Overcast with some occasional rain this early Wednesday on California’s north coast with more expected today and tomorrow.
Weather of the weird.
Beyond the sprinkles, big coverage this morning, of course, is President Obama’s State of the Union last night — most of the commentary I’ve seen has shown it to be better-than-average, maybe the best of Obama’s lot. This was his fifth such speech.
(Illustration found here).
I go to bed ridiculously early (up way-too-early, too), so missed Obama’s speech on the live, but according to all the accounts this morning it was pretty bland, compared to some in the past — remember “You lie!” in 2009, or the Supreme Court justices getting their collective panties in a bind a year later, as “Not, true, not true” was whispered by near-brain-dead Sam Alito.
Supposedly, none of that shit last night.
The big, ugly shit came afterwards, and performed by a big, ugly Republican. These people seem to think their shit doesn’t stink.
From New York’s NY1:
Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm physically threatened NY1 political reporter Michael Scotto at the conclusion of an interview in the Capitol Rotunda following Tuesday night’s State of the Union address.
Grimm’s threats came at the end of a brief interview in which he discussed the president’s speech, calling the address “divisive.”
Scotto then tried to ask the congressman about the ongoing federal investigation into his 2010 campaign fundraising:
“And just finally before we let you go, we haven’t had a chance to talk about some of the…” Scotto began before Grimm cut him off.
“I’m not speaking to you off-topic, this is only about the president,” said Grimm, before walking off camera.
“So Congressman Michael Grimm does not want to talk about some of the allegations concerning his campaign finances,” Scotto said before tossing back to the station.
But as the camera continued to roll, Grimm walked back up to Scotto and began speaking to him in a low voice.
“What?” Scotto responded. “I just wanted to ask you…”
Grimm: “Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I’ll throw you off this f—–g balcony.”
Scotto: “Why? I just wanted to ask you…”
[[cross talk]]
Grimm: “If you ever do that to me again…”
Scotto: “Why? Why? It’s a valid question.”
[cross talk]]
Grimm: “No, no, you’re not man enough, you’re not man enough. I’ll break you in half. Like a boy.”
What a total fucking asshole!
This is what Grimm’s all shit-faced about:
FBI agents arrested a onetime girlfriend of Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm on charges of circumventing federal campaign laws to funnel money to the congressman.
Diana Durand, 47, was pinched Friday in Houston, and faces charges of election fraud and lying to agents, FBI officials confirmed Monday.
A criminal complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court accuses her of using straw donors — people who use other donors’ money to make gifts in their own name — so she could exceed the $4,800 maximum allowable contribution in giving to the campaign committee of “Candidate A” in 2009 and 2010.
Candidate A is Grimm, according to sources and Durand’s public contribution record.
Durand was a “personal friend of Candidate A,” the complaint says, and sources said Grimm and Durand became romantically involved when Grimm had business interests in Texas in 2008.
After contributing $4,800, the maximum amount allowed, Durand recruited straw donors who she paid back for their contributions, the complaint charges.
The Texan lavished two friends with praise for helping her dodge election laws.
“I just wanted to thank you both again for helping me out with (Candidate A’s) campaign last week,” Durand wrote in an April 5, 2010, email quoted in the complaint.
Durand’s arrest is the latest to result from an ongoing federal probe into Grimm’s 2010 campaign fund-raising.
Ofer Biton, an Israeli citizen who helped Grimm raise campaign money four years ago, pleaded guilty on Aug. 18 to visa fraud as a result of the probe.
“We are saddened that the government took the extraordinary step of arresting a single mother on these allegations, and hope the matter will be resolved quickly,” said William McGinley, an attorney for Grimm.
Boo-hoo.
And with all their ugly, they’re actually trying to kill all of us — just yesterday (via Think Progress):
Twenty-four E&C members — all Republicans — voted against the amendment.
Among them was E&C Chair Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), who has said before that he doesn’t think climate change is caused by human activity, and Joe Barton (R-TX), who also questions humans’ role in climate change.
In total, the Republicans who voted to deny climate change have accepted about $9.3 million in career contributions from the oil, gas and coal industries, according to analysis by the CAP Action War Room.
This isn’t the first time House Republicans have rejected amendments stating the reality of climate change.
In 2011, House Republicans voted down amendments that called on Congress to accept that climate change is real, man-made, and a human health threat.
No sense to the jesting.