Scroll down the page with the trackbar on the far right to read in this column …

•Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says the Senate will not approve roughly $100 billion in additional budget cuts for the coming fiscal year demanded by the House Freedom Caucus. 

•Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas filed his annual disclosure form and detailed three recent luxury trips paid for by conservative billionaire donors.

•“Is This All There Is?”; pundit-at-large Stephen Macaulay comments on Republican candidates, except ex-President Trump, at the first GOP presidential debate last month.

>>Read our latest Substack newsletter, “Doomsday Clock for Democracy Ticks Away,” at thehustings.substack.com.

In the center column …

•Biden visits India for the Group of 20 economic summit. Russia and China are not attending. 

•Trump administration trade advisor Peter Navarro has been found guilty in federal court on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress.

•Hunter Biden faces a federal indictment before the end of the month.

•Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s makes an unannounced visit to Ukraine.

We welcome your thoughts and opinions in the right- or left-column Comments section, or by email to editors@thehustings.news.

_____

A movement to disqualify Donald J. Trump from the 2024 presidential election is heating up, with all manner of legal scholars opining through various media outlets. A watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) names a handful of Colorado voters as petitioners and Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) as the respondent in a state court filing that says the 14^th Amendment’s insurrection clause disqualifies the 45^th president from running next year, the left-leaning Talking Points Memo reports. CREW plans to file such lawsuits in a number of states by year’s end in order to keep Trump off their ballots in November 2024.

However, there is worry among such never-Trumper pundits as David Frum, columnist for The Atlantic that CREW’s efforts will further fire up the ex-president’s supporters. 

What do you think? 

Comment on CREW’s court filing and/or other recent political news and issues in the appropriate section in this column or on the right column, or email editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leaning in the subject line.

_____

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says the Senate will not approve the roughly $100 billion in additional budget cuts sought by the MAGA-esque House Freedom Caucus, the right-leaning Washington Times reports. Congress has until September 30 to approve the budget in order to avoid a federal government shutdown, though Democrats are expected to propose a continuing resolution that would extend funding at current levels through December. 

Get ready for Christmas Eve on Capitol Hill!

Also in this column …

•Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has filed his annual financial disclosure report, with some details on luxury trips he took at the beneficence of Texas billionaire Harlan Crow. What do you think? Should Congress impose new ethics rules on the Supreme Court, or would such rules damage judicial independence?

•Pundit-at-large Stephen Macaulay laments the dearth of worthy Republican presidential candidates at last month’s debate in Milwaukee. Read “Is This All There Is?” by scrolling down the page via the trackbar on the far right (no irony intended). 

Comment on these issues and/or other recent political news and issues in the appropriate section in this column or on the left column, or email editors@thehustings.news and please, indicate your political leaning in the subject line.

_____

Democrats are poised to blame House Republicans for a federal government shutdown if Freedom Caucus hardliners manage to block passage of the budget before the new fiscal year begins the end of September. 

“This is really going to be driven by the House. They’re the ones that are going to bring [a shutdown] upon the country,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said (per Politico).

Of course, it is President Biden’s U.S. economy, and he potentially takes the fall next year if there is a potentially damaging shutdown. 

Meanwhile, House Democrats are looking at a continuing resolution (CR) potentially to pay for the federal government at current levels, through December, according to NPR’s Morning Edition.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) should be considered a key ally to Democrats and mainstream Republicans in both chambers, but he is hobbled by questions over his health after a second freeze in the middle of a press conference last month. Last week, Congress’ attending physician cleared McConnell to continue with his planned schedule, according to PBS Newshour.

Schedule: The full Senate only is in session Tuesday, September 5 through Monday, September 11. Both chambers are in session Tuesday, September 12 through Thursday, September 14. The House only is in session until Rosh Hashana the evening of Friday, September 15.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

_____

By Andrea Vale/Stacker

In November 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The IIJA's aim is simple, but sweeping: to use nearly $1 trillion to update the country's roads, bridges, railways, and broadband internet. These improvements are sorely needed. In 2021, the U.S. experienced a water main break every two minutes and nearly half of all public roads in the country were in "poor or mediocre condition," according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.

In the nearly two years since the act went into law, more than 32,000 projects have been funded nationwide through the IIJA. Notable highlights include upgrades to San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge; funding the construction of the Hudson Tunnel, which connects New Jersey to New York City; and funding for the deployment of high-speed internet to remote tribal communities. Projects both large and small have benefitted every U.S. state.

Stacker Studio's The General used federal funding data from the White House on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and data on announced and awarded funding projects to rank states by the percentage of their initial funding amounts still available as of April 20, 2023. Per the White House report, $428 billion was directly allocated to states based on a variety of factors including a general formula for road miles and bridges in "poor" condition.

Announced funding, which is captured from agency press releases, is preliminary and nonbinding and therefore may be contingent on grantees meeting certain requirements. Awarded funding, on the other hand, has been downloaded from USAspending.gov and represents actual obligations, which are defined as legally binding agreements that will result in outlays, either immediately or in the future.

Unlike announced funding, which provides the maximum amount a grantee may receive (subject to meeting certain requirements as noted above), awarded funding represents the sum of all obligations under that award as of the data date of the USAspending report, which is current as of March 31, 2023, and does not necessarily represent the final award amount.

However, states running low on funds need not panic. Additional funding is available for states or localities on an application basis; Montana has spent or allocated more than its original disbursement amount, for example.

Read on to find out how much your state has spent on infrastructure over the past two years, and what industries have been or will be improved the most.

#51. Montana

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 0%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $3.9 billion ($4,105 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.6 billion
--- Transportation: $1.4 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $3.0 billion
--- Broadband: $148.6 million
--- Other: $761.1 thousand

#50. Wyoming

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 5.2%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.6 billion ($4,215 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.5 billion
--- Transportation: $848.8 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.6 billion
--- Broadband: $18.0 million
--- Other: $308.5 thousand

#49. New Mexico

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 19.7%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $3.7 billion ($1,416 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.0 billion
--- Transportation: $1.3 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.3 billion
--- Broadband: $421.8 million
--- Other: $25.0 thousand

#48. Alaska

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 20.0%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $4.9 billion ($5,377 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.9 billion
--- Transportation: $2.5 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $970.3 million
--- Broadband: $407.5 million
--- Other: $59.6 million

#47. North Dakota

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 26.0%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.6 billion ($2,507 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.0 billion
--- Transportation: $883.6 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.1 billion
--- Broadband: $14.2 million
--- Other: $592.3 thousand

#46. Kentucky

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 37.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $6.5 billion ($901 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.1 billion
--- Transportation: $2.6 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.4 billion
--- Broadband: $64.0 million
--- Other: $3.5 million

#45. Louisiana

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 37.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $7.3 billion ($988 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.5 billion
--- Transportation: $3.4 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.1 billion
--- Broadband: $2.9 million
--- Other: $6.9 million

#44. Colorado

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 41.1%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $6.1 billion ($612 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.6 billion
--- Transportation: $2.2 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.2 billion
--- Broadband: $109.8 million
--- Other: $1.5 million

#43. Arkansas

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 41.4%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $5.0 billion ($955 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.9 billion
--- Transportation: $2.3 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $560.7 million
--- Broadband: $39.6 million
--- Other: $2.4 million

#42. Utah

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 43.7%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $4.0 billion ($659 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.2 billion
--- Transportation: $1.3 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $904.5 million
--- Broadband: $21.5 million
--- Other: $838.5 thousand

#41. Mississippi

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 44.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $4.5 billion ($843 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.5 billion
--- Transportation: $1.7 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $751.4 million
--- Broadband: $46.3 million
--- Other: $6.0 million

#40. Ohio

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 44.8%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $12.8 billion ($602 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $7.1 billion
--- Transportation: $5.9 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.2 billion
--- Broadband: $6.5 million
--- Other: $4.6 million

#39. Arizona

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 45.0%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $7.3 billion ($546 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.0 billion
--- Transportation: $2.6 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.3 billion
--- Broadband: $177.7 million
--- Other: $1.7 million

#38. Oklahoma

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 45.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $5.8 billion ($782 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.1 billion
--- Transportation: $2.3 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $530.7 million
--- Broadband: $322.7 million
--- Other: $1.0 million

#37. Michigan

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 47.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $10.8 billion ($564 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $5.7 billion
--- Transportation: $4.7 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $896.6 million
--- Broadband: $106.1 million
--- Other: $6.5 million

#36. South Dakota

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 49.0%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.8 billion ($1,595 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.5 billion
--- Transportation: $979.5 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $380.7 million
--- Broadband: $90.7 million
--- Other: $537.1 thousand

#35. Illinois

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 49.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $17.8 billion ($718 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $9.0 billion
--- Transportation: $6.5 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $2.4 billion
--- Broadband: $121.5 million
--- Other: $7.8 million

#34. Washington

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 49.4%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $8.6 billion ($558 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.3 billion
--- Transportation: $3.1 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.1 billion
--- Broadband: $106.0 million
--- Other: $51.9 million

#33. Maine

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 49.7%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.4 billion ($858 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.2 billion
--- Transportation: $874.2 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $280.1 million
--- Broadband: $6.5 million
--- Other: $28.2 million

#32. Tennessee

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 50.0%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $8.0 billion ($564 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.0 billion
--- Transportation: $2.9 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.0 billion
--- Broadband: $6.0 million
--- Other: $3.3 million

#31. Pennsylvania

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 50.2%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $17.8 billion ($683 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $8.9 billion
--- Transportation: $6.5 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $2.4 billion
--- Broadband: $6.6 million
--- Other: $3.4 million

#30. Iowa

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 51.0%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $5.1 billion ($778 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.5 billion
--- Transportation: $2.1 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $381.2 million
--- Broadband: $13.5 million
--- Other: $5.5 million

#29. West Virginia

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 51.4%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $4.4 billion ($1,204 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.1 billion
--- Transportation: $1.6 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $539.8 million
--- Broadband: $5.7 million
--- Other: $882.8 thousand

#28. Florida

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 51.9%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $19.1 billion ($413 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $9.2 billion
--- Transportation: $6.7 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $2.4 billion
--- Broadband: $7.4 million
--- Other: $5.8 million

#27. Nevada

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 52.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $4.0 billion ($607 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.9 billion
--- Transportation: $1.5 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $416.2 million
--- Broadband: $37.1 million
--- Other: $1.3 million

#26. Oregon

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 52.4%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $5.4 billion ($602 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.6 billion
--- Transportation: $1.9 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $505.4 million
--- Broadband: $88.8 million
--- Other: $38.5 million

#25. Nebraska

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 52.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $3.0 billion ($734 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.4 billion
--- Transportation: $1.0 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $358.7 million
--- Broadband: $45.8 million
--- Other: $898.4 thousand

#24. North Carolina

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 52.7%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $10.4 billion ($460 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.9 billion
--- Transportation: $3.9 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.0 billion
--- Broadband: $23.9 million
--- Other: $13.6 million

#23. Virginia

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 53.1%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $10.1 billion ($546 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.7 billion
--- Transportation: $3.8 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $917.1 million
--- Broadband: $6.7 million
--- Other: $5.6 million

#22. Rhode Island

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 54.1%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.6 billion ($1,079 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.2 billion
--- Transportation: $926.5 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $247.6 million
--- Broadband: $5.5 million
--- Other: $672.4 thousand

#21. Missouri

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 54.8%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $9.0 billion ($659 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.1 billion
--- Transportation: $3.1 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $848.1 million
--- Broadband: $103.3 million
--- Other: $4.0 million

#20. Alabama

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 54.8%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $7.0 billion ($620 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.1 billion
--- Transportation: $2.6 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $504.2 million
--- Broadband: $55.5 million
--- Other: $4.9 million

#19. California

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 55.2%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $44.6 billion ($511 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $20.0 billion
--- Transportation: $15.1 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $4.6 billion
--- Broadband: $176.5 million
--- Other: $36.1 million

#18. Hawaii

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 55.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.6 billion ($814 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.2 billion
--- Transportation: $935.2 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $214.1 million
--- Broadband: $22.9 million
--- Other: $167.0 thousand

#17. Idaho

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 55.9%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $3.0 billion ($688 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.3 billion
--- Transportation: $1.0 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $290.3 million
--- Broadband: $31.6 million
--- Other: $8.7 million

#16. Connecticut

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 56.2%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $6.0 billion ($730 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.6 billion
--- Transportation: $2.2 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $377.3 million
--- Broadband: $5.7 million
--- Other: $17.0 million

#15. Kansas

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 56.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $3.8 billion ($571 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.7 billion
--- Transportation: $1.3 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $361.0 million
--- Broadband: $15.5 million
--- Other: $235.6 thousand

#14. Vermont

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 56.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.2 billion ($1,502 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $972.0 million
--- Transportation: $714.2 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $251.7 million
--- Broadband: $5.5 million
--- Other: $580.5 thousand

#13. Minnesota

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 56.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $6.8 billion ($518 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.0 billion
--- Transportation: $2.4 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $437.5 million
--- Broadband: $97.1 million
--- Other: $2.1 million

#12. Massachusetts

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 56.7%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $9.3 billion ($579 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.0 billion
--- Transportation: $3.3 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $680.4 million
--- Broadband: $15.1 million
--- Other: $8.5 million

#11. Georgia

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 57.1%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $12.4 billion ($487 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $5.3 billion
--- Transportation: $4.4 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $882.7 million
--- Broadband: $42.9 million
--- Other: $4.6 million

#10. Wisconsin

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 57.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $7.3 billion ($527 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.1 billion
--- Transportation: $2.5 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $575.5 million
--- Broadband: $39.7 million
--- Other: $2.2 million

#9. Texas

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 57.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $35.4 billion ($501 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $15.0 billion
--- Transportation: $12.6 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $2.4 billion
--- Broadband: $15.5 million
--- Other: $9.8 million

#8. South Carolina

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 58.2%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $6.1 billion ($484 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.6 billion
--- Transportation: $2.2 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $337.4 million
--- Broadband: $6.0 million
--- Other: $3.3 million

#7. New Hampshire

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 58.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.0 billion ($613 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $855.2 million
--- Transportation: $619.3 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $226.0 million
--- Broadband: $5.5 million
--- Other: $4.3 million

#6. New Jersey

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 58.6%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $13.5 billion ($604 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $5.6 billion
--- Transportation: $4.4 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.2 billion
--- Broadband: $6.1 million
--- Other: $3.9 million

#5. Indiana

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 59.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $8.8 billion ($527 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.6 billion
--- Transportation: $3.0 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $593.5 million
--- Broadband: $5.8 million
--- Other: $1.5 million

#4. New York

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 59.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $26.9 billion ($555 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $10.9 billion
--- Transportation: $9.0 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.9 billion
--- Broadband: $16.9 million
--- Other: $6.4 million

#3. Washington D.C.

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 59.7%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $3.0 billion ($1,804 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.2 billion
--- Transportation: $924.8 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $280.3 million
--- Broadband: $5.5 million
--- Other: $1.3 million

#2. Maryland

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 59.9%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $7.4 billion ($481 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.0 billion
--- Transportation: $2.4 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $539.8 million
--- Broadband: $6.0 million
--- Other: $1.7 million

#1. Delaware

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 63.6%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.4 billion ($850 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $866.1 million
--- Transportation: $650.9 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $209.4 million
--- Broadband: $5.5 million
--- Other: $355.4 thousand

Data reporting by Sam Larson. Story editing by Brian Budzynski. Copy editing by Tim Bruns.

This story originally appeared on The General and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

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POSTED TUE 9/5/23

Republican House Freedom Caucus members are indicating they actually want a federal government shutdown by preventing passage of the coming fiscal year’s budget, Politico reports.

Ultra-conservative Rep. Bob Good (R-LA) says “most Americans wouldn’t even miss” the federal government if it shut down, according to the political news website. It reports that Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) said last month the goal is roughly $100 billion in spending cuts from President Biden’s budget bill. 

“We’ll see how these negotiations go. I think folks in leadership are taking us seriously,” Clyde said. 

COMMENTS: Enter yours in this or the left column, or email editors@thehustings.news and indicate whether you lean right or left in the subject line.

--TL

_____

Do not miss Stephen Macaulay’s two latest columns from the right.>>>>> After all, The Hustings is all about closing echo chambers. 

Macaulay brings his conservative, never-MAGA perspective to “Is This All There Is?” on the candidates who appeared for the first GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee, August 23. 

In “Being and Somethingness,” Macaulay comments on the Fulton County, Georgia grand jury’s indictment of the ex-president in The State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump.

_____

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas released his annual financial disclosure form Thursday with a response “in detail” to reports of luxury trips, private jet flights and real estate transactions with Texas billionaire Harlan Crow (The New York Times). Thomas detailed two flights to Dallas and one to Keene Mill, New York, on Crow’s jet, and on one occasion said he had been advised to avoid commercial air travel after a draft of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization last year was leaked to Politico. Thomas, of course, voted with the majority to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

And so, the debate over whether Congress should impose an ethics standard over SCOTUS, and whether justices should be subject to limited terms or an age limit rages on. 

As always, your thoughts on this and other recent news items here are welcome. Go to the Comment section of this column or the one on the left, or email editors@thehustings.news and indicate whether you lean left or right in the subject line.

_____

Read pundit-at-large Stephen Macaulay’s critique of Wednesday’s GOP presidential debate, “Is This All There Is?” in the right column >>.

Analysis of the debate is in the center column >

… scroll down the page using the trackbar on the far-right to read “Debating in Trump’s Absence.”

There’s more news & politics further down the page, which you can reach with that same far-right trackbar. Read about how India landed an unmanned space craft on the moon’s south pole, and Russia crashed one trying to land there. 

As always, you can make The Hustings a, well, hustings, for civil political discourse with a Comment in the appropriate column or an email to editors@thehustings.news.

_____

By Stephen Macaulay

There were two clown cars on the road Wednesday, one traveling to Atlanta, the other to Milwaukee. The former was piloted by Rudy Giuliani, the man who has gone from being a respected leader to the sort of man who has a sense of reality that is a few degrees off of what the rest of the world perceives … which may be a slight exaggeration as a distinction should be made that there is still something known as “Trump World,” the inhabitants of which seemingly live in a world that is defined only by what Donald Trump tells them …

“What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening. Just stick with us,” he pronounced on July 25, 2018, and they’ve been blind and illiterate ever since.

The other car — not an autonomous one, as that would be too technologically advanced and there is a suspicion of technology, as it is probably “woke,” even though they don’t quite have a definition for the word, but it sounds meaningful to their ears — carried people who are apparently running for vice president, including Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Doug Burgum. While it isn’t clear precisely what they think needs to be done to improve anything (possibly because Biden has been doing a good job on things his predecessor didn’t: the unemployment rate is 3.5%, inflation is at 3.18% -- compare that to 6.2% in Germany and 6.8% in the UK -- and the Inflation Reduction Act has some $500 billion in spending and tax breaks that, among other things, are helping to rebuild the infrastructure that Trump never did anything about despite pronouncements that he would), what is clear is that they are still pledging fealty to Trump. Ramaswamy has come right out and said that he would pardon Trump were he convicted of any of the federal crimes he is currently charged with (isn’t this a slap in the face of the American voters: if he is convinced it will be by regular citizens, so Ramaswamy is essentially saying they don’t know what they are doing). DeSantis, Scott, Haley, and to a lesser extent Burgum, talk about the “weaponization of the Justice Department,” which is code for “How dare they pay any attention to the evidence that shows [think of the documents in the bathroom of Mar-a-Lago] wrongdoing!”

Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson weren’t in that car, because they are actually running for president. And Pence, in effect, had to take a bus to Milwaukee because his apparent change of mind (soul?) on Trump is so late in coming that he couldn’t get a rental.

So they climb on the stage for the Fox News-hosted “debate,” though one wonders about the “News” part of that name: didn’t it settle a lawsuit costing nearly a billion dollars due to its election-results-denial “reporting”?

Characteristic of its slack-spined approach to things that may seem to be critical of Trump, Fox’s Bret Baier (let’s not call him a “moderator” because that would be to undignify real moderators) asked the assembled whether they would support “the elephant not in the room” — gee, Bret, a funny pun to boot! — were he convicted.

Convicted.

CONVICTED.

It is surprising Ramaswamy didn’t give himself a rotator cuff injury as a result of his eager hand raise.

Hutchinson stood by his stated conviction (not the same as being convicted of a felony) and didn’t raise his hand.

Christie half-assed it by raising a finger, then saying he didn’t approve of what Trump did. With all due respect to the man who was a U.S. attorney, “approval” isn’t the issue when condemnation should be. Christie was sufficiently critical of Trump to garner boos from the audience. But that digit goes a long, long way to make that less substantial than it really ought to be.

The rest of those who arrived in the clown car raised their hands.

While it may appear there is too much attention being given to Trump here and not enough on policy matters, there wasn’t a whole lot of discussion of what they would actually do to improve the lot of the American citizens, and Trump remains the issue if any of these people seriously want to move to the White House, not Number One Observatory Circle.

And how scary the prospect of The Return of Trump is can be discerned from his conversation with Tucker Carlson:

“Jan. 6 was a very interesting day because they don’t report it properly. People in that crowd said it was the most beautiful day they ever experienced. There was love and unity. I have never seen such spirit and such passion and such love.”

At the very least, the man is delusional.

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

There were candidates among the eight on stage for the Republican presidential debate Wednesday, beside former governors Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, who seemed ready to move on past Donald J. Trump’s MAGA presidential debate.

Were there any you could live with? If you lean left, please leave a Comment below, or email editors@thehustings.news and list yourself as “left,” “liberal” or “progressive” in the subject line.

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