The Breakfast Club (The Monkey)

Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:00am (ET) (or whenever we get around to it) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.

This Day in History

Journalist Edward R. Murrow takes on Senator Joe McCarthy’s anti communist campaign; Commedian George Burns dies in 1996.

Breakfast Tunes

Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac

Just cause you got the monkey off your back doesn’t mean the circus has left town.

George Carlin

Breakfast News

US News

Mask mandates go away in schools, but parent worries persist

Teachers hit picket lines in Minneapolis as parents worry

Voters reject spaceport plan long pursued by Georgia county

US officials reverse course on pesticide’s harm to wildlife

US looks to boost cooperation with tribes on land management

EPA memo steers water money to disadvantaged communities

Puerto Rico scraps debt restructuring deal for power company

6 teens arrested in Iowa school shooting that killed 1

Half of US adults exposed to harmful lead levels as kids

California county rejects ExxonMobil plan to truck oil

New York City man rescued twice in 2 days on Arizona hikes

Ice-fishing shanty blown across Michigan bay; anglers safe

Indiana boy rescued after getting stuck in tree rescuing cat

Border authorities find 52 reptiles hidden in man’s clothing

Octopus ancestors lived before era of dinosaurs, study shows

US Politics

Court rejects GOP redistricting plans in NC, Pennsylvania

Record gas costs pose fresh political challenge for Biden

Biden’s inflation plan upends thinking on jobs sent overseas

Ukraine aid grows to near $14B in $1.5T government bill

Limits on insulin costs revived in push for Senate action

Proud Boys leader charged with conspiracy in Capitol riot

Sen. Collins, key vote on Supreme Court, praises Jackson

1st trial in Capitol riot ends in conviction on all counts

Florida GOP nears final passage on ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill

Congress passes bill to shore up Postal Service, delivery

Newsom wants tax rebate, touts ‘California Way’ of governing

International News

As virus cases go from 1 to 24,000, New Zealand changes tack

Suffering goes on in encircled Mariupol as evacuation fails

US strikes harder at Putin, banning all Russian oil imports

Pentagon says Poland’s jet offer for Ukraine ‘not tenable’

McDonald’s, Starbucks, Coke, Pepsi join exodus out of Russia

Russian war in world’s ‘breadbasket’ threatens food supply

On global holiday, a ‘terrible dream’ for Ukrainian women

South Koreans vote for president in tight, bitter election

Sports

South Carolina remains atop women’s AP Top 25 despite loss

No. 6 UConn wins 20th Big East title, tops Villanova 70-40

Gonzaga women upend No. 15 BYU to win WCC title 71-59

No. 15 BYU women beat Portland 59-52 in WCC semifinals

UT Arlington women secure Sun Belt title, NCAA berth

No. 1 Gonzaga outlasts No. 17 Saint Mary’s, wins WCC tourney

Bryant beats Wagner for 1st NEC title, fight stops game

West helps Louisville oust Georgia Tech in ACC tourney 84-74

Irving scores 50, Nets beat Hornets to snap 4-game skid

Morant, Grizzlies build early lead, rout Pelicans 132-111

Giannis scores 39; Bucks top Thunder for 5th straight win

S. Dakota St. beats NDSU 73-69 for Summit League title

Fiala gets 2 goals to help Wild halt slide, beat Rangers 5-2

Paul Statstny scores twice as Jets beat Tampa Bay 7-4

Kane, Strome shine as Blackhawks pound Ducks 8-3

Josi scores late to lead Predators over Stars, 2-1

Stutzle, Norris score in Ottawa’s 4-1 win over Blues

Duclair, Verhaeghe help Panthers beat Penguins 4-3

Matthews hat trick powers Maple Leafs to 6-4 win over Kraken

Breakfast Blogs

There Is No Excuse for Failure to Charge Trump for His Role on January 6 Charles P. Pierce, Esquire Politics

It Is Not News that Bill Barr Lied to Protect Kleptocracy emptywheel aka Marcy Wheeler, emptywheel

War for Ukraine Update 14: The Ukrainians Are Still Holding, But Some Things Are Getting Weird Adam L. Silverman, Balloon Juice

The zealots will never stop digby aka Heather Digby Parton, Digbys Hullabaloo

Fighting to upend democracy Tom Sullivan, Digby’s Hullabaloo

The Video Game Blockade Against Russia Begins With Volunteer Companies Timothy Geigner, Techdirt

Clarence Thomas Is Doing That Thing Again Where He Muses Ignorantly About Section 230 For No Damn Reason Mike Masnick, Techdirt

Congress Is Weakening America’s Cybersecurity. It Couldn’t Have Picked A Worse Time. Michael Petricone, Techdirt

Trump Lawyer Behind ‘Coup Memos’ to Overturn Election Argues Attorney-Client Privilege Should Keep Emails from Jan. 6 Committee Colin Kalmbacher, Law & Crime

Government Watchdog Report Finds Homeland Security Held Off on Sharing Information About Known Pre-Jan. 6 Threats Marisa Sarnoff, Law & Crime

Board of Elections Torpedoes Attack on Andrew Cuomo’s Post-Resignation Campaign Payments: ‘His Conduct Fits the Definition of Candidate’ Aaron Keller, Law & Crime

Idaho Law to Make Gender-Affirming Treatment for Transgender Minors Punishable by Life in Prison Heads to State House Floor Elura Nanos, Law & Crime

There are at least four Supreme Court votes for a constitutional theory so partisan and stupid two justices who joined Bush v. Gore refused to sign off on it Scott Lemieux, Lawyers, Guns and Money

NATO, Putin, and Ukraine Dan Nexon, Lawyers, Guns and Money

War Without Violence Cheryl Rofer, Lawyers, Guns and Money

COVID two years in Paul Campos, Lawyres, Guns and Money

Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 1,037 Erik Loomis, Lawyers, Guns and Money

Lincoln the Centrist? driftglass, at his blog

For the Record: This Week in IOKIYAR Yastreblyansky, The Rectification of Names

THERE ARE TWO REPUBLICAN PARTIES, BUT NOT THOSE TWO Steve M., No More Mister Nice Blog

Sad Story: Lady We’ve Never Heard Of ‘Canceled’ Just For Being Terrible Robyn Pennacchia, Wonkette

Congress Outlaws Lynching, No, Really, Lynching. Stephen Robinson, Wonkette

SCOTUS Leaves Fair NC And PA Maps In Place, Will Bone American Elections At Its Leisure Next Year Liz Dye, Wonkette

Joe Biden Stops Buying Only Thing Russia’s Selling Evan Hurst, Wonkette

Russia Generously Offers To Let Ukraine Refugees Reach Safety In Russia Doktor Zoom, Wonkette