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Now that he’s leaving congress, Louie Gohmert has changed treasurers.  Please meet Darin Cowart in Tyler, Texas.

Very odd to change treasurers now that he is on his way out the door. Unless, of course, he was under investigation. Like for moving money through his campaign account to pay for the January 6^th Insurrection.

And, to add a little intrigue …

Gohmert actually hired two separate accounting firms last December – just when the January 6^thCommittee was sending out subpoenas.

Then he hires two people who are not accounts but do accounting services.

And then all of a sudden, he stops filing reports with the FEC.  Just stops. No reason given yet.

And yeah, the Astros won.

I am not talking about politics.  I’m talking about the weather. We are going to hit triple digits for the next week so I am taking the day off to watch the Astros this afternoon while drinking the last of my Limoncello mixed with Topo Chico over a couple hunks of ice.

Until later, I do have some fun stuff for you. I up and donated $25 to John Fetterman yesterday because dammit he deserves it. I like him just fine but the best part will be when he shows up in Washington, seeks out jacketless-and-damn-proud-of-it Jim Jordan and says, “Here, Jimbo, hold my hoodie and watch this.”

But, the thing that got me to Act Blue is this.

Apparently Dr. Oz is having trouble raising money. He’s gotten to the point to belly-aching and even offering to personally match 300% any donation that comes in. How does that work? Why doesn’t he just give himself the damn money? Why do I have to give him a buck fifty so he can give himself $4.50? It seems to me that he can just give himself $4.50 and not really miss my money at all. I dunno about this guy making the federal budget.

But this Twitter made me snort. Little Bubba sent it to me. You can enlarge it by clicking on it.  It starts off with this guy named Chris getting a fundraising email from Dr. Oz.

That’s funny.

Okay, if the Astros win, I’ll be back to tell you some hanky-panky Louie Gohmert is still doing.  If not, you gotta wait until tomorrow.

Come to find out, White House Council Pat Cipollone has agreed to appear before the J6 committee to testify behind closed doors.  His testimony will be transcribed.  This is the same lawyer who said “we’re going to get charged with every crime possible,” but he’s coming under subpoena, not because he wants to do the right thing.

The next public hearing will be Tuesday, July 12th.  Unless it’s not.

Also of note, I have been asking friends whatever happened to Lindsey Graham?  It’s unlike him to be so quiet for so long.  Well, the dam broke today – he has been subpoenaed to testify before the Fulton County Grand Jury.

The subpoena issued to Graham said he made at least two calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff about “reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump.”

They’ve made it clear that he’s not a target of the investigation. He’s still fighting the subpoena. Wanna know why?  Graham’s lawyer says, ““Should it stand, the subpoena issued today would erode the constitutional balance of power and the ability of a Member of Congress to do their job.”

Yeah, it’s also hard to do your job when you have to go whoring for Trump to “find” more votes.

I have no idea why he’s not a target.

An order from the Texas Education Agency has helped solve school shootings …

The Texas Education Agency issued new safety guidance on Thursday afternoon, just weeks after the deadly school shooting in Uvalde that killed 19 children and two adults.

Officials need to ensure that each exterior door at schools closes and locks, according to the guidance. Districts must also convene their safety and security committees in reviewing plans.

Earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott directed the agency to enforce weekly door inspections to ensure their security.

It’s not a gun problem; it’s a door problem. And, of course, shooters only use doors once a week. And fire fighters have magical powers to open locked doors in case of an emergency. And, of course, committee meetings are the ultimate tool against assault rifles.

And I suspect the situation in Highland Park is a roof problem.  We just need to get rid of roofs. Problem solved.

One of the things that has interested me lately is a deep dive on common traits of fascism. For the record, there are twelve of them, but it was two in particular that interest me today. These two things are obviously overwhelmingly in the news, but also have been used to change our perceptions of the world around us. I will list them all just for people to have a good list to go by, but I’ll bold the ones I’m thinking of today.

• Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
• Disdain for human rights
• Identification of enemies as a unifying cause
• Rampant sexism
• Control of mass media
• Obsession with national security
• Religion and government intertwined
• Corporate power protected
• Labor power suppressed
• Disdain for intellectuals and the arts
• Obsession with crime and punishment
• Rampant cronyism and corruption

Some lists also include fraudulent elections and supremacy of the military. I highlighted the two I did because they seem to be in the news a lot lately. Obviously, the issue of abortion and women’s rights are in the news right now and everyone is rightfully concerned. However, a thought had occurred to me as we going through the news of yet another mass shooting yesterday.

The war on drugs officially began a little over 50 years ago. That war on drugs obviously has had a tremendous impact on society at large. According to ACLU, incarceration rates have increased 500 percent since 1970. The U.S. population hasn’t even doubled since then. So, the incarceration rate has increased more than four times faster than the population. At this point, it would be fair to ask what this has to do with recent events.

The events of yesterday should make this clear. When we hear there is a mass shooting event, all of us have a picture in our head of what the shooter looks like. He’s a white male. He is usually between 18 and 25. He is also usually a right wing extremist. The numbers back this up. Yet, we should consider for a moment who enters our brain when we think of a common criminal. Obviously, that picture is very different. It is almost as if it was done by design.

Ultimately, we are left with a ton of cognitive dissonance. Who are we collectively afraid of and who should we be afraid of? Right wing extremists have become inherently dangerous. If you don’t believe me then just ask the FBI. They are the domestic terrorists and their numbers are growing. Yet, ask any typical American and they will list anything other than young white males as the danger. They will list immigrants. They will list people of color. They will list radical Muslims. They will list everyone except for the people actually committing these mass shootings and acts of terror. It’s almost as if it were by design.