Too much news, condensed for your pleasure

Some observations on news in recent weeks:

1) Because it pushed false claims about Dominion Voting Machines, Fox News looks poised - despite their First Amendment-clutching defense - to lose big money to Dominion. The revelations from the depositions in that lawsuit have caused a lot of infighting as well. To no one’s surprise, Tucker Carlson knows he draws enough viewers that he can throw his weight around on administrative decisions. But the news division hates him, just as normal people do, after his ridiculous efforts to whitewash an insurrection that has already resulted in more than 500 prosecutions. (Nice try, Tucky Fishsticks, but that’s way too many judges and juries that you have to discredit.)

And for those who wonder if there’s anyone in the conservative pundit ranks holding on to some earned credibility, you can rule out Fox, Newsmax and One America News Network. Old school pundit Mona Charen, however, has been earning the right to be heard. Even if one disagrees with her (as I often do), she’s an outlier - not a liar - because she reports as if she’s still sane.
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2) Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania had his phone seized by the FBI last August in the investigation of the effort to overturn the legal results of the 2020 presidential election. With the decisions by Judge Howell who’s overseeing Perry’s effort to shield the phone’s contents, I’m convinced this will be a critical part of the forthcoming indictments by the DOJ. Howell’s words make it clear she’s cut him no slack for as yet unstated reasons in addition to her legal determinations about what contents can remain secret. Perry sought to conceal 2,219 documents on his phone for a reason, after all, right?

Judge Howell said only 164 would remain shielded which leaves him or others exposed on 2,055, including every one of his 960 contacts with the White House. That’s what has my Spidey senses tingling.

Plus Georgia where the Fulton County DA prepares her county’s indictments, now expected in May.

It’s why Republicans are discussing ways they might dump the DA from her job. They’re trying to strong arm DAs elsewhere whose decisions also displease the legislators.

DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith has mountains of evidence to sift through and I anticipate he’ll let some lesser charges slide. Trump’s actions from April 2020 through Jan 20, 2021 - especially in the first few days after the election and on January 5-6 will provide plenty to warrant prosecution but it’s important to make the case airtight.

After the E. Jean Carroll lawsuit in April, the Fulton County indictments in May, I’m still looking for Jack Smith to weigh in in June or July.
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3) The head of Twitter and Tesla continues his effort to demonstrate how not to run companies if profit is the aim. The latest recall of his cars occurred because several had their steering wheels come off. With Twitter, it’s become the Nazi Open Invitational.

”Musk said it is actually the media that is “racist against whites & Asians.” “

Then he fired more people and Twitter links all were broken for several hours last Tuesday. Which he’ll blame on someone else, still without a shred of evidence.

It’s clearly liberal bias when anyone reports about where all the violence is coming from (hint: it’s not from Asian Americans).

And killing off the capacity of Politwoops to track the Oopsies of politicians is also not a good demonstration of a commitment to free speech, Mr. Muck.
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4) Trump’s senior legal advisor admitted she lied in court as she sought to get the legal results of the 2020 election overturned. Colorado Judge Large censures her for misconduct in response.

Bit by bit, Trump’s efforts unravel though it seems Jenna Ellis only got a hand slap for perjury.
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5) The SPLC shows how Alex Jones ran end-arounds to sell products after his banning on social media, sold those products long after receiving legal cease & desist orders and considered his customers to be idiots.

Hard to believe he's even worse than we thought. And he's not done yet.

Under his proposed bankruptcy reorganization plan, with Free Speech Systems he and another guy will still earn $520,000/yr each. At most, his 40+ employees would make $940,000/yr. Assuming he has a minimum of 41 employees, they’d average less than $23,000 per year, making $11/hr. That’s the most they’d make.

The minimum, per this plan, is $9.15/hr. While he rakes in $520,000/yr.

The plan, at most, would shell out $10m/yr for 5 years. That’s $50m. The court awarded the Sandy Hook families close to $1.5 billion, nearly 30 times more than his bankruptcy plan offers. After the attorneys are paid, none of the families he injured would make $1m in 5 years, while Jones would make $2.6m in that time.

Will the bankruptcy court allow it? I think Jones should get the hammer.
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Personal note

I hit a personal wall in early February. A close friend and a sibling had surgeries. Helping the friend required extensive pain management and other duties.

I’d been notified in late January that I’d be going solo when our rental lease is up next summer, which already had me worried.

Simultaneously, I was attempting to do a subscription renewal drive for this newsletter and seeking feedback from readers about how I could do it better. Shorter newsletters? Different topics than the mostly political ones I’ve been doing? Or let the newsletter expire?

That brought on a crisis in confidence. I was getting almost no responses. I got only one paid renewal. Despite the interruptions over 2 years caused by moves, mournings and my caregiver responsibilities, I well exceeded the 208 newsletters I promised paid subscribers at the outset.

How should I interpret this response? Have I lost my capacity to write informative and entertaining stuff after 2 years?

Midway in an essay about current wars, I took a breather for a week. Which stretched into five. I was still reading all my news sources but was physically exhausted, struggling with pain management, self doubt and worry.

I’m past it now. But still trying to figure out how to proceed.

I read other newsletters that claim to have thousands of subscribers. Most of the time, 80-130 people have been reading each of my newsletters.

So I’ll carry on for awhile longer while trying to figure out what I’m doing and why.

I write to convey my hope that together we can spare the world and this country from added misery. I’m not sure if I’m accomplishing anything at all.

Here’s some impressive performances. Watch the fingers in each!

I always knew Tommy Emmanuel could play, but Mike Dawes is new to me.

Billy & Molly are also pretty impressive string bangers too.

Note the impressive progression of the guitar work done by Joscho Stephan

And here’s what happens when Tommy and Joscho play together.