Thursday, December 01, 2022

COMMENTARY: Your new Congress: Owning the libs, no matter the cost (Diane Roberts, Florida Phoenix)

Another gnarly satirical column by the incomparable FSU English professor Diane Roberts from Florida Phoenix: 


COMMENTARY

Your new Congress: Owning the libs, no matter the cost

NOVEMBER 28, 2022 7:00 AM

 Kevin McCarthy, possibly the next U.S. House Speaker, is shown during a 2019 news conference. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Are you excited about the 118th Congress? If not, you’re a communist.

True, the U.S. Senate is still in the hands of the godless Democrats who want to destroy America, but the House of Representatives now belongs to Republicans, the party of God, AK-47s, F-150s (and not the electric kind, either), manliness, Merry Christmas, and our lord and savior Donald Trump.

(Unless Ron DeSantis looks more electable, of course).

Kevin McCarthy will probably be House Speaker, taking over from the She-Devil of San Francisco. It’s not a guaran-damn-tee, mind. The man messed up when he said President Trump should “accept his share of responsibility” for that normal tourist visit to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and some of us in MAGA-world were not real happy.

Come on, what responsibility? Everyone knows that mixed in with normal tourists carrying Confederate battle flags and accidentally beating police officers were a bunch of Black Lives Matter radicals wearing whiteface.

However, Mr. McCarthy has since mended his ways, going down to Mar-a-Lago and prostrating himself before our Real President on one of those priceless all-acrylic carpets festooned with classified documents.

 Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, at the White House on April 17, 2020. Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Come January, he’s going to do the right things, the very, very right things, including investigate “Dr.” Anthony Fauci. Even though Fauci will be 82 and retired by then, the man needs to be held accountable for secretly creating the COVID virus with the Red Chinese, Bill Gates, George Soros, and the makers of “Game of Thrones” to control us via our precious bodily fluids.

While they’re at it, the House will also investigate the FBI for not liking Donald Trump, though they haven’t quite figured out who will investigate people who usually do the investigating. Doesn’t matter: Rep. Wrasslin’ Jim “Take it like a Man” Jordan, soon to be chair of the House Judiciary Committee, will figure something out. Maybe Ron DeSantis’ Election Kriminalpolizei can help.

They’ll investigate Ukraine and that weirdo president of theirs who disrespected the United States by not wearing a suit in his Kyiv bunker to address Congress.

Anyway, why doesn’t Zelensky like that nice Mr. Putin? Doesn’t he support Christian nationalism?

Investigate Hunter!

They’ll investigate Hunter Biden, and by the time they get through, he’ll be marched through the streets of D.C. with that laptop hanging around his neck.

They’ll investigate Joe Biden, maybe even impeach the guy. He stole the election. He’s in cahoots with Hillary Clinton. He’s making gas super-expensive. He’s old. His suits fit too well.

They’ll also investigate Jill Biden, Naomi Biden, Ashley Biden, Commander Biden, Major Biden, and Willow Biden.

Who’s paying for all that kitty litter, huh?

McCarthy has also promised some nice long and detailed hearings on how those brown people keep getting across the border and maybe, just for fun, impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who doesn’t even sound like a real American.

 Georgia’s U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks during a hearing, Friday, April 22, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, Pool)

Then they’ll investigate the cruel and vicious treatment of the Jan. 6 patriots. Kevin McCarthy promised Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of the great state of Jewish Space Lasers to get to the bottom of how the Justice Department colluded with Nancy Pelosi, hellcat of the Left Coast, to lock up and prosecute the decent white Christians who merely strolled into a public building and maybe broke a couple of things.

Antisemitism isn’t MTG’s only talent, oh golly no! She’s a fine little racist, too, equating Black folks with crime and crime with the Democratic Party, which is coincidentally full of Black folks who take white people’s stuff and refuse to acknowledge that this is a white country and anybody who doesn’t like it can leave, especially if they’re not white.

Speaker McCarthy will give MTG a leadership position. If he knows what’s good for him, that is.

You know who else will be a big deal in the 118th? Two veterans of the Second American Revolution of Jan. 6, George Santos, R-Omsk, and Derrick Van Orden, R-Novisibirsk, author of an entire book on the “lost art of manhood,” won their elections and are going to Washington, metal detector or no metal detector.

Bone chilling

Democrats are calling this “horrifying and bone-chilling.”

Calm down, ladies: They probably won’t break windows and poop in the corridors, but even if they do, you know perfectly well a little insurrection is good for you.

And while we’re basking in the awesomeness of Republicans’ single-digit majority in the House, let’s celebrate the reelection of Florida’s finest, Rep. Matt “let daddy buy you a teddy bear, darlin” Gaetz.

He’s bucking his own governor, Ron DeSanctimonious, to support Donald Trump in 2024, declaring we shouldn’t “bench our star quarterback at half-time.”

 Florida’s U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz is photographed inside the Rayburn House Office Building Feb. 27, 2019. Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

In one of those acts of extreme graciousness for which he is famous, President Trump apologized to Matt Gaetz on behalf of the nation for that unfair and unkind investigation into his propensity for under-age sex and alleged trafficking of a 17 year-old girl.

As for the Senate, well, the Dems probably cheated. Great that J.D. Vance, who went undercover at Yale to uncover how the elites get into venture capital then made a lot of money in venture capital, beat a socialist Democrat, but what the hell happened in Pennsylvania?

How does some tattooed stroke patient loser in a hoodie beat the famous Dr. Oz (an actual M.D. in New Jersey or Florida or maybe Turkey) who has helped thousands with his famous pregnancy hormone and 500-calorie a day diet and his faith in hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19.

Meanwhile in Arizona, Blake Masters, handsome and heavily armed, came in second to some astronaut guy.

Something is surely wrong here. Masters hit all the white people high notes, suggesting Kamala Harris is an affirmative action baby, blaming higher interest rates on diversity at the fed, ridiculing Native Americans, giving a shout-out to an ultra-right Russian influencer, and dissing Barack Obama.

Yet he lost by more than 100,000 votes. That had to be rigged.

Sen. Rick Scott, head of the Republican Senatorial Committee, was supposed to help the party take back the Senate. But because Republicans failed to get as many votes as Democrats (a totally unfair system), it didn’t work.

Nevertheless, in keeping with Sen. Scott’s dedication to service, he decided to challenge Mitch McConnell for minority leader.

He got picked on for saying it’s “unfair” that the poor don’t pay tax and people on welfare do more drugs than anyone else, and also because he squandered a lot of campaign money and failed miserably in 2022.

Still, he scared McConnell but good, getting 10 votes. Ted Cruz voted for him, which if the Deep State weren’t in charge of everything, should count triple. Texas should get more votes than dumbass places like Kentucky.

In any case, things are looking good. With all the hearings and accusations and innuendo, the House won’t get any bills to the Senate, which means government will do nothing, and isn’t that best for all of us?

And if Kevin McCarthy makes good on his promise to use defaulting on the national debt and crashing America’s credit to force cuts in Medicare, Social Security, and infrastructure spending, the fun just won’t quit.

America! We may blow up the world economy and democracy with it, but hell, we’ll sure own the libs.

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.

Diane Roberts
DIANE ROBERTS

Diane Roberts is an 8th-generation Floridian, born and bred in Tallahassee, which probably explains her unhealthy fascination with Florida politics. Educated at Florida State University and Oxford University in England, she has been writing for newspapers since 1983, when she began producing columns on the legislature for the Florida Flambeau. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Times of London, the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Oxford American, and Flamingo. She has been a member of the Editorial Board of the St. Petersburg Times–back when that was the Tampa Bay Times’s name–and a long-time columnist for the paper in both its iterations. She was a commentator on NPR for 22 years and continues to contribute radio essays and opinion pieces to the BBC. Roberts is also the author of four books, most recently Dream State, an historical memoir of her Florida family, and Tribal: College Football and the Secret Heart of America. She lives in Tallahassee, except for the times she runs off to Great Britain, desperate for a different government to satirize.

MORE FROM AUTHOR

There they go again: Gannett to lay off journalists just in time for the holidays. (Dan Kennedy, Media Nation)

Is GANNETT playing "Scrooge" with its employees and readers? You tell me.  

GANNETT playing Scrooge with journalists and readers.  Ill-timed layoffs show that Citibank and hedge funds are not to be trusted with a news monopoly.  Enough.  

From Dan Kennedy, Media Nation:


There they go again: Gannett to lay off journalists just in time for the holidays

Within the past hour I’ve received copies of an email from multiple sources about yet another round of layoffs that our largest newspaper chain is planning. The hammer is scheduled to drop on Dec. 1 and 2, just in time for the holidays.

The email comes from Henry Faure Walker, a Gannett executive who is described on the company’s website as “the Chief Executive Officer of Newsquest Media Group since 2014, managing more than 165 regional brands in the U.K. with an audience of 30 million.” He is also chair of the News Media Association, a British industry group. His operational role at Gannett is not listed in his company bio.

The most recent round of  cuts was announced only last month. At that time, the chain imposed unpaid furloughs, a 401(k) freeze, a hiring moratorium and other measures on its beleaguered employees, so this really adds insult to injury. The text of Walker’s email follows:

Dear Gannett News Division:

First and foremost, I want to thank you all for your commitment, hard work and professionalism during these unsettling times.

I have begun working with … the team to address the challenges and opportunities ahead and put the News operation on a sounder footing.

It’s important to provide you with visibility into current conditions and the next steps for our News division, as we are not immune to the economic conditions many industries and companies are facing, particularly in the media sector.

While we have taken several steps already, we must enter the new year in a stronger economic position, and the reality is that our News cost base is currently too high for the revenues it generates. Regretfully, this means we will be implementing further reductions.

I appreciate that this will impact valued colleagues, and we are committed to ensuring they are treated with the utmost respect and courtesy throughout this difficult process. Our goal is to be as transparent as possible. Notifications will occur on Dec. 1 and 2.

Please know that many non-payroll savings have also been targeted, and reducing our workforce is not the preferred course of action. In addition, other similar actions are being taken in other divisions across our organization.

We are going through challenging times, but we will get through this, and build a stronger business that underpins the phenomenal, trusted journalism you do and ensure that we can continue to deliver for our communities for many years to come. Thank you.

Henry

Over 200 unionized Gannett journalists stage one-day strike. (Poynter Institute)

I don't recall reading about this in any of GANNETT's badly mismanaged Florida newspapers, like the Incredible Shrinking St. Augustine Record.  Do you?  From Poynter Institute:  


Over 200 unionized Gannett journalists stage one-day strike

The journalists are protesting recent cuts at Gannett that include mass layoffs and planned furloughs.

November 4, 2022

More than 200 unionized journalists across 14 Gannett newsrooms staged a one-day strike Friday, the NewsGuild announced.

The journalists on strike represent a supermajority of their newsrooms, according to a Guild press release. Those newsrooms include The Arizona Republic, The Desert Sun in California,The Journal News in New York and The Record in New Jersey, among others. All of the participating units are in the midst of contract negotiations with Gannett, who the journalists say has offered insufficient wage proposals and refused to bargain in good faith.

In addition to delays in contract negotiations, the journalists are protesting recent cuts at Gannett that include mass layoffs and planned furloughs. In August, Gannett laid off 400 employees and left another 400 open positions unfilled. The company then announced in October that it would freeze hiring, suspend matching contributions to 401(k) accounts and impose mandatory unpaid leaves over the holidays.

Because of the cuts, Gannett’s headcount in the U.S. has fallen 6.5% in the last quarter. The company, which is the largest newspaper chain in the country, has roughly 12,300 employees. Dozens of Gannett papers now have skeleton staffs with just one or two reporters.

Susanne Cervenka, an investigative reporter at the Asbury Park Press who serves as the APP-MCJ Guild’s unit chair, said the strike is an attempt to show Gannett the impact of cutting staff.

“They seem to think that a newspaper will run without journalists,” Cervenka said. “Well, this is what it looks like when you have a day without journalists working.”

Gannett has also refused to pay its workers adequate wages, the NewsGuild says. Journalists have reported needing to work multiple jobs and relying on food banks and government assistance to make ends meet.

Insufficient wages is one of the reasons why Gannett newsrooms have been unionizing in droves in recent years. Since the August layoffs, journalists at The (Louisville) Courier-Journal and digital producers at Gannett’s Midwest newsrooms have gone public with union drives. The NewsGuild now represents roughly 1,500 workers across 50 Gannett newsrooms.

Workers at other unionized Gannett properties announced they would be holding lunch-time walkouts and other protests Friday in support of the striking journalists.

A Gannett spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement that the affected newsrooms will continue delivering news to readers.

“Our goal is to preserve journalism and serve our communities across the country. Despite the anticipated work stoppage in some of our markets, we will not cease delivering trusted news to our loyal readers. In addition, we continue to bargain in good faith to finalize contracts that provide equitable wages and benefits for our valued employees.”

The NewsGuild has been building up to this moment, holding a number of rallies and protests since the August layoffs announcement. Last month, the guild invited both union and nonunion Gannett workers to a virtual town hall and released a pay equity study covering six of its units.

The strike comes one day after Gannett released its third quarter results. For the second quarter in a row, the company lost $54 million, and CEO Mike Reed told analysts that he does not expect revenue to bounce back until 2024. Gannett is forecasting a total net loss of $60 million to $70 million this year.

Support high-integrity, independent journalism that serves democracy. Make a gift to Poynter today. The Poynter Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, and your gift helps us make good journalism better.
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Angela Fu is a reporter for Poynter. She can be reached at afu@poynter.org or on Twitter @angelanfu.

Fort Worth journalists launch first open-ended strike at McClatchy. (Poynter Institute)

Wonder if GANNETT and the Incredible Shrinking St. Augustine Record will report on this?  What do you reckon? Eairier this month, there was a one-day strike by hundreds of journalists at GANNETT's Chain Gang Journalism newspapers, unreported by the underhanded undeniably under qualified mis-managers at GANNETT. 

From Poynter Institute:


Fort Worth journalists launch first open-ended strike at McClatchy

The union at the Star-Telegram alleges that McClatchy has refused to bargain with them in good faith.


November 28, 2022

More than 20 workers representing the vast majority of unionized journalists at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram went on strike Monday, claiming that owner McClatchy has refused to bargain with them in good faith.

The two sides have been negotiating a first contract for two years. Among the issues at stake are workplace policies regarding salaries, sick leave, layoffs and severance. The union representing the journalists, the Fort Worth NewsGuild, filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board in August, alleging that McClatchy has violated federal labor law by refusing to negotiate fairly. The company also faces two other complaints of unfair labor practices.

During negotiations, McClatchy has repeatedly rejected the union’s proposals and sent back counterproposals reiterating company policy, Fort Worth NewsGuild vice president Kaley Johnson said.

“Bargaining is supposed to be a compromise on both sides,” Johnson said. “We know we’re not going to get everything we want. But McClatchy also should be aware that they’re not going to get the exact company policy in the contract because that’s why we unionized in the first place.”

One major point of contention is wages. In March 2021, McClatchy implemented $42,000 and $45,000 wage floors for its papers. But newly unionized papers like the Star-Telegram did not benefit from this increase as the company expected them to set their salaries through the contract negotiation process. 

During negotiations, the guild proposed a wage floor of $57,5000, which they based on the average cost of rent and utilities of a one-bedroom apartment in Fort Worth, Texas. McClatchy countered with a wage floor of $45,000. 

“This offer reflects the disregard and carelessness with which McClatchy has approached its proposals to date, as a $45,000 salary all but ensures journalists will continue to be priced out of this newsroom and leave for more stable opportunities elsewhere,” the guild wrote in a press release.

Star-Telegram executive editor Steve Coffman wrote in an emailed statement that the company plans to “continue to bargain in good faith.”

“The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is serving our communities, covering the news that matters to Tarrant County and North Texas,” Coffman wrote. “We continue to bargain in good faith and look forward to reaching an agreement.”

McClatchy, which owns 30 dailies, has seen a number of its papers — including the Star-Telegram — unionize following its acquisition by hedge fund Chatham Asset Management in 2020. The Star-Telegram is the first newspaper within the chain to go on an open-ended strike, a decision supported by more than 90% of cardholding union members. 

The union is prepared to strike until they get a fair contract, Johnson said. The next bargaining date is set for Dec. 8, though the guild is ready to hold emergency bargaining sessions before then.

The Star-Telegram strike is the latest in a string of newsroom work stoppages. Once a rarity, journalists are increasingly using strikes and strike threats to propel contract negotiations. Last month, workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette launched their own strike, marking the first open-ended newspaper strike in more than 20 years. Journalists at McClatchy’s three Florida papersheld a one-day work stoppage earlier this year.

Though striking is “terrifying,” it’s also necessary to secure fair working conditions for present and future Star-Telegram journalists, Johnson said.

“For-profit companies like McClatchy are not going to give employees fair working conditions on their own, unfortunately,” Johnson said. “So we have to fight for them even though we shouldn’t have to.”

Correction, Nov. 28, 2022: This article was updated to correct the date of the Fort Worth NewsGuild’s next bargaining session.  

Support high-integrity, independent journalism that serves democracy. Make a gift to Poynter today. The Poynter Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, and your gift helps us make good journalism better.
DONATE
Angela Fu is a reporter for Poynter. She can be reached at afu@poynter.org or on Twitter @angelanfu.
Angela Fu

Thieving, Disgraced Former Sheriff's Deputy Sentenced to Prison for Lying to FBI. (Orlando Sentinel)




Thieving Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Deputy SCOTT P. HAINES lied to FBI about stealing thousands of dollars from an elderly woman.  Why no victim restitution?  Orlando Sentinel article a week after USDOJ press release -- newspaper reporting leaves much to be desired.  Why such a short story?  Sad.  Do your jobs, journalists!

From Orlando Sentinel:


Former Florida deputy sheriff sentenced for lying to FBI, DOJ says

By Garfield Hylton

Orlando Sentinel

Nov 28, 2022 at 3:10 pm


A former Florida deputy was sentenced to more than a year in federal prison for lying to the FBI.


On Nov. 22, a judge handed down the sentence to Scott P. Haines, 50, of Milton, after his previous guilty plea on the charge of making material false statements to the FBI during an investigation that accused Haines of exploiting an elderly victim, the Department of Justice reported.


Haines was previously a deputy with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. During his plea in federal court, he admitted to a “personal involvement” with the elderly woman in Santa Rosa County, the DOJ stated.


He managed her property, finances and took rental payments on the woman’s behalf. He deposited those payments into his bank account without her permission, according to the DOJ.


When FBI agents confronted him about his role, he lied about depositing the money into his account, and his involvement with her rental properties and denied any knowledge of being in the woman’s will.


The original federal indictment came in January 2022 when Haines was also arrested on state charges of exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult, theft from a person 65 years of age or older, and unauthorized access of a computer system or network.


The federal plea agreement Haines signed in June stated he would plead guilty to just the one federal charge while the rest would be dismissed, and no victim restitution would be sought in the case, according to court documents.


The sheriff’s office cooperated fully with the FBI and FDLE investigation and immediately relieved Haines of his duties before the filing of criminal charges, the DOJ stated.


“Police officers are given immense trust and responsibility and are therefore held to a higher standard,” said Sherri E. Onks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division, “so there are serious consequences when one tarnishes the badge by breaking the law.”


Onks said Haines “disgraced his uniform” and emphasized the FBI has “zero tolerance for officials who prey on the citizens they have sworn to protect.”


Haines is now a convicted felon and will serve a year under supervised release when his prison term is complete. 


FBI press release:


Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Northern District of Florida

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Former Santa Rosa County Deputy Sheriff Sentenced To Federal Prison

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Scott P. Haines, 50, of Milton, Florida, was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison, following his previous guilty plea on the charge of making material false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation during an elder exploitation investigation.  United States Attorney Jason R. Coody announced the sentence. 

“Criminal conduct by those sworn to uphold the law represents a betrayal of the public trust,” stated U.S. Attorney Coody. “The corrupt acts of an individual law enforcement officer can erode the public’s trust in the legions of brave men and women who faithfully honor their oaths’ and place their lives on the line each day to keep our communities safe. We will vigorously investigate and prosecute any officer who betrays their sworn oath and the public’s trust.”

During his plea in federal court, Haines admitted that he became personally involved in the real property management and finances of an elderly woman in Santa Rosa County and deposited rental payments from tenants of the elderly woman into his own bank account without authority to do so.  When confronted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Haines made material false statements regarding his involvement with the rental properties, the depositing of rental payments into his personal account, and his knowledge and involvement with the Last Will and Testament of the elderly woman of which he became a beneficiary.

"Police officers are given immense trust and responsibility, and are therefore held to a higher standard,” said Sherri E. Onks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division, “so there are serious consequences when one tarnishes the badge by breaking the law.  Scott Haines disgraced the uniform when he abused his authority to victimize an elderly individual for his own personal gain, and his sentencing affirms that the FBI has zero tolerance for officials who prey on the citizens they have sworn to protect.”

The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office cooperated fully with the FBI/FDLE investigation and immediately relieved Haines of his duties prior to the filing of criminal charges.

Haines will be required to serve one year on federal supervised release following his incarceration.  He was formally adjudicated guilty by the United States District Court and is now a felon.  Haines previously relinquished his criminal justice certifications.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg prosecuted the case.   

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

Topic(s): 
Elder Justice
Financial Fraud
Contact: 
United States Attorney’s Office Northern District of Florida (850) 216-3845 libby.lastinger@usdoj.gov