Speaks on a sentence

Polls indicate that Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney is likely to lose her primary election Tuesday, largely because key figures in her party have coalesced behind her challenger Harriet Hageman. One such figure is California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who campaigned for Hageman Monday and spoke to Fox News about the race. The House Minority Leader is not known for his wits on Capitol Hill — so much so that there was a lengthy Politico article about how many congressional reporters "don’t think he’s the sharpest tool in the shed" but don't articulate this belief publicly because "stupid may be one of Washington’s last taboos." When speaking to Fox on Monday, McCarthy offered a few garbled sentences, including: "The principle philosophy is less government, an idea of freedom in the aspect that just the concepts of a country that's conceived in liberty and dedicated proposition that we're all it has," and "I think [Cheney's] whole focus has been different. Her whole focus has been against … [Read more...] about Liz Cheney mocks Kevin McCarthy’s speaking skills ahead of Wyoming primary

A day after he and ten others were released from jail in the case related to the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots, convict Shailesh Bhatt claimed that they were "victims of politics." Bhatt, 63, who said he was a local functionary of the ruling BJP when he was arrested, and others including his brother and co-convict Mitesh left for their village Singor in Gujarat's Dahod district after walking out of the Godhra jail. Sentenced to life imprisonment, they were released on Monday under the Gujarat government's remission policy after completing more than 15 years in jail. Their reception at the village on Tuesday was muted and there was no visible celebration."Singor is a small village. All the convicts belong to this village. We were all victims of politics," said Shailesh Bhatt, speaking to reporters. He was a farmer and also an office-bearer of the district unit of the BJP while his brother worked as a clerk at Panchmahals … [Read more...] about We Were Victims of Politics, Says Bilkis Case Convict Day After Being Freed

GOP Representative Lauren Boebert has vowed to tweet "even more" about "groomers" after a report found that her Twitter account was the third most influential in the U.S. at spreading "the hateful groomer narrative." The report, jointly produced by the Center for Countering Digital Hate and the Human Rights Campaign, was written as a response to "a growing wave of violence, hate and demonization targeting LGBTQ+ people in the United States." It focuses on "the false and baseless lie that LGBTQ+ people 'groom' children," which the authors said had "driven offline hate crimes." The report listed the top 10 Twitter accounts that have promoted the "groomer narrative," with Boebert, a Colorado Republican, in third place. Her "top 50 most-viewed hateful tweets" were judged to have reached 7 million people. This put her behind only fellow House Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene and writer James Lindsay, who were estimated to have reached 17,954,000 and 11,792,000 people, … [Read more...] about Boebert vows “even more” groomer tweets after coming “only third” on list

The man who was about to interview Salman Rushdie at the Chautauqua Institution last Friday when a would-be murderer ran onstage with a knife is a 73-year-old former telemarketing entrepreneur from Pittsburgh named Henry Reese. He wears bow ties and speaks with a low-key, husky voice and shuns attention. But Reese and his wife, Diane Samuels, are two of the more remarkable ordinary people in America. They’ve transformed a blighted Pittsburgh street into a haven for persecuted writers and artists from around the world. It’s called City of Asylum, and it’s a physical manifestation of the universal value of free expression. This achievement has something to do with what happened on Friday, two and a half hours north of Reese’s home turf. The Chautauqua Institution is an idyllic lakeside community, with an entry gate and streets lined by picturesque Victorians, where paying visitors—a lot of them retirees from the Midwest, more middle class than coastal culture seekers—stay for a summer … [Read more...] about The Man Onstage With Salman Rushdie