Odds and Ends — 20 May 2023

GenZ/Millennial voters (defined as those between the ages of 18-41), not only turned out at higher levels than they did in 2018, but they were the only age group that increased their support for Democratic candidates from 2018.
After 2008, many assumed that Obama’s personal connection with younger voters would transfer to the Democratic Party’s candidates in subsequent elections. That didn’t happen. Instead, what seems to be driving younger voters to the polls isn’t love, but anger. In 2018, Donald Trump’s presence in the White House was a motivating factor for these voters. In 2022, anger over the abortion decision was the most likely catalyst for turnout.

If this motivation holds for the 2024 election, it doesn’t bode well for Republicans.

Your periodic reminder that Jim Jordan is just as moronic when he tweets from his burner account. pic.twitter.com/T68bxX9XhC
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) May 19, 2023

Putin Claims His Critics Drink Beer With ‘Female Sex Hormones’

Georgia Prosecutor Signals Timetable for Charges

The Georgia prosecutor leading an investigation into former President Donald Trump and his allies has taken the unusual step of announcing remote work days for most of her staff during the first three weeks of August, asking judges in a downtown Atlanta courthouse not to schedule trials for part of that time as she prepares to bring charges in the inquiry.
The moves suggest that Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, is expecting a grand jury to unseal indictments during that time period.

The bastards! pic.twitter.com/Rzt449QZKr
— Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot) May 18, 2023

Greece Caught Ditching Migrants at Sea

Video evidence shows asylum seekers, among them young children, being rounded up, taken to sea and abandoned on a raft by the Greek Coast Guard.

As Trump’s legal woes mount, Republicans prep with a new talking point: Jury verdicts don’t count

John Durham’s report cements the new GOP line of attack on democracy: Rejecting the legitimacy of jury trials

A Loud GOP Minority Pledges to Make Trouble on Ukraine Military Aid

Fox News Just Axed Its Investigative Unit

The fallout from Fox News’ $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems continued on Friday, with the network dissolving its investigative unit.

Finger-Pointing Won’t Save Anyone if Default Leads to Economic Collapse

Prosecutors looking into false reports of veterans displaced by migrants

The accusation that about 20 veterans were tossed from a Newburgh hotel in Orange County to make way for the asylum-seekers drew national headlines and broad condemnation. But the claims soon began to unravel when the hotel showed proof that it was not housing homeless veterans and that no one was displaced when the migrants arrived.

A Wingnut Anti-Migrant Story Implodes – But Is This the Full Story?

Democrats reintroduce Supreme Court expansion legislation