Oh Virginia 🌻🌻🌻

Batsh-t Crazy:  I wasn’t planning to write today but then Bob Woodward and Bob Costa, the media’s newest investigatory duo, dropped a bombshell revealing some of the rather incriminating texts that Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, spouse of the still hospitalized Justice Clarence Thomas, exchanged with the Former Guy’s last Chief of Staff Mark Meadows after the 2020 election.  We’ve known for sometime that Ginni’s political views fall somewhere between right wing fanatic and full on Q and that Meadows speaks out of both sides of his mouth, but still their text convo is both stunning and alarming, assuming of course that you find pushing coups, insurrections and the overturning of legitimate elections something to be concerned about. Among other things,  Ginni told Meadows to “stand firm” to stop “Biden and the Left” who she asserted were “attempting the greatest Heist of our History.” She pushed Meadows to “release the kraken” by putting  the demonstrably nutzoid lawyer Sidney Powell in charge of the legal effort to overturn the election results.  In addition she cited some crazy Q originated theory, something to do with ballots and watermarks as part of the “proof” that the election had been stolen. And then there’s the part where she called for Biden, his abettors and his family to be arrested and sent to GITMO.  Meadows did nothing to dissuade her, in fact he agreed with her assertions, supported her efforts and invoked Jesus to justify the need to keep the FG in power. In all, Woodward and Costa reviewed 29 texts, but there are probably more as those are only the ones that the January 6^th Committee obtained from Meadows before he stopped cooperating with their investigation.  There’s little doubt that Ginni had a lot more to say, was deeply involved in the efforts to overturn the election and that the Meadows texts represent just the tip of her communication ice berg.  To that end Woodward and Costa also mention that she reached out to son in law Jared but they don’t have any information about how or even if he responded. Remember how the FG kept saying that “his” Supreme Court would overturn the election if only he could get his cases heard there. Could Ginni have been whispering that in his or Meadows’ ear.  Also, worth noting, Clarence, who hasn’t but should be recusing himself from decisions concerning January 6^th was the only justice to dissent from the SCOTUS decision that refused to block the release of the FG’s January 6^th related documents.  While that decision didn’t lead to the Meadows texts getting into the hands of the January 6^th committees, they’d already received them directly from Meadows, it’s not a stretch to believe that Clarence remains concerned that there is more that could further implicate his wife.  That said, anyone who thinks that he’ll recuse himself from further decisions, step down, or is just hiding out in the hospital until the smoke clears is delusional.  I’d like to be wrong about that step down and recusal part, but I am probably not.  By the way, during her hearings Judge Ketanji Jackson said that she’d recuse herself from the Harvard affirmative action case not that taking the high road matters to Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, or Josh Hawley, all of whom have already gone on the record saying that they absolutely won’t vote for her to be confirmed.  Not surprising, but what may be is that Republican Senator John Thune, who isn’t expected to vote for Jackson, expects that she could get as many as three Republican votes.  Or not.

Also:  Republican Congressman Jeff Fortenberry of California was found guilty yesterday of three felony counts for concealing information and making false statements to federal authorities in regard to an investigation looking into illegal campaign contributions in his 2016 reelection campaign.  As of this morning he was still running for reelection but maybe that’s about to change or not.  On a more positive note the Republican Governors of Utah and Indiana both decided to veto bills banning transgender girls from participating in school sports.  Utah’s Governor Cox explained his veto by saying that he’s “not an expert on transgenderism.  I struggle to understand so much of it and the science is conflicting.  When in doubt however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy and compassion.”  He also pointed out that there are only four transgender students playing high school sports in his state and that only one of them is a girl, making it clear that the ban is a solution looking for a problem that, unlike high suicide rates among transgender youth, isn’t there.