This is Going to Get Interesting

The membership rolls of the Oath Keepers has been leaked.
=======================

Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, said Tuesday that he expects to be charged soon in a state criminal case in New York City.

Bannon, 68, plans to turn himself in on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

The Washington Post, citing anonymous sources, reported that the state criminal case would resemble an earlier attempted federal prosecution, in which Bannon was accused of duping donors who gave money to fund a wall on the U.S. southern border.

Accepting a pardon may not be an admission of guilt, but for someone facing criminal charges, as ol' Steverino was, it's arguable that he knew that the charges were righteous. He's a grifter, and now he's likely going to go to prison for it. And it's possible that the NYS prisons are not Club Feds.

The One Person Most Responsible for the Current Brouhaha With the TOFF

Good old Moscow Mitch McConnell. If he had signed on to impreaching the TOFF in 2021, there would be no issue of whether ornot it was legal for the Traitor of Orange to have classified documents. There would be no question of his right to have any government documents whatsoever.

And, even though he might still be out beating the bushes for his batshit-crazy, election theft conspiracy theory, he'd not be eligible for office.

McConnell knows what happened on 1/6/21. His reticence to hold Dolt-45 accountable was nothing more than knee-wobbling gutlessness. It was his shining example of loyalty to his party over loyalty to his country.

His is, and will always be, a prime candidae for a new book: Profiles in Cowardice.

The Dishonesty of the Shrinking Far-Right

A document describing a foreign government's military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities, was found in the FBI's search last month of former President Donald Trump's Florida home, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
...
According to the Post report, some of the seized documents detail top-secret U.S. operations that require special clearances, not just top-secret clearance.

Some of the documents are so restricted that even some of the Biden administration's senior-most national security officials were not authorized to review them, the Post said.

That's the beauty of the ruling by the TOFF's pet judge on Monday: Where are they going to find a special master with the clearances to review documents that only a handful of people can read?

Let's be clear about this: There are documents that were seized in the raid that if you or I had clearinace to read them, if they were found in our personal possession, we would have been sent away for decades. There are documents that no rational person would have ever thought about declassifying.

But no order of blanket declassification seems to exist, other than the usual lies from the Asset.

At this point, those defending Dolt-45 are showing that their allegiance is to him, not to the country. They are free to renounce their citizenship and move to a state more in line with their personal beliefs. Such as North Korea.

Copying These Down, Here

Some editorial cartoons:

Jeff Danziger | via GoComics#cartoon #MarALagoRaid #Trump #LindseyGraham pic.twitter.com/9e2odFEauJ

— LittleManKriel (@LittleManKriel) September 1, 2022

pic.twitter.com/4XMJnlnsic

— mike luckovich (@mluckovichajc) August 30, 2022

Robert Ariail for August 31, 2022 | https://t.co/dKzpPiS1cj https://t.co/V3O5RQmvt9 via @GoComics

— Defund Dolt-45 (@StephBelser1873) September 1, 2022

Join me at the top of the 7pm hour on @CNN @OutFrontCNN with substitute host @PoppyHarlowCNN as we discuss the current state of #trump’s legal nightmare. See you soon! pic.twitter.com/ypTGXfP6Qy

— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) September 1, 2022

Jeff Danziger | via GoComics#cartoon #Midterms2022 #Republicans #Abortion #WomensRights pic.twitter.com/sVpTFxsEqp

— LittleManKriel (@LittleManKriel) September 1, 2022

Rob Rogers for August 31, 2022 | https://t.co/dKzpPiS1cj https://t.co/qET8fjrXk3 via @GoComics

— Defund Dolt-45 (@StephBelser1873) September 1, 2022

Classic Clay Bennet cartoon. pic.twitter.com/5y4gMfjvBy

— Signe Wilkinson (@SigneWilk) May 23, 2021

Out of Pocket

I'll be mostly offline today. Comments may be slow in approval (or deletion, if you're on the banhammer list).

Is Russia Preparing for War With NATO?

The United States accuses Russia of deliberately launching their Kosmos 2558 satellite on August 1st and placing it in the same orbit as a new American spy satellite launched in February. Within 24 hours of launch Kosmos 2558 locked into the same orbit as the new American surveillance satellite, but 60 kilometers away and clearly capable of getting closer. This is what is known as an “inspector satellite” that closely examines other satellites to determine their capabilities and weaknesses.

It's probably more of a killer satellite. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Putler, out of desperation, tries for a Pearl Harbor in space.

Back on the ground, President Zelenskyy is asking that the U.S. declare Russia to be a state sponsor of terrorism. That's probably not going to happen and, anyway, it's inaccurate. Russia isn't sponsoring terrorism, no, the Russians are practicing terrorism.

A Thought Experiment for a Mass Shooting, and More

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you are a young man who has decided to try and write your name into the history books by killing a lot of people. It's really a moronic quest, as it's been done, over and over, and absent some special circumstances, most people are going to forget who you were in a week.

You've got your gear ready. Now, where do you go? You're going to head for a place which has no armed security and the chances of running into a random citizen carrying a gun is low to non-existent.

In other words, you're going to go shoot up a gun-free zone with a goodly number of potential victims, where you won't find a law-abiding person with a gun.

In NY, people can thank the current governor for turning much of the state into a happy hunting ground for killers.

Enjoy going to the supermarket...
===================================

The man charged with kidnapping a Tennessee woman jogging near the University of Memphis last week spent 20 years behind bars for a previous kidnapping.

U.S. Marshals arrested 38-year-old Cleotha Abston on Saturday after police detected his DNA on a pair of sandals found near to where Eliza Fletcher was last seen, according to an arrest affidavit. Police also linked the vehicle they believe was used in the kidnapping to a person at a residence where Abston was staying.

While Fletcher has not been found, Memphis police said in the affidavit they believe she was seriously injured in the abduction, which was caught on surveillance video. Authorities have said Fletcher, 34, was jogging around 4 a.m. on Friday when a man approached her and forced her into an SUV after a brief struggle.

I'll say what they haven't: He probably killed her. My understanding is that the prior conviction makes him eligible for execution.

I understand that jogging with a pistol is not fun. But there are reasonable lightweight options. An LCR-22 wighs less than a pound and one can then pump eight rounds out in short order. If that's not acceptable, a little can of mace or pepper spray is lightweight. But FFS, if you're going to be out running around in the middle of the night, take some precautions, people.

ETA: Her body has been identified.

Did Anyone Not Expect This?

In a legal victory for former President Donald Trump, a federal judge on Monday granted his request for a special master to review documents seized by the FBI from his Florida home and also temporarily halted the Justice Department’s own use of the records for investigative purposes.

Right, did anyone expect a judge who was a long-time member of the Federalist Society and whose appointment was rammed through by The Asset and Moscow Mitch after the Asset lost the election to rule any differently? I guess in her court, if you're accused of carjacking, you can get a special master to examine the car and make sure that you get back anything that you left in the car. And she will do that because of the "reputational harm" to the accused carjacker if he's indicted.

I don't have a great regard for the judiciary. My impression has been, for a long time, that they are guided more by ideology than the law. This ruling does nothing to shake my opinion.

The only good side to this is that the GOP isn't covering the TOFF's legal bills for this, and there will be a lot more billable hours from this. He'll probably use his PAC to pay it, for Captain Bone Spurs doesn't like paying for his lawyers. But don't worry, the gullible fools of MAGAland will cough up for it.

Jonathan Pie Does Not Disappoint

He doesn't care for PM Truss, A/K/A The Iron Weathervane:

Liz Truss will be Britain’s next prime minister — the nation’s fourth in seven years. And she’s inheriting a nation falling apart at the seams. https://t.co/sh1MtyauDs pic.twitter.com/ojNdeGfLlQ

— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) September 5, 2022

Government of the Rich, By the Rich, For the Rich

They're not even trying to hide it in the Country Formerly Known as Great Britain:

Your new Prime Minister ladies and gentleman…is a cunt of the higher order. pic.twitter.com/B3TPruRUi4

— Jonathan Pie (@JonathanPieNews) September 4, 2022

Truss seems to think that England is going to forge out on its own in global affairs. That's going to be a heavy lift, given the continual cutbacks to the RN. The British Navy is less than half the size of the French navy. Columbia, Egypt, india, and Thailand, among others, have larger navies than the Brits. They also have larger armies.

The British economy has fallen behind the rest of Europe. The British people seem to have been sold a bill of goods about Brexit. But there is no going back to the EU, not on the terms that the British once had. My guess is that if they did want to rejoin the EU, they would be required to adopt the Euro and rejoin the Schengen area. For they are not much more than California with nuclear weapons.

But yeah, I am waiting for Pie's video on Truss as PM.