Republican Hypocrisy on January 6th

Many Republican leaders — including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI 8 ) — were horrified by the Capitol attack of last January 6th, and rightly blamed Donald Trump for instigating it. Somehow, they forgot.

A video by the Republican Accountability Project, which will run on Fox News today.

More:

“Republicans Promised to Banish Jan. 6 Insurrectionists. A Year Later, They’ve Purged Jan. 6 Critics,” Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone

“Republicans condemned Trump after the Capitol attack. Now, they are opening the door to him as the future of the party.” JM Rieger, Washington Post

Related:

“How Trump Kept His Grip After Jan. 6,” Blake Hounshell and Leah Askarinam, New York Times

Update:

“GOP commemorates denialism day,” David Siders, Politico

 

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The Sins of Hobby Lobby

The 5,000 year old Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, an ancient clay artifact looted from Iraq and owned by Steve Green, the evangelical entrepreneur who heads Hobby Lobby craft stores and the so-called Museum of the Bible, has been returned to the Baghdad museum it was stolen from.

Uber-evangelical Mr. Green runs a $5 billion, 932-store retail chain which claims to be “Honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.” He was caught buying 11,500 looted artifacts (“Thou Shalt Not Steal”), and smuggling them into the country with forged invoices (“Thou Shalt not Bear False Witness”) because he really, really wanted them for his Museum of the Bible (“Thou Shalt Not Covet”). Money paid for many of Iraq’s looted antiquities was used to fund terrorism (“Thou Shalt Not Kill”).

Hobby Lobby closes on Sundays, so that sabbath-observing thing is covered, anyway.

Jerry Falwell Jr. Sues Liberty U. for Damaging His Non-Existant Reputation

Trump-backing, pistol packing attorney Jerry Falwell Jr., once President of Liberty University by grace of God being fathered by university founder Jerry Falwell Sr., recently stepped down as head of LU, world’s largest evangelical diploma mill, following revelations of sexual scandal involving Falwell Jr., his wife, and a hotel pool boy. Liberty University’s code of honor holds that sex outside of “biblically-ordained marriage” is a ticket to Hell, and the disgraced Mr. Falwell slunk away with a mere $10.5 million separation package. 

His sexual shenanigans shredded what was left of Liberty University’s reputation after his shady real estate deals, low-quality online courses, and 2016 endorsement of Donald Trump, but Junior now says he is the injured party after the seamy sex scandal and the university board’s independent investigation of his dubious business operations. Mr. Falwell claims this reputational damage means he can no longer pose as a righteous Christian on the holier-than-thou circuit, or even on morally-challenged Fox News. He’s suing the university for alleged damages.

Fiddlesticks. It’s not as if Mr. Falwell’s current situation leaves him with no viable career alternatives. Liberty U is in Lynchburg, Virginia, an area short on entertainment alternatives, and “Jerry Junior’s” would be a great name for a topless bar.

More:

“Falwell sues Liberty, saying school damaged his reputation,” Sarah Rankin and Elana Schor, Associated Press

“Jerry Falwell Jr. sues Liberty University over reputation damage,” Justine Coleman, Thr Hill

Related:

“How Falwell Kept His Grip on Liberty Amid Sexual ‘Games,’ Self-Dealing,” Maggie Severns, Brandon Ambrosino, and Michael Stratford,, Politico

“Sex, Lies, And Regret: Giancarlo Granda Reels From Eight Years With The Falwells,” Josh Kovensky, Talking Points Memo

“A Trump executive order set the stage for Falwell’s political activities,” Maggie Severns, Politico

Updates:

“Falwell drops defamation lawsuit against Liberty University,” Associated Press

“Jerry Falwell Drops Lawsuit Against Liberty University,” TalkingPointsMemo

“Jerry Falwell Jr. spent heavily on Trump, GOP causes with funds from nonprofit Liberty University,” Peter Weber, The Week

“‘They All Got Careless’: How Falwell Kept His Grip on Liberty Amid Sexual ‘Games,’ Self-Dealing,” Maggie Severns, Brandon Ambrosino, and Michael Stratford, Politico

“Falwell’s Liberty University-Funded Think Tank Relentlessly Pushing Trump Fraud Claims, Says Report,” Jamie Ross, Daily Beast

“In final years at Liberty, Falwell spent millions on pro-Trump causes,” Maggie Severns, Politico

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Image (“Post-Falwell Liberty University Logo”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

The Falwell Legacy at Liberty University

Trump-backing, pistol packing attorney Jerry Falwell Jr., President of Liberty University by grace of God being fathered by university founder Jerry Falwell Sr., has stepped down as head of LU, the world’s largest evangelical Christian diploma mill. His exit last month followed revelation of sexual scandal involving Falwell Jr., his wife, and a hotel pool boy. Liberty University’s code of honor holds that sex outside of “biblically-ordained marriage” is a ticket to Hell, and students who practice it are automatically expelled. Mr. Falwell Jr. slinks away in disgrace with a mere $10.5 million separation package. 

An early endorser of Donald Trump in the 2016 campaign, Jerry Falwell Jr. forgave him for his adultery and other transgressions. “We’re all sinners, every one of us,” he said. “We’ve all done things we wish we hadn’t.”

Under Junior’s leadership, LU prospered through shady real estate deals, low-quality online courses, and untold hundreds of millions in federal student loans. The university board has started an independent investigation of business operations under Falwell Jr.’s tenure.

More:

“Business partner of Falwells says affair with evangelical power couple spanned seven years,” Aram Rosten, Reuters

“‘She was the aggressor’: Former Liberty student alleges sexual encounter with Becki Falwell,” Brandon Ambrosino, Politico

“Jerry Falwell Jr., Trump’s early and effusive evangelical champion, lifted a president before his own fall,” Eugene Scott, Washington Post

“Liberty University investigating fallen president Jerry Falwell Jr.’s entire tenure,” Theresa Braine, NY Daily News

“My Final Farewell to the Falwells,” Larry Flynt, Daily Beast

Updates:

“Liberty tells staff to refrain from interacting with Falwell,” AP via WTOP News

“The Falwells, the pool attendant and the double life that brought them all down,” By Michael E. Miller and Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Washington Post

Related:

“A Trump executive order set the stage for Falwell’s political activities,” Maggie Severns, Politico

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Image (“New Liberty University Logo”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Trump’s Photo-Op of Faith

On Monday, federal police forces used tear gas and rubber bullets to remove peaceful protesters from Washington’s Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House. What was the protest about? Police brutality.

The police, from a variety of federal agencies, used force and munitions against a nonviolent 1st Amendent protest so that President Donald Trump could pose for photographs in front of historic St. John’s Episcopal Church, holding a Bible.

It Takes a Village of Undocumented Workers to Run Trump Golf Resorts

Candidate Donald Trump railed against U.S. employers who hire undocumented workers, but his golf resorts were built by them, including the “Summer White House” at Bedminster, NJ. Villagers from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico and Guatemala were knowingly hired by Trump Golf managers as construction laborers, heavy equipment operators, landscapers, kitchen staff, and housekeepers for about two decades. After the Washington Post broke a story about undocumented workers at the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester NY, where Eric Trump lives, these long-time Trump employees were all swiftly fired, and other Trump resorts shortly followed suit.

The Trump Organization did not use the federal E-Verify system except in cases like the DC Trump Hotel, a GSA construction project that required it. Once in operation, the hotel apparently stopped using it.

More:

“‘My whole town practically lived there’: From Costa Rica to New Jersey, a pipeline of illegal workers for Trump goes back years,” Joshua Partlow, Nick Miroff and David A. Fahrenthold, Washington Post

“Trump’s own undocumented help highlights plight of many immigrants,” Paul Reyes, The Hill

“7 questions about Trump’s use of illegal workers at his golf courses,” David A. Fahrenthold and Joshua Partlow, Washington Post

Son and Grandson of Immigrants Wants to Halt Immigration

Donald J. Trump, grandson of an unskilled Bavarian draft dodger and son of a Scottish domestic servant, wants Congress to pass laws that would have barred his own ancestors from moving to the United States. Mr. Trump’s thoughts on immigration are informed by White House resident troll Stephen Miller, whose immigrant great-grandfather, a refugee from Belarus, flunked the U.S. Citizenship Test.

Clearly, this is a case of pulling in the Ellis Island gangplank after your own folks have landed.

More:

“The story of Donald Trump’s grandfather, who came to the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor,” Kristine Phillips, Washington Post

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Hobby Lobby Breaks a Commandment. Big Time.

The Department of Homeland Security caught Evangelical corporate person Hobby Lobby smuggling ancient ceramics from Iraq. The company will pay a $3 million fine and give up the stolen loot, 5,500 clay tablets and cylinder seals, which will presumably be returned to the Iraqi government as part of its cultural patrimony. Archaeological artifacts are often stolen and smuggled by terrorist groups and provide a major avenue of funding for their activities.

Hobby Lobby is owned by the Green family, currently building a great Ark the Bible Museum in godless Washington, DC. We wonder how many ancient items of dubious provenance are in the museum’s collection.

More:

“Hobby Lobby’s Black-Market Buys Did Real Damage,” Candida Moss and Joel Baden, New York Times

“Christian Retailer Hobby Lobby Stole Middle East History to Make a Bible Museum in Washington, Nina Burleigh, Newsweek

“D.C. Bible Museum Denies Connection to Hobby Lobby’s Smuggled Antiquities,” Julie Strupp, DCist

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Adulterer and Dissembler Speaks to Impressionable Young Christians

On Saturday, renowned sinner and U.S. President Donald J. Trump, flanked by Secret Service agents and 2 Corinthians, gave the commencement speech to graduating students at the world’s largest Christian college, Liberty University. He was introduced by University President Jerry Falwell Jr., the gun-totin’ Christian lawyer famously sired by televangelist and Liberty U. founder Jerry Falwell Sr., who had endorsed Mr. Trump during the election. 1300 LU students and a prominent university board member protested the endorsement.

Even though Mr. Falwell Jr. has encouraged Liberty University students to carry concealed handguns on campus and keep them in their dorms, firearms were not permitted in Lynchburg’s Williams Stadium during commencement exercises. Oh ye of little faith ….

Mr. Trump urged the graduates to adhere to the basic founding principles of our Republic, Christian Nationalism, critic-bashing, and college football. Since 30% of Americans are not Christians, will their citizenship be revoked? And if you’re counting critics, 58% of your neighbors disapprove of the job President Trump is doing. And of course many people prefer the NFL to college football. No wonder Trump is fast-tracking Deportation Force recruiting.

Related:

“At Liberty University, All Sins Are Forgiven on the Altar of Football,” Michael Powell, New York Times

Update:

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Family Time

Congressman Paul Ryan (R, WI-1) will accept the nod as House Speaker under certain conditions, and one of them is getting lots of attention. Rep. Ryan, who would take school lunches away from poor kids, wants time off to spend with his own children. Here’s some background that may not be obvious:

Like all Members of Congress, Mr. Ryan only spends 3 or 4 days a week in Washington when the House is in session, which isn’t that often, about 34 weeks a year. In other words, he’s asking to keep his current schedule if he’s the Speaker.

Paul Ryan was 16 when his own father died, so it’s understandable he’s especially sensitive to the issue of family time.

Rep. Ryan wants his own family time but won’t let others have theirs. He voted against the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act in 2009.