Comment on Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 12-09-16, OM, St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin

Two political strategists have agreed to plead guilty to conspiring with Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) to launder more than $200,000 in bribes, the San Antonio Express-News reports. The Department of Justice struck plea deals earlier this year with Colin Strother and Florencio “Lencho” Rendon, ensuring their cooperation in the investigation of Cuellar.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) “was never hugely popular among her more centrist colleagues. After forcing a vote on ousting Speaker Mike Johnson, even droves of conservatives seem to have abandoned her — leaving the Georgia firebrand with next to no allies in the House,” Politico reports. “Johnson hasn’t publicly indicated that he’ll punish Greene for her failed push, but the vast majority of House Republicans — exhausted with the constant chaos of their slim majority — are writing her off entirely as a bothersome sideshow.

“I offer to eat five more brain worms and still beat President Trump and President Biden in a debate. I feel confident of the result even with a six-worm handicap.” — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., quoted by The Guardian.

“Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) is facing charges of bribery, money laundering and working on behalf of a foreign government. He is the third lawmaker in Congress to face a federal indictment this session,” the Texas Tribune reports. “But unlike his other embattled colleagues, Cuellar is not yet facing a barrage of calls for him to resign.” “Five days after he was charged, no member of the Texas delegation, Republican or Democrat, has so far called for him to step down.”

“Federal prosecutors have charged former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry in Washington for allegedly lying to investigators in connection with a campaign finance probe of a foreign billionaire’s political contributions,” Politico reports. “Fortenberry (R-NE) was convicted of the same charges by a jury in Los Angeles in 2022, but the 9th U. S.

New Republic: “There is nothing new or unexpected about Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrogance. When President Bill Clinton first met him at the White House in 1996—mere weeks after Netanyahu first took office as Israel’s prime minister—he reportedly seethed to aides, ‘Who the fuck does he think he is? Who’s the fucking superpower here?’ That arrogance subsequently caused rifts with Republican and Democratic presidents alike.