Today is Thursday, November 30, 2023. We might be on the eve of Congress expelling a lying fraudster of a representative by the name of George Santos who could be expelled as early as tomorrow by the House of Representatives. This vote to oust the fabulist/criminal is the third time the chamber has tried to expel him, and there is every indication from what I’ve heard, that the two-thirds majority that is needed will be met this time ever since the House Ethics Committee report came out a while ago that painted a damning picture of the cherubic but evil-minded representative whose transgressions were laid out in livid color for all to see and read. There is no sane reason to keep this reviled House member any longer, and if the House does vote to expel him, it might restore some sort of credibility to the Republican-controlled House. This would result in just an iota of credibility since there are still too many members who remain who continue to subscribe to the Orange Jesus’s (Donald Chump) “Big Lie” and should have been ousted themselves after January 6, 2021. Members like Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and a whole host of other MAGA characters who should have been expelled two years ago.

The embattled GOP Rep. Santos himself continues to remain defiant in the midst of this expulsion vote, as reported in an online CNN article by Clare Foran, Haley Talbot, and Lauren Fox entitled “Santos refuses to resign a day ahead of expected expulsion vote.”

The strategy that this lying son of a bitch is employing can only be characterized as Trumpian in design, as he argues that he’s being bullied in the wake of a scathing ethics probe on his conduct that found clear misconduct in many areas. At a combative news conference outside the Capitol, Santos remained stubbornly defiant as he lashed out at other members of Congress. Pressed on why he won’t resign, Santos said, “because if I leave, they win. If I leave, the bullies take place. This is bullying.” No one thought to ask him if the charges against him were valid and that he should have been contrite for his miserable behavior.

What is even more laughable about this congressperson is his attempt to dodge the severity of the panel’s charges against him by making a counterproposal to expel Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York for pulling a fire alarm when there was no such emergency. The New York Democrat has already pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for falsely triggering a fire alarm in a House office building. Bowman has already stated that he did this as a mistake; it wasn’t intentional on his part.

Bowman had the best retort to Santos’s demand to expel him for such a trivial act, saying, “This is just another meaningless stunt in his long history of cons, antics, and outright fraud.”

The scathing report on Santos’s conduct concluded that he “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.” Let’s see if Santos can offer proof to the contrary for the conclusions contained in the report.

Expulsion is the most severe form of punishment for a lawmaker in the House and only five members have ever been expelled from the chamber. It requires a two-thirds majority vote to succeed – a high bar to clear, but this time, there appears to be bipartisan accord in ousting the allegedly gay conservative from the House.

Apart from the Ethics Committee investigation, Santos has also pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges, including allegations of fraud related to COVID-19 unemployment benefits, misusing campaign funds, and lying about his personal finances on House disclosure forms.

Again resorting to Trumpian tactics, Santos threatened to take down his congressional colleagues on the way out tomorrow if the vote is against him. Speaking to reporters, he indicated that if he is expelled, he will leave Congress with little fanfare on Friday, but vowed to “have fun on my way out,” promising to “name names” and blow the whistle on misbehaving members of Congress. As would be expected, he refused to preview any such infractions against “multiple members” but insisted it would be “enough to make your hair stand.” I seriously doubt Santos has anything on his fellow colleagues since I don’t think anyone has gotten close to him since he entered the halls of Congress this past January. Maybe he’s thinking of repulsive Marjorie Taylor Greene who has been seen with him. I doubt if he has anything on her that is anything new that hasn’t already been reported in the press. Anyway, Santos has said that he has “made peace” with the possibility that Friday could likely be his final day in Congress.

The repulsive House speaker MAGA Mike has stated that he has “reservations about doing this” (expelling Santos), as he’s “concerned about a precedent that may be set for that.” So let’s hope his comments on having reservations on doing this doesn’t put a damper on his members voting to throw the bum out tomorrow.

Today I went about my business as usual in that I had breakfast at my two-week- closed Austin Street Diner that just reopened on the day we left for Italy, November 21. When I entered the eatery, all the booths were occupied, so I had to walk to the back of the restaurant to eat.

Later I walked all the way to Rego Park and stopped in Marshall’s where I bought a London Fog suitcase and three woolen hats. You see, I lost a black woolen hat on the first day of our arriving in Italy where I believed I left it at a cafe at the Milan railway station. I eventually bought a replacement hat in Florence that has a nice pom pom on the top. So I feel you can’t have too many woolen hats since I have the tendency to leave them in cafes and other venues. Now I have a total of four hats for the coming cold weather. Actually, the last two days were relatively cold already.

Tomorrow I might not write the blog since I bought one ticket to a premiere of a film at the Angelika Film Center, on Houston Street, beginning at 7 p.m. The name of the film is called Eileen and I believe it’s sort of a psychological thriller. For those who are attending the 7 showing, the promotors of this event are promising to give out to the first twenty or so attendees copies of the book by Ottessa Moshfegh who wrote the book in 2015. I’ve actually seen the novel in one of my favorite Brooklyn independent bookstores, Spoonbill & Sugartown Books, and began scanning it sometime ago.

So if I’m not here, let’s hope Santos is gone by tomorrow and have a very nice weekend.

Stay safe and be well.

Here is another view of Milan’s castle, Castello Sforzesco, which was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification.

More views of Venice.

I hope I didn’t post this pic yesterday. So enjoy it again if I did so already.

This sculpture is “The Sacrifice of Isaac” and is found in the Poldi Pezzoli Museum that I frequented the last day we were in Milan. The picture of that man posted yesterday with the bizarre facial hair, I now believe, is not the Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli who lent his name to the museum. I have no idea who that is then.

Here is an elaborate fountain found on the first floor of the museum.