The Conversation -- January 20, 2025

A Good Way to Celebrate MLK, Jr. Erica Green of the New York Times: “President Biden pardoned five activists and public servants on Sunday, including a posthumous grant of clemency to the civil rights leader Marcus Garvey, who mobilized the Black nationalist movement and was convicted of mail fraud in 1923. Mr. Biden also commuted the sentence of two people who are serving sentences for crimes that they committed in the 1990s that would keep them behind bars for the rest of their lives. The two individuals, Robin Peoples and Michelle West, had overwhelming support from civil rights activists and will be released next month, Mr. Biden said.... Among those also receiving pardons, which wipe their criminal records clean of convictions, is Darryl Chambers, a gun violence prevention advocate who was previously convicted of a nonviolent drug offense and sentenced to 17 years in prison in 1998; Ravi Ragbir, a well-known advocate for immigrants who was convicted of wire fraud in 2000; and Don Scott, a lawyer who served his sentence for a nonviolent drug offense and went on to be elected to the Virginia legislature in 2019, and became the first Black speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates last year. Mr. Biden also pardoned Kemba Smith, a criminal justice advocate whose case drew attention to the mass incarceration of Black women....” The AP's story is here.

Erica Green of the New York Times: “President Biden spent his final full day in office in South Carolina, a state he credits for helping catapult him to the White House and where he returned in his final hours as president to urge his supporters to stay engaged in the fight for a more just nation. During visits to a historically Black church and an African American museum, Mr. Biden reflected on his history with a place that he said had played a pivotal role in his life and career and that pushed him in his efforts to restore 'the soul of the nation.' 'We know the struggle to redeeming the soul of this nation is difficult and ongoing,' Mr. Biden said on Sunday as he addressed the congregation of Royal Missionary Baptist Church, a historically Black congregation that he visited on the campaign trail in 2020. 'But faith — faith teaches us the America of our dreams is always closer than we think.'”

Carol Rosenberg of the New York Times: “The man accused of being the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, has agreed to let government prosecutors use portions of a 2007 confession that he says were obtained through his torture at any future sentencing trial if his case is settled with a life sentence. Defense lawyers have been trying for years to have those confessions excluded from the death-penalty trial against Mr. Mohammed and three other men accused of plotting the Sept. 11, 2001.... But an excerpt from his plea deal that was released by a federal court over the weekend shows that Mr. Mohammed agreed that prosecutors can use certain portions of his disputed confessions against him at a sentencing trial — if he is allowed to plead guilty. That deal is in the midst of a heated political and legal controversy that is spilling over into the Trump administration.” Read on for an account of the controversy.

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Israel's Wars. The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in Israel's Wars are here: “Israel’s release of 90 Palestinian prisoners early Monday, hours after three Israeli hostages were freed in Gaza, capped the first of what may be a series of hostage-for-prisoner swaps at the start of a multistage cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. As an initial truce came into effect on Sunday after 15 months of war, celebrations replaced explosions and hundreds of humanitarian aid trucks began rolling into Gaza. The three hostages returned to joyous reunions with their families at an Israeli hospital, while fireworks and cheering crowds greeted the newly freed Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. On Saturday, four more Israeli hostages are expected to be freed in exchange for additional Palestinian prisoners in the next step of the hard-won agreement between Israel and Hamas. If the deal holds, 33 of the roughly 100 remaining hostages still in Gaza, living and dead, and more than 1,000 imprisoned Palestinians held in Israel will be released over the next six weeks.” ~~~

~~~ Abbie Cheeseman & Meg Kelly of the Washington Post: “Despite a 60-day ceasefire with Hezbollah, the Israeli military advanced into dozens of new positions across southern Lebanon in the first 40 days of the deal, damaging or destroying hundreds of buildings as it searched for weapons and other infrastructure, according to a Washington Post review of previously unreported satellite data and open-source imagery, as well as interviews with U.N., Western and Lebanese officials and diplomats. The Israel Defense Forces launched near-daily strikes on Hezbollah’s stronghold during that period.... But it’s unclear whether these military actions constitute violations of the ceasefire because the U.S.-led committee to monitor the deal has yet to define what counts as a violation of the truce, diplomats said.”

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Presidency* of the Absurd. Jonathan Swan & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: “Whether it’s his idea for 'one big, beautiful bill' to ram through his multitrillion-dollar legislative agenda, his hunger for a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war (and perhaps fulfill his first-term dream of a Nobel Peace Prize), his desire to acquire Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada for the United States, or his insistence to an adviser that he will keep signing executive orders on Inauguration Day 'until my hand breaks' — Mr. Trump has indicated that he wants to begin his presidency with a demonstration of strength.... The way Mr. Trump sees it, his biggest concern ... is .. his own party. So tight are the G.O.P.’s congressional majorities that it would take only a handful of disobedient Republicans to kill his chances of fulfilling his major campaign promises.... Still, Mr. Trump knows that he has never had as much power as he does right now. He intends to make the most of it, to extract its full financial value.... Mr. Trump is obsessed with how to apply leverage globally, as well.”

Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: “... Donald J. Trump is planning a string of executive orders during his first days in office, including one to strip job protections from career civil servants, his top policy adviser told Republican members of Congress on Sunday, according to two people briefed on the matter.In a phone call with a few dozen Republicans on Sunday, Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump’s incoming homeland security adviser and deputy White House chief of staff overseeing policy, laid out the broad strokes of what Mr. Trump is planning on energy, immigration and federal workers.” The Hill's report is here.

Michael Shear & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: “... Donald J. Trump delivered a boastful, campaign-style rally at a downtown Washington arena on the eve of his second inaugural, celebrating his election victory and vowing to advance his agenda in spite of what he called a 'failed and corrupt political establishment' in the nation’s capital.... In remarks laced with exaggerations and outright falsehoods, the president-elect railed about illegal immigration, bragged about the swing states he won last November, and denigrated President Biden.... Mr. Trump called Elon Musk ... to talk about the coming effort to cut government spending and regulations. He vowed to end diversity efforts around the country. And he showed a video recounting deadly attacks on Americans by undocumented immigrants.” The Guardian's report is here.

Seb Starcevic of Politico: “Pope Francis blasted Donald Trump’s plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, calling the United States president-elect’s proposal a 'disgrace.' “If true, this will be a disgrace … This is not the way to solve things,” the pontiff said Sunday, speaking on Italian talk show Che Tempo Che Fa. He was responding to a question about sweeping immigration raids reportedly planned in Chicago in the days after Trump’s inauguration.” Looks as if JayDee, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, has two masters, and they're at odds. What to do? What to do?

Peter Baker of the New York Times: “While stumping for a return to power in the fall, Mr. Trump repeatedly made a sensational if implausible pledge with profound geopolitical consequences: He would broker an end to the war in Ukraine in 24 hours ... — ... before being sworn in as president.... [This promise] was a staple of his public argument.... Yet he not only has failed to keep his promise; he has also made no known serious effort to resolve the war since his election in November.... [Trump breaks a lot of campaign promises] without evident consequence. He did not, for instance, fully build his much-heralded border wall, much less force Mexico to pay for it. He did not wipe out the federal budget deficit or shrink the national trade deficit. He did not forge a permanent peace between Israel and the Palestinians, which he said would be “not as difficult as people have thought over the years.” He did not repeal and replace Obamacare. He did not boost economic growth to '4, 5 and even 6 percent.'”

War of the Crypto-Trumps. Sebastian Sinclair & Vince Dioquino of Decrypt: “Donald Trump's official meme coin, TRUMP, fell sharply late Sunday evening following a post from Melania Trump’s social media accounts promoting what appears to be a crypto tied to her name. 'The Official Melania Meme is live,' a post on Melania Trump’s X account, that Donald Trump has since retweeted, reads. The post was also shared via the incoming First Lady’s Truth Social account. Dubbed Melania, the Solana-based token has surged more than 12,000% in the last 24 hours to $6.70, DEX Screener data shows. Decrypt has reached out to Trump’s team for additional details.” ~~~

~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "The emoluments from the First Trump Reich already seem piddlyshit by comparison[.]... This is bad because it’s a vehicle for virtually unlimited bribery. As for the people who buy it because they think it will appreciate in value, I hope they all end up bankrupt like they deserve to." The post includes a chunk of a WSJ article about the Trumps' marvelous-lucrative (so far) scams.

Anne Applebaum of the the Atlantic: “... the most difficult aspect of the crisis [triggered by Trump's demand to buy Greenland] is ... the need to cope with a sudden sense of almost Kafkaesque absurdity. In truth, Trump’s demands are illogical. Anything that the U.S. theoretically might want to do in Greenland is already possible, right now. Denmark has never stopped the U.S. military from building bases, searching for minerals, or stationing troops in Greenland, or from patrolling sea lanes nearby.... Trump himself cannot articulate ... why exactly he needs to own Greenland, or how Denmark can give American companies and soldiers more access to Greenland than they already have.... In Copenhagen (and not only in Copenhagen) people suspect Trump just wants the U.S. to look larger on a map." Thanks to laura h. for this a gift link .

Theodore Schleifer & Alyson Krueger of the New York Times: “The who’s who of Silicon Valley and Washington converged at Peter Thiel’s Beaux-Arts mansion in D.C. on Saturday evening, as the power brokers gathered in anticipation of the inauguration of ... Donald J. Trump.... The party symbolized the euphoria of the tech industry on the cusp of the Trump presidency. The guest list included Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Miriam Adelson and the vice president-elect, JD Vance.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I don't know why these people are feeling euphoric. They have more money & (theoretically more power) than do most people in the world, yet they kowtow to a fat bastard because they think they have no choice. 

Elisabeth Bumiller of the New York Times: “President Biden warned in his farewell address to the nation last week that an oligarchy is taking shape in America. In Washington, the oligarchs are already here, buying big houses. Counting ... Donald J. Trump himself, there are at least a dozen billionaires among his cabinet picks and those headed for senior roles in the new administration.... 'It’s tempting to liken this to the Gilded Age, but John D. Rockefeller didn’t actually run McKinley’s campaign or move into the White House,” said Michael Waldman ... of the Brennan Center for Justice.... One of the most immediate effects in Washington has been an explosion in the luxury real estate market. The financier Howard Lutnick, Mr. Trump’s choice to be commerce secretary (worth $1.5 billion, according to Forbes), last month closed on the French Chateau-style home of the Fox anchor Bret Baier on Foxhall Road for $25 million, a record for the area.”

Jennifer Jacobs, et al., of CBS News: "Vivek Ramaswamy..., Donald Trump's choice to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with entrepreneur Elon Musk, is expected to soon step away from the task force, CBS News has learned. Ramaswamy intends to announce a campaign for Ohio governor as soon as the end of January, multiple sources confirmed to CBS News.... People close to Musk have privately undercut Ramaswamy for weeks, frustrated with his lack of participation in the heavy lifting, according to sources familiar with the internal dynamics. There has been friction between the incoming rank and file DOGE staff and Ramaswamy, the sources said, and Ramaswamy has been subtly encouraged to exit.... Ramaswamy recently met with the Ohio's sitting governor, Mike DeWine, about the state's Senate seat left vacant by Vice President-elect JD Vance. But on Friday, DeWine announced he is appointing his lieutenant governor to the post."

John Hudson of the Washington Post: “Scores of senior career diplomats are resigning from the State Department effective at noon on Monday after receiving instructions to do so from ... Donald Trump’s aides, three U.S. officials familiar with the matter said.The forced departures, aimed at establishing a decisive break from the Biden administration, will see an exodus of decorated veterans of the Foreign Service, including John Bass, the undersecretary for management and acting undersecretary for political affairs, and Geoff Pyatt, the assistant secretary for energy resources.... Requesting the resignations [is] the prerogative of any incoming administration.... Some incoming presidents choose to keep a larger stable of career diplomats in senior roles until handpicked political appointees receive Senate confirmation. Instead, Trump has authorized the selection of more than 20 'senior bureau officials' to take over various divisions where leadership posts are being vacated this week.”

Clare Duffy & David Goldman of CNN: “Around 12 hours after shutting itself down in the United States, TikTok is back for many users almost like it never left, attributing its return to a move by ... Donald Trump to save the app. TikTok welcomed users back with a notification that said: 'Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!'... Early on Sunday, Trump said he would issue an executive order following his inauguration on Monday to delay enforcement of the divest-or-ban law. And within hours, access to TikTok’s app and webpage began to return for US users.” ~~~

~~~ As the Worms Turn. Kipp Jones of Mediaite: “Mike Waltz..., Donald Trump’s pick for national security advisor, praised TikTok as a 'fantastic app' Sunday on CNN after his boss vowed to “save” it from being banned in the US. Waltz notably referred to the platform as 'spyware' last year during an interview with Fox Business Network anchor Stuart Varney. During that interview, Waltz said banning TikTok was not going 'far enough.'” ~~~

~~~ Lucia Sang of CBS News: "A man accused of setting a fire at a strip mall in Wisconsin where a congressman's office is located told authorities he was motivated by the federal ban on TikTok. The office of Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman, who voted last April for a bill that mandated TikTok's China-based parent company sell its U.S. operation by Sunday to avoid being banned in the U.S., was located in the mall in Fond du Lac.... A 19-year-old Menasha man, whose name has not been released, was in custody and will be charged with arson, police said. They said he was arrested after he was seen near the mall watching the fire."