...the local chapter of the "Every Accusation is a Confession" party is reacting to the events of the past week just exactly as you would expect.
From Peoria news station 25, "Your Home Team", and WAND, "Central #Illinois' best source for #news and #weather." (see what they did there with the little hash-tags):
Illinois Freedom Caucus seeks Pritzker’s removal from office over ‘vile’ rhetoric
The Illinois Freedom Caucus has filed articles of impeachment against Gov. JB Pritzker over “vile comments” made against Republicans.
The eastern Illinois Republicans are furious with Pritzker’s response to the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
Pritzker expressed sympathy for Kirk and his family while condemning political violence at an unrelated event Wednesday. However, the Democrat said President Donald Trump ignites this type of violence.
“We saw the shootings, the killings in Minnesota. We’ve seen other political violence occur in other states,” Pritzker said. “I would just say, it’s got to stop. I think there are people fomenting it in this country. I think the president’s rhetoric often foments it.”
Republicans have criticized Pritzker’s increased attacks on the GOP over recent years, including a speech where Pritzker said Republicans cannot know a moment of peace earlier this spring. Many are upset that Pritzker blamed their party’s leader for the rise in violence following Kirk’s death.
“For him to say these things for political gain is unacceptable,” said Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich). “That’s what this is all about. This is about political gain for radical Democrats and pushing a woke narrative. They can’t amount to anything to get that done, including assassinating conservatives at college campuses.”
Niemerg and Rep. Chris Miller (R-Hindsboro) told WAND News they know Democrats have no desire to impeach Pritzker. They argued that other Illinois Democrats are complicit in the governor’s actions.
“Just the rhetoric is nonstop about being Nazis and about being fascists,” Miller said. “That includes people like me. I’m a farmer from downstate Illinois. I’m about the farthest thing from a Nazi that you will ever see. It’s extremely inflammatory to me personally and also my family and all the things we stand for.”
Pritzker said no one in this country should have to fear gun violence, whether they’re in class in high school or attending an event on a college campus. The Pritzker administration reiterated that the governor condemned the shooting that killed Charlie Kirk and believes political violence should never become the norm.
“Just two nights ago, I called for the governor to resign frankly over his terrible comments blaming Trump and Jan. 6 for Charlie Kirk’s political assassination,” Niemerg said. “The governor has shown that he is not capable of leading. He has shown that he needs to be removed from office, and that needs to happen immediately.”
Because the only law these elected Jukes and Kallikaks believe applies to them is Murc's Law.
No, that's "Burke's Law".
This is Murc's Law.
“Murc’s Law” [was] named after a commenter at the blog Lawyers, Guns, and Money who noticed years ago the habitual assumption among the punditry that Republican misbehavior can only be caused by Democrats. Do Republicans reject climate science? Must be because Democrats failed to persuade them! Did Republicans pass unpopular tax cuts for the rich? Must be that Democrats didn’t do enough to guide them to better choices! Do Republicans keep voting for lunatics and fascists? It must be the fault of Democrats for being mean to them! Even D____ T____’s election was widely blamed on Democrats — who voted against him, to be clear — on the bizarre grounds that Barack Obama should have rolled over and just let Mitt Romney win in 2012.
So, has this ludicrous, stumblebum circus made any forward progress in the past few days? Well, if you define "progress" in the broadest possible terms, and measure it in micrometers, I suppose it has.
From WGN, Chicago, today:
Pritzker’s rhetoric sparks impeachment calls from Illinois conservatives
As you know, we here at the driftglass blog love a good rhetoric sparking that leads to calls for things. Tell me more, World's Greatest Network!
Sadly it's mostly retreads of what we already know ... except this. Using the opening three paragraphs to execute what we in the trade call the ol' "A.P. Stylebook eyeroll".
Amidst a debate over how to quell political violence in America, Illinois elected leaders from both sides of the aisle are calling for a change in tone.
Hey, both sides agree that tones should be changed. Isn't that great!
In the aftermath of the fatal shooting of activist Charlie Kirk, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has called for the country to come together to end political violence.
And the governor is leading the way. Isn't that terrific!
And then, the eyeroll, which I will highlight for your elucidation...
But the Illinois House Freedom Caucus, comprised of conservative state lawmakers, accuses the governor of inciting violence. The group brought articles of impeachment against Pritzker, citing various statements made by the Democratic Party, including remarks in New Hampshire back in April.
The article continues:
Illinois State Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich) further explained the motivation behind the Illinois House Freedom Caucus.
“We’ve proceeded with Articles of Impeachment against Governor Pritzker for his own hateful rhetoric, as well as no safety and security here in the state of Illinois,” Niemerg said...
Republicans also criticized Pritzker for statements made during his February State of the State address.
“The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here: They point to a group of people who don’t look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems. If you think I’m overreacting and sounding the alarm too soon, consider this: It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours, and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic,” Pritzker said...
Niemerg said Pritzker is attempting to do a bureaucratic shuffle.
“He’s trying to act like his hateful rhetoric has not been heard by the radical left,” Niemerg added.
Then, in the last paragraph, comes the little touch that makes it art. The article covering what everyone knows is time-wasting garbage conjured into existence by the dregs at the bottom of the Illinois MAGA barrel is bookended by another A.P. Stylebook eyeroll, which I have highlighted for your edification:
The Articles of Impeachment are unlikely to move forward, as the Democratic supermajority in Springfield would need to agree to bring the bill to the floor. Also worth noting is that the GOP leadership did not introduce the measure.
Worth noting indeed.
Mark this hot saga as "Developing!"
Rendition Gulag Barbie was scheduled to come here this morning so she could stand in front of the Governor's residence and mouth off. So, along with a number of neighbors and fellow travelers, I hied myself down to the the guv's house to share in a spirited public expression of "Fuck Right Off" in response to her presence.
But because she is a coward she never showed up. And you could clearly see why. The guv's residence was decorated in "Due Process For All" banners, and of the more than 100 people I saw at the thing, among all the signs and clackers and cowbells and air horns, nary a single MAGA goof did I see. Not one fascist-friendly face. Instead, turns out Rendition Gulag Barbie was reduced to flying all the way here to skulk in an alley miles away with a few of her fellow fascists before beating it out of town.
How embarrassing.
From The Illinois Times:
Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem a no-show at Governor's Mansion
Held press conference instead near the site of Emma Shafer's murder
On Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Secretary Kristi Noem would be visiting Springfield the following morning to tout her "Making America Safe Again" agenda and speak out against Gov. JB Pritzker's immigration policies and Illinois' status as a sanctuary state. No time or location for her press conference was publicized, but it was believed that she would make an appearance in front of the Governor's Mansion at 10 a.m.
The Springfield Immigrant Advocacy Network, Illinois State AFL-CIO, 50501 Illinois and other activist groups began encouraging their supporters to show up and stage a counterprotest. A crowd gathered in front of the Governor's Mansion this morning, many with signs and some with their faces obscured to conceal their identities, but Noem did not appear...
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias held a press conference across from the Governor's Mansion at 10:30 a.m. in response to Noem's visit.
"The combination of cowardice, incompetence and cruelty is a very scary mix," Giannoulias said. "So while I'm glad she's not here, we need to step up as as a society, as a country and as a democracy to monsters like Kristi Noem."
From The Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois
Kristi Noem has no right to use Emma Schafer when her mother is across town protesting her unconstitutional approach to immigration.
From my alderwoman:
The DHS and Feds picked the absolute wrong person to use as a prop today in Springfield, IL. Her memory and her LIFE’S WORK will not be defiled by the absolute ghouls who did this and those from our community who stood by in support of doing this. In the words of our Governor, may they never know a moment’s peace.
A message from her parents:
Of course the Springfield Immigrant Advocacy Network was there.
Can you spot me in this pic?
Well done, Springfield. After cowing Rendition Gulag Barbie into such a humiliating public retreat practically in the shadow of one of her bosses loudest and most effective critics (from The Hill) --
Pritzker’s office mockingly calls for ‘all pet owners’ to beware ahead of Noem visit
-- because I am a movie nerd, I can't help but think about what Sam Spade sarcastically tells the incompetent gunsel, Wilmer, in The Maltese Falcon after easily stripping him of his ridiculously large guns:
Come on. This'll put you in solid with your boss.
She ran away. And you know how Trump loves it when his people make him look like a fool.
Trump rally speakers lob racist insults, call Puerto Rico ‘island of garbage’
Immigration 101: Who is Tom Homan?
Tom Homan was the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal immigration agency responsible for arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants, from 2017 to 2018. Since leaving the Trump Administration, Homan has associated with hate groups and has been a vocal messenger of white nationalist conspiracy theories. Homan recently told the New York Times he would “agree to come back” in a second Trump term and “run the largest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.”Under Trump, Tom Homan was notorious for wanting to prosecute elected officials and directed the department to mass-deport immigrants regardless of priorities. “You should be uncomfortable, you should look over your shoulder, and you need to be worried,” Homan warned undocumented families in 2017. During a speech the following year, he bragged that he was “enjoying” then-President Trump’s deportation agenda.
In late 2023, Tom Homan went on Fox news to discuss historic levels of deportation under a possible Trump second term. He stated, “No one’s off the table [for deportation]. If you’re in the country illegally in violation of immigration law, you are a target.” He continued by saying, “I’m not fooling myself into thinking we can remove twenty million people. But, you know, we’re going to give it one hell of a shot and remove as many as we can.“Since at least 2018, Tom Homan has been a readily-available anti-immigrant Fox News contributor, where he has profusely spread the dangerous and violence-inducing white nationalist narrative of a migrant “invasion” at the border. Homan blamed Biden for a rise in border apprehensions months before the 2020 election even took place, and continued to talk about an “invasion” as an “intentional” move by the Biden Administration.
Trump's ICE Director Doesn't Care About Families Separated at BorderDuring his time as acting director of ICE, Homan was in charge of the early version ofTrump's "zero tolerance" immigration enforcement policy that detained and criminallycharged adults who crossed the border into the U.S. without permission. Detained adultswho entered with children had those children taken from them, which generated muchcontroversy and criticism because families found diculty in reconnecting later since thegovernment didn't have a system in place for reunification."I'm sick and tired of hearing about the family separation," Homan said at CPAC. "I'm stillbeing sued over that.... I don't give a s***, right? Bottom line is, we enforced the law."...Homan, though, indicated during his remarks at CPAC that he did not have muchsympathy for parents who are separated from their children when they enter the U.S.without permission."When I was a cop in New York and I arrested a father for domestic violence or someonefor DUI [driving under the inuence], I separated that family," he said. "When you violatethe law with a child, you're going to be separated.""They chose to separate themselves," Homan added.
$125 per person Reservation for Dinner & Program$50 per person VIP Reception (must include dinner purchase) Meet & Greet the Speaker$1000 per couple – Secure Border Roundtable with Speaker Tom Homan and Other Officials
$2000 Lincoln Great Table seating closest to the stage. Dinner for ten (10). Complimentary Wine, Gift Basket. Name listed in program and on video display.$1500 Presidential Choice Table and Dinner for ten (10). Name listed in program and on video display.$750 Legislative Five (5) dinner reservations. Name listed in program and on video display.
$150 Railsplitter Sponsorship only – no dinner reservation. Name listed in program.
Kellyanne Conway, an advisor of former President Donald Trump, will be the keynote speaker of the Sangamon County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day dinner.Sangamon County GOP chair Dianne Barghouti Hartwick said the dinner, scheduled for 6 p.m. on May 3, has been a fundraiser for the party dating back more than 100 years. Tickets begin at $125 per person for the dinner with photo opportunities available for $50 each.
Former Trump advisor to headline Sangamon County's GOP Lincoln Day dinnerKellyanne Conway, an advisor of former President Donald Trump, will be the keynote speaker of the Sangamon County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day dinner.
Sangamon County GOP chair Dianne Barghouti Hartwick said the dinner, scheduled for 6 p.m. on May 3, has been a fundraiser for the party dating back more than 100 years. Tickets begin at $125 per person for the dinner with photo opportunities available for $50 each.
She first saw Conway speak in Peoria and was impressed by what she heard describing Conway as "very dynamic and very smart."
"We go with who we think will be interesting in our county and a few other counties," Hartwick said Tuesday.
Asked about Conway's ties to Trump, now embattled with legal charges tied to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, Hartwick reiterated that the selection was not regarding the former president. Trump carried Sangamon County in 2020 despite losing Illinois and the overall election.
Instead, that Peoria speech delivered by Conway resonated with Hartwick.
"She was all about the positive things of America and working towards other positive things," she said....
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was the 2022 Lincoln Day dinner speaker.
...
Here, like everywhere else, the party is an admix of bigots, imbeciles, fundamentalists, ammosexuals, Conservative family dynasties, whiny Libertarians, and assorted other weirdos and perverts. Here, like everywhere else, behind every wreck-the-gummint initiative and think tank, and every wannabe Trump candidate for higher office you will find a crackpot neofascist billionaire financiers willing to pour staggering amounts of money into The Cause. However unlike elsewhere the antics of our Looney Party don't leach into the nation headlines because at the moment, here in the Land of Lincoln, Republicans are outnumbered and largely impotent.And while you might think that living in a state where the government actually tries to help its citizens would have a leavening effect, you would be wrong. Because these days all politics are no longer local. They're national. And our local Republicans seethe with all the venomous prejudices and resentments that drive the national party. Richard Irvin -- a "More Law-n-Order Than Thou" guy running in the Republicans gubernatorial primary -- is being attack-ad bombed by his opponents because he once said something positive about Black Lives Matter. Between screeching that the Squad's Socialist Green New Dead is "killing us at the gas pump" and mocking Joe Biden as mentally out to lunch, area nutjob Mary Miller repeats that she is "the Trump-endorsed candidate" for IL15 at every opportunity. And all of them bend the knee to the Big Lie by emphasizing their unstinting support for "election integrity".And it's only going to get worse.
To understand the real significance of this above-the-fold headline story in todays State Journal-Register you really have to read it from back-to-front. Because this is not just about why this particular group of Republican mopes and dregs have chosen to pay an unhinged Hitler-sympathizer and batshit conspiracy PEZ-dispenser like Candace Owens to keynote their 117th annual Lincoln Day Dinner.This is about the fact that the entire Republican party is utterly (to borrow a phrase from the late Hunter Thompson) decadent and depraved all the way down to the local level, and how the cowardice and ruthless opportunism that is hardwired into the party means there is no longer any way out of the doom-loop they have locked themselves into.
“'Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?'
'To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.'
'The dog did nothing in the night-time.'
'That was the curious incident,' remarked Sherlock Holmes.”
-- Arthur Conan Doyle, Silver Blaze
...will include multiple activities centered around outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, camping and survival.Actually, describing it as an article is not strictly accurate. It's really just a glowing press release for the event, which is completely understandable since local paper is sponsoring it:
“The State Journal-Register is excited to host the Outdoor Expo and provide Springfield and central Illinois residents with fun entertainment, helpful outdoor information and connections to local businesses,” SJ-R General Manager Eugene Jackson said.And this is perfectly fair. From election debates to recycling programs, newspapers routinely use their platform promote events they sponsor (if I owned my own local paper, I would be promoting the hell out of The Professional Left podcast and every cause my family and friends are involved with.)
...a vocal pro-hunting voice and avid outdoorsman.He is --
"America’s No. 1 Outdoors Role Model"-- who has --
...racked up numerous accolades as he has championed the outdoors, including being named favorite “Hunting Personality” by the readers of Outdoors Magazine.-- and has an "award-winning" teevee show on the Outdoor Channel.
...an outspoken proponent of 1st and 2nd Amendment rights, serves on the board of directors of Gun Owners of America and has served continuously on the NRA board of directors since his initial election in 1995.In case you're unaware, the Gun Owners of America is a extremist gun-hording splinter group that split with the NRA because the NRA wasn't bloody, batshit crazy enough. And it should come as no surprise to anyone that the SJ-R's celebrity headline speaker is on their board because the SJ-R's celebrity headline speaker is none other than Ted Nugent.
I am so thrilled to bring America’s No. 1 Outdoors Role Model Ted Nugent to Springfield as our headline speaker for this amazing event. We look forward to an exciting day of fun for all ages.But what about the rest of Ted Nugent's extensive CV? All those other things for which Ted Nugent is famous but which somehow never made it into Eugene Jackson's paean to America’s No. 1 Outdoors Role Model?
Yeah, this is the treasonous scumbag that General Manager of the SJ-R is just fucking tickled pink will be headlining his "exciting day of fun for all ages" Outdoor Expo a month from now:Nugent’s 2012 comments about Obama — who he has called a “piece of shit” and a “subhuman mongrel” — are far from the only threat he’s made against prominent Democrats. As the Daily Beast chronicled, Nugent discussed shooting Harry Reid during the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in 2015. In January 2016, he called for both Obama and Clinton to “be tried for treason & hung.” Nugent once called Clinton a “worthless bitch” and called for her to “ride one of these [guns] into the sunset.” He told Obama to “suck on my machine gun.”
Judge Threatens Jeff Parsons With Criminal ContemptA federal judge has threatened to hold former THR and Associates boss Jeff Parsons in criminal contempt of court if he doesn’t provide the documents needed to proceed with his case.Parsons last appeared in court July 10th when he was ordered to produce documents related to THR and his current buy/sell/trade ventures. He owes former employees and vendors more than $12 million and declared bankruptcy in 2012.Parsons, again, didn’t provide everything needed. He solicited an attorney and accountant to go through receipts and compile financial reports, but he didn’t provide transaction reports or invoices for any good, silver or other goods he bought at shows and then and sold to Steve Mileham, the man who owns Goldlink on MacArthur Blvd. in Springfield.Parsons told attorney Doug Quivey, representing Parson’s former employees and vendors, that Mileham buys materials purchased at road shows and offers what’s called “advances” in exchange. Quivey, poring over documents, says Mileham has “advanced” Parsons nearly $2 million since he filed for bankruptcy in 2012.Parsons didn’t provide transaction reports detailing how much, if any, of that money went into his business accounts...
The Roadshow is overTHR heads for bankruptcyBy Bruce Rushton...Help wanted billboards erected in Springfield promised six-figure salaries to folks who went to work for THR & Associates, a company formed in 2008 that almost overnight became a multimillion-dollar firm. With Parsons as its president, CEO and sole shareholder, THR set up buying events in hotels throughout the nation, luring customers through newspaper ads, then convincing them to sell coins, jewelry, watches, antiques and anything else of value, especially if it contained gold or silver.The goal was to buy low, sell high, and THR did a lot of it. In 2010, the company had revenue of $125 million and Parsons reaped nearly $9 million in profits. Revenue last year was $211 million, with a net profit of almost $11 million, according to testimony in the pending divorce case of Parsons vs. Parsons, which has laid bare the inner workings of THR and the largesse of Jeffrey Parsons, who had finally hit it big. But not for long.THR is headed for bankruptcy, and its bank accounts have been frozen by the Internal Revenue Service, according to recent testimony in the divorce case. The Illinois attorney general’s office has launched an investigation, and a federal criminal probe could be in the offing.Between delinquent payroll taxes and unpaid personal income taxes, the state and federal governments are owed about $13 million by THR and Parsons, who resigned as the company’s chief executive officer on July 13, a Friday. He deposited his final paycheck in the account of his live-in girlfriend and mother of his infant child so that the IRS would not seize the money. He testified last week that his own bank account has a balance of $360....
