Robert Hur’s report exaggerated Biden’s memory issues
Ex-special counsel Robert Hur, a former Trump appointee, caused a firestorm of controversy when he used his report to smear President Biden for having a "poor memory" and "diminished faculties," notably referencing an instance in which Biden apparently couldn't remember when his son Beau died. However, newly released transcripts show that this wasn't the case at all. President Biden immediately recalled the month and day of Beau's death. It turns out that President Biden did say "I can't recall" several times during his interview, but this is a typical response during a legal examination. Rep. Adam Schiff was quick to point this out during Tuesday's hearing in Congress, telling Hur that, "You know this, I know this, there is nothing more common with a witness of any age, when asked about events that are years old, than to say 'I do not recall.' Indeed, they’re instructed by their attorney to do that." Schiff then tore into Hur for turning his investigation into a partisan smear campaign: "You don't gratuitously do things to prejudice the subject of an investigation when you're declining to prosecute. You don't gratuitously add language that you know will be useful in a political campaign." Hear, hear!

Take Action: Tell Republicans to drop their sham impeachment inquiry!

VIDEO OF THE DAY: Lauren Boebert gets dreadful news ahead of her next election
A surprise GOP retirement puts the radical Colorado Republican in a very sticky situation. Redistricting left Boebert facing a tough re-election battle, so she declared her intention to cravenly move next door and run for retiring Rep. Ken Buck's seat in November. But! Buck's abrupt resignation this week has triggered a special election, forcing Boebert to either stick with the script and run for the seat in November in a primary against whoever wins the special election — or pivot and run in the special election, which would force her to give up her current seat one district over in order to do so. Ruh roh, Scoobs!

Take Action: Pass the assault weapons ban!

Utility companies exposed jacking up prices and wasting energy
Lead Locally: It’s time to put a stop to the excesses of the power industry by passing new energy rules to ease the burden from working families and protect our environment from the climate crisis. Will you add your name to demand efficient and cost-cutting new energy rules in EVERY state in the union?

House GOP panics as another Republican sprints for the exits
The aforementioned Rep. Ken Buck absolutely blindsided GOP leadership this week, calling it quits without warning and reducing Speaker Johnson's majority margin to just TWO congressmembers in a party-line vote, worsened by a slew of resignations and the expulsion of George Santos. On any given vote, the GOP's power could be neutered by "absences, through travel or illness or family hardship or whatever," complained Rep. Womack to Axios. "If it can go wrong, it probably will go wrong — at the worst time." While Buck tried to burnish a reputation as a "moderate" by opposing the efforts to impeach President Biden in his final days, let's hand him nothing. He's an anti-abortion, climate-change-denying, anti-LGBTQ radical who voted against all of the COVID-19 emergency relief bills. Before joining Congress, Buck infamously refused to prosecute a rape case despite the suspect admitting to the crime. Real great guy who won't be missed.

Take Action: End hair discrimination! Pass the CROWN Act ASAP!

Adjudicated rapist, serially indicted fraudster, and noted coup enthusiast who incited a mob to violently halt the peaceful transfer of power clinches GOP nomination
The Republican Party is officially morally bankrupt. What a world.

Take Action: Stop Republicans from weakening child labor laws!

GOP gov candidate Mark Robinson on Obamacare: it’s an effort to "enslave everybody"
You won't be surprised to learn that the Holocaust-denying, Hitler-boosting conspiracy theorist and current North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson appeared on the batshit crazy "Politics and Prophecy" YouTube show in which he responded to the host's rant about flouride in the drinking water by comparing Obamacare to...literal slavery. The image shared in the video while Robinson ranted was a giant banner showing the "Bloodlines of the Illuminati" — which conspiracy theory nuts all know is a cheat sheet to the nebulous web of extra-wicked elites who are secretly running and ruining the country. Robinson then goes on to, why not, disparage gay people again. "You see homosexuals in leadership positions, you see people who are living in sin in leadership positions. It’s disgusting. It really is disgusting," complained Robinson, who is shaping up to be one of the very worst Republican candidates in living memory.

Take Action: End child poverty in America by expanding the Child Tax Credit!

Viral video of GOPers beating Biden effigy prompts calls for top Kansas Republican leaders to resign
The classiest and most mature members of the Kansas Republican Party thought it would be a hoot to bring a mannequin wearing a Joe Biden mask to a fundraiser...so that people could kick, punch, and otherwise abuse the likeness of our 46th president. GOP state chair Mike Brown and Johnson County party leader Maria Holiday responded to the scandal with the characteristic sense of personal responsibility that the GOP touts so loudly — by blaming an unnamed vendor and refusing to comment any further. Normalizing and celebrating political violence at every possible opportunity — ah, such a Grand Old Party!

Pete Buttigieg shreds Marjorie Taylor Greene over State of the Union antics
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen: Get her.

US House to vote on TikTok crackdown; fate uncertain in Senate
Congress is once again gearing up to try to force the company that owns the mega-popular video app "TikTok" to divest itself of its Chinese ownership or face a complete ban in the United States, much to the consternation of many Gen Z lawmakers and tens of millions of young voters. "The problem is the process here, the fact that it's been steamrolled and people really can't digest the consequences," said Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost. "I would like to see TikTok ownership changed, but not at the expense of our First Amendment rights, business owners and content creators." The GOP's bad faith justifications — concern about TikTok users' mental health and privacy (gimme a break) and barely disguised racist paranoia about the Chinese government — belies the strategic goal of cutting the Biden campaign off from one of the major tools it has to connect with youth voters. For its part, the White House supports divesting owner ByteDance from China but wants to protect access to the app.

RFK Jr. is considering Aaron Rodgers and Jesse Ventura as possible running mates
We probably would also be picking between an ailing, anti-vaxx quarterback and a retired ex-wrestler for our vice president...if we were eight years old. To be fair, who can forget LBJ narrowly edging out Johnny Unitas to become JFK's #2 in 1960? Maybe we're biased, but we STILL think "Jack & Johnny can unite us!" could've delivered a landslide victory and changed the arc of American history. Perhaps in a parallel universe...

US is now the world's leading oil producer
That's great news. Energy independence achieved! Now let's check the weather...hmm, unseasonably warm again, after a heat-record breaking February. And January. And the previous nine months before that. Eh, probably nothing to worry about.

Bloodbath at RNC: Trump team slashes more than 60 staff
After installing MAGA fanatic Michael Whatley and Trump daughter-in-law Lara Trump as the new viziers of the RNC on Monday, the Trump team wasted no time in gutting the committee's staff, firing over 60 employees across various departments ahead of what we can only assume will be a Tony Soprano-style bust-out in which all the resources of the RNC are funneled to Donald in order to pay for his staggeringly large legal bills. Trump advisers have described the RNC’s structure as overly bloated and bureaucratic, which they believe has contributed to the party’s cash woes — only $8 million on hand at the end of December. They've promised they aren't going to use the money to pay his legal bills...but they lie a LOT, and just two weeks ago, Lara Trump was publicly declaring that the RNC paying Trump's bills was "absolutely" a big interest to GOP voters. Soooooo....yeah.

And in other news

For the union makes us strong!

DEEP DIVE: Crisis in Haiti

Hope...

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