…you know what? [DOT 28/8/21]

…so here’s the thing…we could get into stuff like who got taken out by a drone strike

The US has conducted a drone strike against an Islamic State target in Afghanistan on Saturday, as the airlift of those desperate to flee moved into its fraught final stages with fresh terror attack warnings and encroaching Taliban forces primed to take over the Kabul airport.

Drone strike carried out east of Kabul as Pentagon warns of further ‘specific, credible’ threats against airport [Guardian]

…or speculate about how bad of a houseguest ida is liable to be

Hurricane Ida rapidly gained strength on Friday evening as communities in southern Louisiana braced for a major category 4 storm with sustained winds of about 140mph and tens of thousands of residents were placed under mandatory evacuation orders.

The hurricane is due to make landfall in the US on Sunday, with officials warning of a “life-altering storm”. The cities of New Orleans and Lafayette, as well as the state capital, Baton Rouge, are under threat from Ida, which is forecast to reach the US somewhere between the parishes of Terrebone and St Mary, slightly west of New Orleans.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/27/tropical-storm-ida-hurricane-warnings-gulf-coast-us-weather

…or…we could talk about all sorts of other stuff that’s unpleasant to contemplate

We’re Burying Our Kids in Debt (Just Not the Way You Think) [NYT]

Many measures of Earth’s health are at worst levels on record, NOAA finds [WaPo]

Texas Has Cleared a Path to the End of Roe v. Wade [NYT]

…or do the double take thing

I know it's from my own show, and I know it's inspired by @saletan's excellent Slate piece and research, but this is the best thing you will see on TV all day. I promise.

The hypocrisy of Mike Pompeo on Afghanistan – then and now – watch/share/enjoy:pic.twitter.com/W3bED3wtZn

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 27, 2021

if a Democrat talked about 9/11 like this it would be all Fox News would cover for weeks pic.twitter.com/LhCZHTIHcK

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 27, 2021

…or wonder how we got here

All of these new voting restrictions would have been rejected or at least softened if a federal civil rights protection from the 1960s were still intact, experts in election law said.

For decades, the heart of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a practice known as preclearance, largely detailed under Section 5 of the statute. It forced states with a history of racial discrimination to seek approval from the Department of Justice before enacting new voting laws. Through preclearance, thousands of proposed voting changes were blocked by Justice Department lawyers in both Democratic and Republican administrations.

In 2013, however, Section 5 was hollowed out by the Supreme Court, as Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote in a majority opinion that racial discrimination in voting no longer constituted a significant threat.

How a Defunct Federal Provision Helped Pave the Way for New Voting Restrictions [NYT]

…or how the fuck these assholes get away with this shit

Why Did A Right-Wing Troll Appear To Tweet About An FBI Investigation Into The Plot To Kidnap Michigan’s Governor Before It Was Public? [buzzfeednews]

Lauren Boebert admits to campaign finance problems: “I under-reported a lot of stuff” to the FEC [salon]

Calls Grow to Discipline Doctors Spreading Virus Misinformation [NYT]

…or debate whether the supreme court is a lost cause

Justice Stephen G. Breyer says he is struggling to decide when to retire from the Supreme Court and is taking account of a host of factors, including who will name his successor. “There are many things that go into a retirement decision,” he said.

He recalled approvingly something Justice Antonin Scalia had told him.

“He said, ‘I don’t want somebody appointed who will just reverse everything I’ve done for the last 25 years,’” Justice Breyer said during a wide-ranging interview on Thursday. “That will inevitably be in the psychology” of his decision, he said.

Justice Breyer on Retirement and the Role of Politics at the Supreme Court [NYT]

…but it’s saturday…so I’m going to try to go with at least a handful of things that might seem like…lets call it going the right way?

School districts in Florida may impose mask mandates, a judge said Friday, ruling that the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, overstepped his authority by issuing an executive order banning the mandates.

The news came as it emerged that some Florida districts are asking the public to conserve water to keep hospitals provided with all the liquid oxygen they need to help Covid patients breathe, as well as utilities which need it for water processing.

The news came as it emerged that some Florida districts are asking the public to conserve water to keep hospitals provided with all the liquid oxygen they need to help Covid patients breathe, as well as utilities which need it for water processing.

The governor’s order gave parents the sole right to decide if their child wears a mask at school. Cooper said DeSantis’ order “is without legal authority”.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/27/florida-schools-mask-mandates-judge

FCC proposes $5.1M fine against conservative activists Jacob Wohl and John Burkman for making 1,141 unlawful robocalls that made false claims about mail voting; this is the largest robocall fine ever proposed by the FCC, the agency says. https://t.co/Cbm8lcaSgT

— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) August 24, 2021

A federal judge in Michigan on Wednesday night ordered sanctions to be levied against nine pro-Trump lawyers, including Sidney Powell and L. Lin Wood, ruling that a lawsuit laden with conspiracy theories that they filed last year challenging the validity of the presidential election was “a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process.”

In her decision, Judge Linda V. Parker of the Federal District Court in Detroit ordered the lawyers to be referred to the local legal authorities in their home states for possible suspension or disbarment.
[…]
“This case was never about fraud,” Judge Parker wrote. “It was about undermining the people’s faith in our democracy and debasing the judicial process to do so.”

Powell, Wood and seven other lawyers deceived federal courts and debased the judicial process, a federal judge wrote. [NYT]

…& you know what…this might take a while, too…but if there’s any justice then these cops deserve to get some

Capitol police officers sue Trump and far-right groups over 6 January attack [Guardian]

…& if you want to see the actual complaint…here it is

https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21049557/8-26-21-smith-v-trump-complaint.pdf

…meanwhile…it’s the weekend…so let’s be grateful for small mercies…like me stopping there?