The Conversation -- December 23, 2024

Marie: Minus One Two Three Degrees here in lovely New Hampshire. I shall not be going to the grocery store today. Therefore, I shall not be having Christmas dinner on December 25. The Christmas goose and paper hats (okay, I've never indulged in either) have received a reprieve of indeterminate lnduration.

⭐Mark Berman & Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "President Joe Biden on Monday is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 prisoners on federal death row to life without parole, taking the unprecedented step ahead of the inauguration of ... Donald Trump, whose incoming administration was widely expected to restart executions.... Those he did not spare are: Dylann Roof, the white supremacist convicted of killing nine Black parishioners at a South Carolina church in 2015; Robert Bowers, who carried out the country’s deadliest antisemitic attack when he killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber. 'Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,' Biden said in a statement explaining his decision. 'But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President, and now President, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level,' he added. 'In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.'” ~~~

     ~~~ President Biden's statement, via the White House, is here.

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump delivered a sprawling address on Sunday that he called a 'small preview of the common-sense revolution' his administration will bring, pledging to slam shut the nation’s borders, end federal regulations, lower taxes, prosecute his rivals, 'stop woke' and 'end the transgender lunacy.' In a 90-minute speech at a conservative conference in Phoenix, Mr. Trump offered a triumphant view of his election victory in which he described his liberal adversaries as 'befuddled' and promised that a new 'golden age in America' had begun.... [Trump's] speech was a familiar mash-up of false assertions, self-praise, fierce attacks on his adversaries and promises about how his return to power would change the country for the better."

Well, we sure don't need to worry the military will be woke, do we? ~~~

~~~ John Ismay of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump named Stephen A. Feinberg as his choice for deputy secretary of defense, Elbridge Colby to be under secretary for policy, Michael Duffey for under secretary for acquisitions and sustainment and Emil Michael as under secretary for research and engineering. All should face Senate confirmation hearings. Mr. Feinberg, the billionaire co-founder of the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, was a major funder of Mr. Trump’s presidential campaigns and was considered for a top intelligence post in the first Trump administration. A firearms enthusiast, he invested in businesses that were in bad shape financially, including Cerberus’s 2007 acquisition of the gun maker Remington, which declared bankruptcy in 2018 and again in 2020. Mr. Colby, whose grandfather William Colby served as C.I.A. director under Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald Ford, served in the Pentagon during the first Trump administration.... It was Mr. Duffey who asked the Pentagon to freeze $250 million in scheduled military aid to Kyiv after a phone call between Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in which Mr. Trump asked Mr. Zelensky to investigate his political rival Joseph R. Biden Jr.... Mr. Michael served as an executive at the ride-sharing company Uber, where he supported hiring investigators to pursue journalists who wrote articles critical of the company. He left Uber in 2017 after a report that he had visited an escort bar in South Korea as part of a business trip, which made some co-workers uncomfortable and led to a complaint to the company’s human resources department."

Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump said on Sunday that he intended to nominate Callista Gingrich, who served as his ambassador to the Vatican during his first term, as ambassador to Switzerland.... Mr. Trump also picked Ken Howery, one of the founders of PayPal, to be the next ambassador to Denmark. Mr. Howery served as the ambassador to Sweden during Mr. Trump’s first administration. As part of the announcement of Mr. Howery, Mr. Trump revived the idea, floated during his first term, of buying Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. 'For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,' he wrote on social media." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So we have left behind the impossible task of freeing the world for democracy and are now becoming imperialists. First Canada. Then Panama. Now Greenland. What next? Mexico? Denmark itself? Trump's megalomania is not only domestic; it is international. We have met the enemy and he is us. If I were King Frederik, I would not accept Howery's credentials. ~~~

     ~~~ Sarah Fortinsky of the Hill: "Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino shot back Sunday after ... Trump suggested the Panama Canal return to U.S. control. 'As president, I want to express clearly that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zone belongs to Panama, and will continue to do so,' Mulino said in video statement, according to an English translation. 'The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable.... The canal is not under direct or indirect control, neither by China, nor by the European community, nor by the United States, nor by any other power.... I strongly reject any manifestation that distorts this reality.... Panama respects other nations and demands respect.'” ~~~

     ~~~ If you were wondering what caused Trump to suddenly announce the U.S. should take over the Panama Canal, contributor Patrick wrote yesterday, " I suspect that DiJiT's threat about the Panama Canal is just revenge for being stripped of his hotel there back in 2018, which probably bruised his ego and may have deprived him of a money laundering outlet."

Yeganeh Torbati of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump said on Sunday that he would nominate Stephen Miran, who previously worked in the Treasury Department, to be chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, which helps to formulate U.S. economic policy. Miran served as an economic policy adviser at the Treasury Department in the final year of the first Trump presidency.... In a recent interview with The Washington Post, Miran defended Trump’s tariff plans, saying that he expected the fees would be implemented gradually and thus limit stock market shocks." MB: So neither peace nor prosperity.

Priscilla Alvarez & Tierney Sneed of CNN: "... Donald Trump’s team is assessing multiple options to fulfill his long-promised pledge to end birthright citizenship, according to two sources familiar with the discussions, teeing up a legal fight with the expectation that the Supreme Court would ultimately have to rule on the matter. Trump has railed against birthright citizenship, which is protected by the 14th Amendment, for years and suggested he’d use executive action to ban it.... [Trump's] allies have been crafting strategies to do that, including directing the State Department to not issue passports to children with undocumented parents and tighten requirements for tourist visas to crack down on 'birth tourism,' according to two sources familiar with the planning. Multiple options are being kicked among Trump allies to tighten the interpretation [of the 14th Amendment??], keenly aware that any action would likely get legally challenged and eventually land before the Supreme Court.... Trump allies argue that the 14th Amendment has been misinterpreted and doesn’t apply to children born in the United States to undocumented parents." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Isn't it something that in the season of joy and merriment and Santy Claus, Trump's "team" of super-Grinches is hunkered down trying to figure out new ways to persecute little kids?

Sarah Ellison & Jeremy Barr of the Washington Post: "... Trump’s recent settlement with ABC News and a cascade of lawsuits and other complaints against media entities from him and his allies signal a ramped-up campaign [against the press] from the president-elect. Together, the action has spurred concerns that his efforts could drastically undermine the institutions tasked with reporting on his coming administration, which Trump has promised will take revenge on those he perceives as having wronged him.... According to three people familiar with the company’s internal deliberations..., ABC and Disney executives decided to settle not only because of the legal risks in the case but also because of Trump’s promises to take retribution against his enemies."

Ellis Kim, et al., of CBS News: "The congressional office of Republican Rep. Kay Granger of Texas denied she is in memory care after a report in the Dallas Express said she has not been in Washington in months and that she had been found at Tradition-Clearfork in Fort Worth, which offers assisted living and memory care, in addition to independent living for seniors.... Granger's son confirmed to the Dallas Morning News that she was a resident. However, he said that she's in the independent living wing, not the memory care wing of the facility. He also acknowledged that his mother was 'having some dementia issues late in the year.'... On Sunday, her office released a statement saying, 'Kay Granger is not in Memory Care,' and issued a statement from the congresswoman, who said, 'As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year.'... [Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) said on 'Face the Nation' Sunday,] 'I'm not too sure what leadership knew on it or didn't know on it,' he continued. 'I think this goes ... gets back to the root of it. Congress should do its job, and if you can't do your job, maybe you shouldn't be there.'"

Kaanita Iyer of CNN: "Joe Manchin torches Democrats on the way out the door." MB: I'm not going to repeat Joe's remarks, though I will speculate that he's been watching way too much Fox "News."

Ben Brasch & Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "A Navy fighter pilot and a weapons system officer ejected over the Red Sea after friendly fire from a warship early Sunday, according to the U.S. military. Both survived after ejecting from their F/A-18 Hornet, according to U.S. Central Command (Centcom). Each sustained minor injuries, according to a military official.... Sunday’s friendly fire happened when the USS Gettysburg “mistakenly fired on and hit” the Hornet while the aircraft was flying from the USS Harry S. Truman, according to Centcom.... The U.S. military is patrolling the Red Sea to protect one of the world’s busiest commercial waterways from Iran-backed Houthi rebels who have been attacking vessels in the area for months."

Dana Hedgpeth, et al., of the Washington Post: "A year-long investigation by The Washington Post has documented that 3,104 students died at [the federal government's so-called Indian] boarding schools between 1828 and 1970, three times as many deaths as reported by the U.S. Interior Department earlier this year. The Post found that more than 800 of those students are buried in cemeteries at or near the schools they attended, underscoring how, in many cases, children’s bodies were never sent home to their families or tribes....  'These were not schools,' said Judi Gaiashkibos, executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs, whose relatives were sent to Indian boarding schools. 'They were prison camps. They were work camps.' The causes of death included infectious diseases, malnutrition and accidents, records show. Dozens died in suspicious circumstances, and in some instances the records provide indications of abuse or mistreatment that likely resulted in children’s deaths."

River Davis of the New York Times: "Honda Motor and Nissan Motor are exploring a merger to create one of the world’s largest auto groups as they seek to better position themselves for the expensive technological transition reshaping the automotive industry. On Monday, Honda and Nissan signed a memorandum of understanding to formally begin talks aimed at deepening a partnership that began earlier this year. Over the next six months, the companies will discuss combining their operations under a holding company, with a plan to complete the merger in August 2026. With their plans for a merger, Japan’s second- and third-largest automakers join a growing number of legacy auto giants, including General Motors and Volkswagen, that are deepening ties to share the financial burden of developing next-generation vehicles. The deal is seen as a lifeline in particular for Nissan, which has been slashing jobs and production amid faltering sales."

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Oregon. The Trump Effect. Hank Sanders of the New York Times: "A letter circulating in a coastal county in rural Oregon encourages community members to track and report people of color who may be undocumented immigrants, according to the sheriff’s office, which discouraged residents from heeding the call. In a news release on Thursday, the sheriff’s office for Lincoln County, Ore., condemned the letter and advised residents against 'collecting or sharing information about individuals based on their demographic or perceived immigration status.' The letter told people to write down the license plate numbers of cars driven by people of color in order to identify people who might not have permanent legal status. It told people to send the information to the Department of Homeland Security shortly after Jan. 21 so that the department could 'round up' undocumented immigrants."