(To be fair, though… our institutions have been taking the piss out of themselves for years…)
New documents claim Prince Andrew allegedly persuaded authorities to give Epstein a sweetheart deal in his underage prostitution casehttps://t.co/5AFKyDOZYX
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 31, 2020
Now, where were we…?
Dominic Cummings: "What would make the worst year in modern record even more of a tasty treat? I've got it! Let's give peerages to people like Gisela Stewart, Kate Hoey and Claire Fox."
Boris Johnson: "Spiffing wheeze, old bean. Consider it done!"https://t.co/7xfhpLU1Mo
— Edwin Hayward 🦄 🗡 (@uk_domain_names) July 31, 2020
Boris Johnson’s list of new peerages, stuffed with his Brexiteer mates, is an illustration of cronyism at its most odious and an affront to our democracy
— Mary Riddell (@MaryRiddell) July 31, 2020
Nepotism:
The practice among those with power or influence of favouring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.
— James Melville (@JamesMelville) July 31, 2020
Nothing to see here, folks.
Except… a week after the publication of the Russia report, Boris Johnson has appointed the son of a former KGB and FSB spy to the House of Lords.
Write up from @Otto_English for @BylineTimes 🔽🔽https://t.co/XIfKQ7T0dR
— Sam Bright (@WritesBright) July 31, 2020
A year later, it’s Lord Lebedev. To put it in language that even the PM understands (taken from the motto of his role model, Mayor Quimby): “Corruptus in Extremis.”https://t.co/HjZSW7RhGC
— Francis Wheen (@FrancisWheen) July 31, 2020
BJ’s brother Jo Johnson, cricketer Ian Botham, billionaire £2m Conservative party donor Michael Spencer, Charles Moore who paid PM to write his weekly Telegraph column, Standard owner Russian Evgeny Lebedev, all made peers https://t.co/afS4IcOQqn
— Paul Lewis (@paullewismoney) July 31, 2020
The list of new peerages is utterly shameless. The People's Government is a total joke
— John Crace (@JohnJCrace) July 31, 2020
and even yet…
"'Furious' Boris Johnson threatens Lords reform after peerages for Tory party donors blocked". There are many good reasons for reforming the House of Lords. Its reluctance to be used as a reward for party donors is not one of them. https://t.co/Dt6FfEr70G pic.twitter.com/0Oyz5DIc47
— Robert Saunders (@redhistorian) July 31, 2020
How the hell did Rachel Johnson get her own show on @LBC? Today, she used her airtime to congratulate her brother Jo on being given a peerage by their brother Boris Johnson. Britain is turning rancid.
— David Head (@DavidHeadViews) July 31, 2020
Find me better a better campaigner for Scottish independence, electoral reform, and abolishing the Lords than Boris Johnson.
— Chris Kendall (@ottocrat) July 31, 2020
Has to be a Parody Account. “Two new great voices”? Dodds & Hoey?! 😎 https://t.co/BMbuVdRJSJ
— Paul Patrick (@PaulTyredagh81) July 31, 2020
The House of Lords is obviously inherently absurd, but the new list of peers is truly a @Coldwar_Steve montage. And Claire Fox is a carnival act whose gang denied genocides for attention. https://t.co/RN4Z6h4N07
— Matthew O'Toole (@MatthewOToole2) July 31, 2020
Meanwhile, another day, another three-word slogan…
Hands, face, space: Boris Johnson unveils new Covid-19 slogan—https://t.co/ZPkSza6mnd
A better slogan might be … “Ignore me: I’m a clueless bumbler: listen to Nicola Sturgeon instead”.
— Charlie Stross (@cstross) July 31, 2020
'Obey the rules'?
What could we do that Boris Johnson has already said it was fine for Dominic Cummings to do?
Lick doorknobs? Shake hands with #Covid patients? What?#LockdownExtension #BorisJohnson pic.twitter.com/b6W5pX6n3V— El Christo (@ElRaynerista) July 31, 2020
Get your Tory MP name.
I'm Matilda Cunt pic.twitter.com/yD88aTE8gp— joe heenan (@joeheenan) July 31, 2020
***
TRUMPWORLD
18 U.S. States have partially controlled or downward-trending #COVID19 outbreaks.
The rest? 32 have "Uncontrolled spread" (dark brown) as of today.https://t.co/48lRtWAzD4 pic.twitter.com/U2UbcXE5jL
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) July 31, 2020
.@SpeakerPelosi is right:
Trump and Republicans' delays, denials, and distortions have caused Americans to die.https://t.co/RabqaSIiUU
— CAP Action (@CAPAction) July 31, 2020
The House passed a bill 10 weeks ago. https://t.co/FsFgFshFrC
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 31, 2020
Dozens of people turned out for Trump’s speech in Florida this afternoon — social distancing not included pic.twitter.com/ioueyVOhK5
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) July 31, 2020
NEWS: Pelosi admonished top counterintel official Evanina during private briefing this a.m., accusing him of withholding info about Russia. Evanina ultimately acknowledged that Russia is trying to boost Trump’s reelection; Dems want him to say it publicly. https://t.co/I11E6f9JD3
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) July 31, 2020
This is the DHS threat assessment for the 2020 election. It relates to foreign actors, but note the disinformation it warns of is *identical* to that coming from President Trump: pic.twitter.com/a2JTZWFuJu
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) July 31, 2020
Question: "Why aren't you spending more energy to get the resources and the funding for the states… to be able to secure this elections for all Americans?"
President Trump: "…You know nothing about my energy." pic.twitter.com/CAgXC2Tv6h
— The Hill (@thehill) July 31, 2020
This is a well-reported look into some of what went wrong. It’s also worth noting that treating the coronavirus as a blue state problem was a fairly widespread approach in the West Wing. https://t.co/wDgk8cazok
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 31, 2020
BREAKING: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump made between $36,151,214 – $157,020,085 in 2019, according to an analysis of their financial disclosures by CREW. https://t.co/NaWNfcBX5n
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) July 31, 2020
Kodak C.E.O. Got Stock Options Day Before News of Loan Sent Stock Soaring – by me and @egabler: https://t.co/Doq7A1ANqp
— Jesse Drucker (@JesseDrucker) July 31, 2020
BREAKING: MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told MLBPA executive director Tony Clark on Friday that if the sport doesn’t do a better job of managing the coronavirus, it could shut down for the season, sources tell ESPN.
Story at ESPN: https://t.co/o0OL7JzowN
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 31, 2020
BREAKING: Fitch affirms U.S. credit rating at AAA but lowers outlook to 'negative' from 'stable' https://t.co/jn8limDgPx
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) July 31, 2020
Not now, Dengue…
16 cases in the #Florida Keys. https://t.co/WQvOQdvup8
— Craig Pittman (@craigtimes) July 31, 2020
***
WORLDWIDE
James Murdoch resigns from board of News Corporation https://t.co/DtGlTzV2mQ
— The Guardian (@guardian) July 31, 2020
James Murdoch's resignation letter:https://t.co/jwKtph60Qt pic.twitter.com/tAV0WT0lrQ
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) July 31, 2020
Apple tops Saudi Aramco as most valuable publicly listed company https://t.co/e2HjAkXxIz pic.twitter.com/935z7E14i6
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 31, 2020
How, you may ask, is this possible given the requirement of tribal permission, which was not granted in this case? Believe it or not, the federal government found a loophole that enabled it to ignore the wishes of the Native people. https://t.co/RO6oPvzZZE
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) July 31, 2020
And, since today just doesn’t seem to have enough dicks in it…
Man who lost penis to blood infection has new one built on his arm https://t.co/UVGz8DJfq8 pic.twitter.com/sobeLt0aZg
— New York Post (@nypost) July 31, 2020
Thank you for that CNN pic.twitter.com/YijhrHCpJ4
— David Slotnick (@David_Slotnick) July 31, 2020
Finally, sadly…
Sir Alan Parker, the British filmmaker who made Pink Floyd's 'The Wall,' 'The Commitments,' 'Midnight Express and More,' has died at age 76 https://t.co/TyjhF1HgFj pic.twitter.com/RRgXwgXjfa
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) July 31, 2020
The Overnight Note 