassed but a North Carolina man named Edgar Maddison actually “entered the restaurant, D.C. police said, to “self-investigate 'Pizza Gate' (a fictitious online conspiracy theory)." After firing his gun inside the establishment, he was arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. No one was injured.” (Politico)  And this is where the brilliant Flynn, Jr. enters the picture.  Shortly after the shooting incident:

Michael Flynn Jr., tweeted, “Until #Pizzagate proven to be false, it'll remain a story. The left seems to forget #PodestaEmails and the many ‘coincidences’ tied to it.”
 
        We know Dad Flynn led a “lock her up” chant at the Republican National Convention, reinforcing the notion that the Clinton emails revealed illegality and crimes on Clinton’s part.  It might be fun watching Hillary, on her book tour, leading some “Lock Him Up!” chants, eh?
 
 
 
2.  ESPN & Jemele Hill           

        You may have noticed that ESPN’s Sportscenter anchor, Jemele Hill (who happens to be both Black and female), was reprimanded by the sports network for a tweet she wrote.  As noted in Sports Illustrated online:

On Monday night Hill tweeted that Trump was “unqualified and unfit to be President” and “a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.” 
 
         ESPN reprimanded Hill for the tweet but Sarah (Chucklehead) Sanders, at the Press Secretary podium yesterday, when asked if the “President” had seen the tweet, said:
I’m not sure he’s aware but I think that’s one of the more outrageous comments that anyone could make and certainly something that I think is a fireable offense by ESPN.
 
               As usual, the Trump Administration is more than willing to advocate limiting free speech, particularly from the press.  It might be interesting to note NBC was never asked to fire the host of The Apprentice when he was disparaging the 44th President, claiming he was not born in America.  The hypocrisy from this crew is palpable.
 
3.  Kris Kobach     

           If you are not familiar with the Secretary of State from the state of Kansas, you need to be.  The leading advocate of anti-immigration policies in the nation, Kobach spent years crafting state legislation to circumvent Federal authority over immigration laws (which is Constitutionally based).  Kobach was a member of John Ashcroft’s Justice Department after 9/11 and developed a racial profiling procedure for citizens of 25 Arab states after the attack.  He is now the Vice Chairman of the Trump/Sessions “Voter Fraud Commission.”  The only fraud going on here is the Commission itself.  Read Charlie Pierce’s brilliant piece from Esquire (thanks & a “Hatlo Hat Tip” to Steve Jones for passing this along) to see what Kobach is up to now.

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a12234642/kobach-voter-fraud/?src=nl&mag=esq&list=nl_enl_news&date=091317
 
 
4.  Chris Hayes – What are you thinking?         

                   If you don’t happen to watch All In with Chris Hayes on MSNBC (8 pm weeknights), you are missing the biggest news nerd on television!  Hayes is an incisive reporter and dogged interviewer but he is prone to forget that his audience (including me, for sure) may not be at the same vocabulary level as he.  Last night, in the last five minutes of his broadcast he used the terms “hegemonic” and “frisson.”  Really, Chris?  Even if you do know what those words mean, how often have you heard any news show anchor use them? 

                  I’m just sayin’.