"The Helvetii, a Celtic tribe who battled Julius Caesar, gave their name to the Swiss territory. The Latin name for the country, Helvetia, still appears on Swiss stamps. The letters CH appearing on Swiss cars and in internet addresses stand for the Latin words Confoederatio Helvetica, meaning Swiss Confederation."

A little too much filler before you get to the ACTUAL data, so here's a copy/pasta:

"Here’s a look at active and recent federal cases against federal lawmakers and governors. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but it is what I could find going back to 2000 in CNN’s coverage and from other news outlets.

Ongoing federal cases against sitting federal lawmakers There is one against a Republican, Rep. George Santos of New York, and one against a Democrat, Menendez.

There is also a non-prosecution to mention. Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican, was informed this year by the DOJ that he would not be charged in a long-running sex trafficking probe.

Federal cases against recent members of Congress These are federal cases against current or former federal lawmakers. I was able to find nine targeting Republicans and eight targeting Democrats.

Former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Republican from Nebraska – Found guilty in 2022 of three felonies in a case that centered on campaign contributions.

Former Rep. TJ Cox, a Democrat from California – Still awaiting trial after his 2022 indictment, including for fraudulent campaign contributions.

Former Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Republican from California – Sentenced to 11 months in prison for misusing campaign funds, but later pardoned by Trump.

Former Rep. Chris Collins, a Republican from New York – Sentenced to 26 months in prison for insider trading, but later pardoned by Trump.

Former Rep. Corrine Brown, a Democrat from Florida – Served more than two years for setting up a false charity.

Former Rep. Steve Stockman, a Republican from Texas – Sentenced to 10 years in prison for multiple felonies including fraud and money laundering, but pardoned by Trump after serving part of his sentence.

Former Rep. Anthony Weiner, a Democrat from New York – Sentenced to 21 months in prison for sexting with a minor.

Former Rep. Chaka Fattah, a Democrat from Pennsylvania – Sentenced to 10 years in prison for racketeering, fraud and money laundering.

Former Rep. Michael Grimm, a Republican from New York – Pleaded guilty and sentenced to eight months in prison for tax evasion. Attempted to run again for Congress.

Former Rep. Rick Renzi, a Republican from Arizona – Sentenced to three years for corruption. Pardoned by Trump after he served time.

Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey – Acquitted by a judge and other charges dismissed after a jury deadlocked in a bribery case.

Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., a Democrat from Illinois – Sentenced to 30 months in prison for misusing campaign funds.

Former Sen. Ted Stevens, a Republican from Alaska – Conviction by jury for lying on ethics forms was later set aside over allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.

Former Rep. William Jefferson, a Democrat from Louisiana – Sentenced to 13 years for corruption and soliciting bribes. There was video of him taking $100,000 from an African official. Served multiple years in prison, but many of the charges were later vacated by a judge based on a US Supreme Court decision.

Former Rep. Bob Ney, a Republican from Ohio – Sentenced to 30 months after a guilty plea for corruption tied to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, a Republican from California – Sentenced to eight years in prison after a guilty plea for bribery. Later pardoned by Trump.

Former Rep. James Traficant, a Democrat from Ohio – Sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption after defending himself during trial. Was later expelled from the House.

Other prosecutions to consider Two Republican governors and two Democratic governors have been convicted in federal courts in recent decades:

Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, was convicted for bribery and corruption. But the US Supreme Court changed the rules in corruption and bribery cases when it threw out the case against McDonnell.

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, was convicted for trying to sell his power to appoint a replacement to Barack Obama’s Senate seat. His sentence was later commuted by Trump.

Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, a Democrat, was convicted by a jury of bribery and corruption and was sentenced to more than six years in prison.

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, a Republican, was convicted on corruption charges after an FBI sting.

What’s not included here Local prosecutions – like the state or local cases against former Rep. Trey Radel, the Republican from Florida, for cocaine possession in Washington, DC, or former Sen. Larry Craig, the Republican from Idaho, for lewd behavior in the Minneapolis airport – don’t really fit here since they were not conducted by the Department of Justice.

Some notable recent DOJ prosecutions have focused on Democrats at the state level, like Andrew Gillum, the Democrat and former Tallahassee, Florida, mayor who ran for governor and lost to Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2018. Gillum was recently acquitted of lying to the FBI.

Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, also a Democrat, was sentenced to three years in prison after she pleaded guilty to charges related to a scheme in which local nonprofit organizations bought her self-published children’s book."

Hit up the Sol system and check the planets...

They skip over Ceres in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, but there on the outer edge...

Pluto is a planet again!

If you have a hard time remembering where the asteroid belt is, there is also a mnemnonic for that...

Mother Very Easily Made A Jam Sandwich Using No Peanuts.

Finally getting around to looking at the list, here are some notables. Sorry this is late, been sick this week. :(

Alligator Loki #1 - Digital series in physical print, fun "read" (barely any dialog like "It's Jeff!")

Coda #1 - Sequel to a 2018 high fantasy series of the same name.

Cull #2 - Kelly Thompson's new book. Good artwork!

Danger Street #9 - I'm really just buying this hoping that by #12 it will somehow make sense and be mindblowing.

From The World Of Minor Threats The Alternates #1 - Written by Patton Oswalt? May be worth a look.

Green Lantern #3 - Glad to see it back after that nighmare side trip.

Madness #2 - 2nd issue of Straczynski's new book. Creator of Babylon 5, had a super good run on Spider-Man.

Penguin Classics Marvel Collection - Penguin is doing super high quality collections of early Marvel, ensconcing them in the Western Canon. Avengers, Fantastic Four and X-Men are all out this month, joining the previous releases of Black Panther, Captain America, and Spider-Man. Paperback and hardcover editions.

Saint John #1 - Cheating here since this is a book about a Portland superhero and I live in Portland. :) Bonus variant cover by Matt Wagner. The Portland in this book hasn't existed for at least 10 years.

Superman Lost #6 - Still one of the better Supes books.

World’s Finest Teen Titans #3 - Kind of weird having 3 Titans books running at once, but I'll take it!

Fall of X
Astonishing Iceman #2
Children Of The Vault #2
X-Force #44

Willis had a deadline of Midnight, Tuesday, September 12th to present her plan to try all 19 defendants at once. She has now done so.

Labor Day is now over and we move into the full political calendar.

I've put together a listing of the Republican Primary calendar, with dates, delegates and current polling so you can see everything in one place.

As we move out of the Primaries and into the General, I'll set up similar charts for the Presidential race and the Senate races. I'm not sure I personally have the juice to track 435 House races. :)

I'm seeing competing results on the number of delegates, so some states are more accurate than others. As I learn more, I will update the post.

There are a total of 2,467 Republican Delegates up for grabs, 2363 Pledged and 104 Unpledged. Unpledged delegates are bolded below.

1234 delegates (easy to remember!) are needed to win the nomination. Pledged delegates are obligated to support the candidate nominated by their Primary or Caucus. Unpledged delegates can support whoever they would like.

2 states (Wyoming and Pennsylvania) have both Pledged and Unpledged delegates, they are divided with a / mark.

Poll Data comes from fivethirtyeight.com, I've selected the poll that is both the most recent AND has the most complete slate of candidates. It didn't seem fair to compare polls that only had Trump / Desantis vs. a poll with 9 or 10 candidates.

Some of these polls are SUPER old though, from before when Desantis announced, take them with a pound of salt. Will update regularly.

One interesting takeaway - Beyond Trump and Desantis, Mike Pence is the most popular 3rd choice, being listed 11 times and Niki Haley is just behind at 8 times.

If you are familiar with my You Are Here posts for Trump trial dates, those are NOT included here for the simple reasons that a) I didn't want the added clutter, and b) with the exception of the E. Jean Carrol damages ruling on 1/15, there's no way the trials will be over in a day. They will roll on for months.

Updated 9/11/2023

Let's see what's on deck this week... What are you planning on?

Barnstormers #3 - Good retro read so far!

Birds Of Prey #1 - Historically a good read, I'm hopeful.

Blue Beetle #1 - Trying to ride the movie synergy... Movie is worth a watch, comic? We'll see!

Cerebus In Hell Presents Aardvarkian Splendour #1 - My Dave Sim retirement fund marches on...

City Boy #4 - Nearing the end of the "We Are Legends" project, will be interesting to see if it has legs.

Doctor Strange #7 - Still the is Clea guilty murder mystery.

Fantastic Four #11 - New story arc starts here!

Justice Society Of America #6 - Feels like this should be farther along by now...

Moon Knight #27

Parker Girls #10 - Final issue! We'll see how this wraps up. TBH, these 10 issue arcs are kind of hit and miss. Motor Girl and Serial were good, but the long form Strangers in Paradise and Rachel Rising were better.

Peacemaker Tries Hard #5 - Looking forward to all of this.

Shazam #3 - Back on track after that nightmare crossover nonsense.

Fall of X:
Immortal X-Men #15
Magneto #2
X-Men #26

Trump attorney Evan Corcoran saved his recollections in a series of voice memos.

BBQ Beef Roast with Sweet Bourbon Glaze

https://www.lecreuset.com/bbq-beef-roast-with-sweet-bourbon-glaze/LCR-2748.html

Cook Time 5 hours 30 minutes

With all the flavors of a backyard barbecue, this beef roast is first coated with a beef roast and then allowed to cook low and slow until it is fork tender. The last step is to coat it with a sweet and tangy glaze that gives it a crispy crust.

INGREDIENTS

1 5–6 pound boneless beef chuck roast or top round beef roast

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 cup beef broth

4 tablespoons salted butter, sliced

2 pounds petite potatoes (I used gemstone potatoes)

Sweet Bourbon Glaze

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons bourbon, optional

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS For the beef roast:

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Combine 2 tablespoons smoked paprika, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, chili powder and 1 tablespoon garlic powder in a small mixing bowl. Spread rub all over the beef roast.

Place beef roast in a deep baking dish. Pour beef broth around the roast being careful not to wash the spice rub off the roast. Top the roast with the sliced butter.

Cover with the lid and place in preheated oven. Roast for 3 hours, then uncover and add the potatoes around the roast. Use a wooden spoon to move around the roast, allowing the potatoes to fill in along the sides and bottom of the roast. Recover and roast 1–2 more hours, or until the beef can be easily pulled apart with a fork. Remove the baking dish from the oven, and carefully drain the jus from the pot, reserving in a bowl for later.

For the glaze:

Increase oven temperature to 425°F.

Combine ketchup, apple cider vinegar, bourbon, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika and 1 teaspoon garlic powder in a small mixing bowl. Spread glaze generously across the top and sides of the roast. Return the roast to the oven uncovered and roast for 25–30 minutes longer, until the glaze is bubbling and caramelized.

To serve, use two forks to shred the roast, and serve alongside the reserved jus, spooning it on top of the roast and the potatoes.

I found a couple of good recipes for chuck roast, so I combined them and made it myself. I never used a braising pan before or cooked a beef roast before.

Here's what I did:

1 pack of bacon, diced and cooked in olive oil on medium high until the edges were brown, then removed.

In the same pan, 2 diced carrots, 2 diced celery stalks, 2 diced Walla Walla sweet onions. Cooked on medium high until carmaelized, then removed.

3.37 pound (1.5 kg) boneless chuck roast. Patted dry, heavily salted and peppered, seared on one side for 5 minutes, flipped and then seared on the other side for 5 minutes and removed.

Added back 1/2 cup (118 ml) Grand Marnier and 2 cups (473 ml) of Malbec Wine. Deglazed the pan scraping up all the brown bits.

Put the bacon back in, put the veggies back in, stirred until well distributed. Added bay leaves, thyme and rosemary, several cloves of minced garlic, topped with the meat.

Brought to a boil then placed in a pre-heated 325° F (163° C) oven for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, beef was to temp and easily shreddable. (Finally! A reason to use the meat claws!) Resting on stove top while I cook some pasta to go with it.

Pasta was super simple. Boiled water and salt, cooked a bag of egg noodles for 8 or 9 minutes. Drained, removed, then melted a stick of butter in the pot, added a small container of heavy cream, added rosemary and thyme, brought it to a simmer then popped the pasta back in and cooked a couple of minutes.

I inherited my grandmothers dutch oven (center), it's probably 70 years old now. Still cooks up a storm!

Then I found I lived an easy drive from an outlet store and, well, yeah, that happened. :)

I use it regularly, I used to be in the Le Creuset sub on reddit, but then reddit went to hell. :(

So... any other fans out there?