;)
October 19, 2022
Afternoon Update:
Judge: Trump Lied in Sworn Affadavits. Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "... Donald Trump signed legal documents describing evidence of election fraud that he knew were false, a federal judge indicated on Wednesday. U.S. District Court Judge David Carter wrote in an 18-page opinion that emails from attorney John Eastman, an architect of Trump's last-ditch effort to subvert the 2020 election, needed to be turned over to the Jan. 6 select committee. Those emails, Carter wrote, 'show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public.' The emails are among the files that Eastman had been declining to turn over to the committee, citing attorney-client privilege.... [Judge Carter] ruled that Eastman must disclose four [of those] emails to congressional investigators because they are evidence of a likely crime." After Eastman warned some of Trump's attorneys that allegations Trump had previously made were "not accurate," "Trump and his lawyers opted to file the federal complaint using the same numbers that Eastman conceded were inaccurate."
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump inquired whether a documentary filmmaker recording an interview with him last year was a 'good Jewish character,' described Persians as 'very good salesmen' and complained that Israeli Jews favored him more than Jews in the United States, a new clip released by the filmmaker shows.... The clip cuts off as Mr. Trump asks someone...: 'You Persian? Very smart. Be careful, they're very good salesmen.'... The video was recorded on May 20, 2021, and was provided to The New York Times by the documentary filmmaker, Alex Holder. It was filmed at an event at Mr. Trump's golf club in Bedminster, N.J., as he spoke with several people.... Mr. Holder said that in one of their meetings, Mr. Trump had, off camera, expected Mr. Holder to be appreciative of the fact that as president, he had moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Mr. Trump, he said, seemed surprised when Mr. Holder explained that he was British. 'But you're Jewish,' he recalled Mr. Trump saying.... Mr. Holder's footage was subpoenaed by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I'm confused. Apparently if you're of Jewish heritage, no matter where in the world you live & however little you care or even know where the U.S. Embassy in Israel is located, you're supposed to be grateful -- and loyal -- to Trump because he moved it to Jerusalem. Or something.
Fractured History. On Tuesday, Marjorie Taylor Greene posted to Liars Social, "Tonight, I stopped at the Wilder Monument in Chickamauga, GA, which honors the Confederate soldiers of the Wilder Brigade. I will always defend our nation's history!" Minor hiccup: the Wilder Monument memorializes the Wilder Brigade, a crack unit of the Union Army credited with twice saving the Union Army from the Confederates at the Battle of Chickamauga. The Confederates ultimately won the battle, but at the price of great loss of life on both sides.
Arizona. Sebastian Murdock of the Huffington Post: "A GOP candidate running for an Arizona college district's governing board was arrested on a charge of public sexual indecency after an officer allegedly caught him masturbating in his truck near a preschool. Randy Kaufman was arrested Oct. 4 but suspended his campaign Tuesday following media reports of his arrest. Kaufman is running for the governing board of the Maricopa County Community College District, and was allegedly caught masturbating by the county's community college police.... The officer said ... that Kaufman was in view of a nearby bicyclist and a preschool where children were playing outside. When confronted, the officer said, Kaufman apologized for the act. 'I'm sorry,' Kaufman said, according to the report. 'I fucked up. I'm really stressed.'"
Florida. Another DeSantolini Stunt Gone Awry. Michael Wines & Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida announced in August 'a first salvo' in what he called a long-overdue crackdown on voting crimes. But newly released body camera footage indicates that people arrested on charges of voting illegally seemed puzzled and appeared to have run afoul of the law through confusion rather than intent. The arrests targeted people convicted of felonies, a group that includes many former inmates who had voting rights restored in a process that left many others uncertain or misinformed about their eligibility to vote. In the videos that were obtained on Wednesday by The New York Times from the Tampa Police Department, those arrested repeatedly told officers that they were blindsided by the charges and had previously been cleared to vote by election officials." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I heard on MSNBC (I think it was) that the state (the outfit DeSantolini runs) was supposed to send lists to the counties of ex-felons who were ineligible to vote for some reason. But, at least to the five largest Florida counties, the state did not send the list. So, naturally, poll workers allowed these registered voters to vote.
U.K. Mark Landler & Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "Fighting for her political survival after the collapse of her economic agenda, Prime Minister Liz Truss of Britain suffered another heavy blow on Wednesday after she was forced to fire one of her most senior cabinet ministers, the second major ouster in a six-week-old government that has tumbled into chaos. Hours after Ms. Truss rejected demands to resign herself..., the prime minister dismissed the home secretary, Suella Braverman, over a security breach involving a government document that Ms. Braverman had sent to a lawmaker in Parliament through her personal email.... Appearing at a stormy session of prime minister's questions in Parliament, Ms. Truss repeated her apology for the disastrous fiscal program.... The emergence of the news about Ms. Braverman only a few hours later exposed bitter rifts in the cabinet and a prime minister largely at the mercy of events.... In her letter of resignation to Ms. Truss, [Ms. Braverman] said she had 'concerns about the direction of this government,' accusing it of breaking pledges to voters and, in particular, of failing to curb immigration.... Ms. Braverman was replaced by Grant Shapps, a more centrist figure, whose appointment underscored the shift in the political balance of the cabinet away from the hard-liners who supported Ms. Truss in the leadership contest...." The Guardian's story, which first broke the news, is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Gosh, the U.K. is like a mini-U.S. An incompetent leader (tho maybe not as stupid as Trump), ridiculous Cabinet turnover, recriminations and even, "But the emails!" ~~~
~~~ Daniel Victor of the New York Times: "... [a head] lettuce has become a caricature of the Conservative leader's flailing hold on power, pitted against the prime minister by The Daily Star, a left-leaning British tabloid. 'Will Liz Truss outlast this lettuce?' the newspaper asks in a live video that has been running since Oct. 14, attracting bounds of viewers and comments on social media. The lettuce gag was inspired by The Economist, which noted on Oct. 11 that between a near-immediate political implosion at the beginning of her tenure and the 10 days of mourning after Queen Elizabeth II died, her grip on power amounted to seven days, or 'roughly the shelf-life of a lettuce.'... On Tuesday the newspaper declared in a front-page headline: 'Lettuce Liz on Leaf Support.'"
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Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "President Biden pledged on Tuesday that the first bill he would send to Congress next year if Democrats retain House control and expand their Senate majority would be to codify abortion rights across the country. The commitment comes as the White House and Democratic candidates have been increasingly focused on protecting abortion access before the midterm elections next month, seeking to broaden support among women and independent voters. Mr. Biden said this summer that he supported ending the filibuster to protect a woman's right to an abortion and a broader constitutional right to privacy." CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
The "Fucking Lunatic" Exception. Marie: Here's another good reason to keep Democrats in power: Jim McGovern (D-Ma.), chair of the House Rules Committee, "explained to Republicans that his new rule for his committee says if you're 'batsh[it] crazy, you're not getting an amendment after he blocked one of [Lauren] Boebert's [Batshit-Colo.] amendments from going to the House floor. '... We're not doing this.... I'm not going to be part of any effort to legitimize people who are f[u]cking lunatics.'..." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
~~~ MEANWHILE, GOP Plan: Global Financial Crisis. Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post: "After refusing for months to divulge what they'd do if they regained control of Congress, Republicans have finally revealed some of their economic agenda. Unfortunately, it might involve causing a global financial crisis.... House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and other Republicans have recently backed proposals to make the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, as well as to extend or expand several other corporate tax breaks.... [Also, there's their] plan to hold the debt ceiling hostage next year, which could easily precipitate a global financial catastrophe.... If lawmakers dine-and-dash on behalf of Uncle Sam, they tarnish the creditworthiness of the United States and can make it more expensive for the federal government to borrow in the future because investors dont trust us. Worse, they might accidentally blow up every other financial market on Earth, too." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ AND. Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "What will the Biden administration do when the G.O.P. threatens to blow up the world economy by refusing to raise the debt limit?... The consequences of forcing a federal debt default, which is what refusing to raise the limit would do, would extend far beyond the operations of the federal government itself.... There's lots of evidence that Republicans will, if they can, try to use the debt limit to extort major cuts in Social Security and Medicare.... If Republicans do gain control of one or both houses in November, Democrats should use the lame-duck session to enact a very large rise in the debt limit, enough to put the issue on ice for years.... If for some reason Democrats don't take this obvious step, the Biden administration should be prepared to turn to legal strategies for bypassing the debt limit." MB: Republicans really do constitute, among other things, the most wilfully innumerate body in the world. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Charlie Savage & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "The special master reviewing materials seized by the F.B.I. from ... Donald J. Trump's compound in Florida expressed skepticism on Tuesday about early claims by Mr. Trump's lawyers that certain documents were privileged and thus could be withheld from a Justice Department investigation. In a phone conference, the special master, Judge Raymond J. Dearie of Federal District Court in Brooklyn, complained that the log of an initial batch of documents over which Mr. Trump is seeking to claim privilege lacked sufficient information to determine whether the arguments were valid." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The Guardian's report is here.
Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "In December 2019, after ... Donald Trump had shared with journalist Bob Woodward the fawning letters that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had written to him, the U.S. leader seems to acknowledge he should not be showing them around. After urging Woodward to 'treat them with respect,' Trump warns in an interview, 'and don't say I gave them to you, okay?... But I'll let you see them,' Trump adds.... A month later, in January 2020 Woodward pressed Trump in a phone call to let him also see the letters that Trump wrote to Kim. 'Oh, those are so top secret,' Trump says.... The comments by Trump show he was well aware that the 27 letters exchanged between himself and Kim were classified, despite his repeated claims that none of the documents he improperly took from the White House when leaving office, including the Kim letters, were in that category.... In an aside in the audio book, [which is to be released next week,] Woodward describes 'the casual, dangerous way that Trump treats the most classified programs and information...' That was in reference to Trump implying there was a secretive weapons system he controlled." CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Another Trump Conspiracy Theory Fail. Linda Qiu & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "Igor Danchenko, an analyst who provided much of the research in a notorious dossier of unproven assertions and rumors about ... Donald J. Trump and Russia, was acquitted on Tuesday on four counts of lying to the F.B.I. about one of his sources. The verdict was another stinging defeat for the special counsel, John H. Durham, who was appointed by Attorney General William P. Barr three years ago to investigate the F.B.I.'s investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia. Mr. Trump and his supporters have long insisted the inquiry would prove a 'deep state' conspiracy against him, but after pursuing various baseless theories, Mr. Durham never found and charged one. Instead he developed two narrow cases accusing people involved in outside efforts to scrutinize purported links between Mr. Trump and Russia of making false statements.... The trial against Mr. Danchenko is expected to be the last of Mr. Durham's prosecutions...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) CNN's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: The Durham project has been a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars spent on a lunatic "deep-state" conspiracy theory. Trump, Barr & Durham should have to pay back the Treasury with their own dollars. Yesterday in the Comments section, I mentioned former Sen. Bill Proxmire (D-Wis.). Proxmire's claim to fame was the monthly "Golden Fleece Award" he bestowed upon public officials who wasted taxpayer dollars. Some present-day senator should revive Proxmire's pet project.
Alan Feuer & Zach Montague of the New York Times: "A former member of the Oath Keepers militia testified on Tuesday that the far-right group intended to block the certification of the 2020 election 'by any means necessary,' stashing weapons in a hotel in Virginia on Jan. 6, 2021, in anticipation of supporting ... Donald J. Trump in his bid to keep Joseph R. Biden Jr. out of the White House. The former Oath Keeper, Jason Dolan, gave his account at the seditious conspiracy trial of the organization's leader, Stewart Rhodes, telling the jury that the group envisioned a battle breaking out in Washington that day between factions loyal to Mr. Trump and others loyal to Mr. Biden.... The Oath Keepers, Mr. Dolan added, were firmly committed to Mr. Trump and wanted to stop the certification of Mr. Biden's victory in any way they could. 'That's why we brought our firearms,' he said." An NBC News story is here.
U.S. Is Training Top Mercenaries for Repressive Countries. Craig Whitlock & Nate Jones of the Washington Post: "More than 500 retired U.S. military personnel -- including scores of generals and admirals -- have taken lucrative jobs since 2015 working for foreign governments, mostly in countries known for human rights abuses and political repression, according to a Washington Post investigation. In Saudi Arabia, for example, 15 retired U.S. generals and admirals have worked as paid consultants for the Defense Ministry since 2016. The ministry is led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, who U.S. intelligence agencies say approved the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributing columnist, as part of a brutal crackdown on dissent.... Most of the retired U.S. personnel have worked as civilian contractors for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Persian Gulf monarchies, playing a critical, though largely invisible, role in upgrading their militaries.... The U.S. government has fought to keep the hirings secret." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)&
November Elections
Colorado Governor. Manu Raju of CNN: "Joe O'Dea, the Republican nominee for US Senate from Colorado, fired back at Donald Trump on Monday after the former President slammed him as a 'RINO' and suggested Trump's supporters wouldn't vote for a 'stupid' person like O'Dea. In a statement to CNN, O'Dea, the CEO of a Colorado construction company, didn't walk away from the criticism he's been leveling at Trump, including on Sunday when he told CNN's Dana Bash on 'State of the Union' that he would 'actively' campaign against Trump and for other GOP candidates if the former President runs again. O'Dea also told Bash that Trump should have done more to prevent the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Once again, Trump proves he is a thin-skinned whiney baby. Democratic candidates continually distance themselves from President Biden if they feel they must do so to win election. Biden doesn't complain or insult them; neither have other former presidents subjected to the same treatment. They are adults & understand it's usually about politics & usually not personal.
Pennsylvania Governor. Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "The crowning chapter of Doug Mastriano's military career -- a stint on the faculty of the U.S. Army War College -- has flared up in his campaign for Pennsylvania governor. Two former professors at the War College in Carlisle, Pa., publicly declared Mr. Mastriano unfit for public office. A photograph surfaced of Mr. Mastriano posing in a Confederate uniform with other faculty. And Mr. Mastriano’s Ph.D. dissertation has been criticized as deeply flawed, with a former academic adviser saying his doctorate rests 'on very shaky grounds.' Mr. Mastriano -- the Republican nominee for governor in a crucial battleground state -- received his Ph.D. in history from the University of New Brunswick in Canada in 2013, the year after he joined the faculty of the War College. His research focused on a World War I hero, Sgt. Alvin York, who credited his exploits killing and capturing German soldiers to divine intervention and who inspired the 1941 Gary Cooper movie 'Sergeant York.' 'I think Mastriano really likes that story because York became the kind of spiritual warrior that Mastriano sees himself as being,' said Jeffrey Scott Brown, a history professor at the University of New Brunswick who advised Mr. Mastriano but objected to his academic techniques. Dr. Brown's criticisms included Mr. Mastriano's amateur archaeological sleuthing on a French battlefield and his credulity in accepting divine intervention to explain Sergeant York's heroics."
Wisconsin Governor. Never Mind. Scott Bauer of the AP: "The Republican running for governor in Wisconsin suggested Tuesday that he did not support enforcing the swing state's near-total ban on abortions, saying 'I will never arrest a doctor' before his campaign walked back his comment. Tim Michels is locked in a tight race with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and abortion has been a major issue. Michels, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, said in the Republican primary that he backed a state law dating to 1849 that makes it a felony for doctors to perform nearly all abortions.... Michels' spokesperson Anna Kelly attempted to clarify his comment, saying it was the district attorneys, not the governor, who enforce laws.... 'He's either lying to voters today, in a desperate attempt to hide his radical positions, or he was lying to them for the last six months," [Evers' campaign spokesman] said."
Beyond the Beltway
Texas. Stephanie Pfeffer of People: A young Texas woman describes her near-death experience caused by a dangerous, desired pregnancy which doctors refused to terminate under Texas law. 'It took three days at home until I became sick 'enough' that the ethics board at our hospital agreed we could begin medical treatment; three days until my life was considered at risk "enough" [with sepsis] for the inevitable premature delivery of my daughter to be performed; three days until the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals were allowed to do their jobs.... Had [the medical professionals] acted, they would have been charged with a felony.' [Amanda Zurawski] writes in a first-person essay for The Meteor, a media company committed to storytelling around issues of gender equity." Zurawski is experiencing complications from the delayed treatment which require further surgery. Zurawski is a married tech professional who enjoys excellent health insurance & lives near a good hospital. "'... we truly are the best-case scenario. And look what happened.' She knows that many others will not be as fortunate." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Pregnancy is, among other things, an emotional, frightening experience fraught with real & possible dangers. For self-righteous pricks to purposely add the fear and danger of medicare-care failure to all that is unconscionable.
How Texas Plans for Mass Grade-School Murders. Dave Manning of Reform Austin: "This month Texas public school systems are distributing DNA and fingerprint identification kits to K-8 level campuses for parents who wish to store their child's DNA. The kits provide identification if law enforcement were to need help finding a missing or trafficked child, or identifying victims of mass shootings.... The state legislature passed a law in 2021 requiring the Texas Education Agency to give inkless, in-home fingerprint and DNA identification cards to each public school system in Texas.... Despite the magnitude of the tragedy of school shootings like Uvalde, [Texas,] no significant gun law reforms have been passed."
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Wednesday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Wednesday are here: "Russia has renewed attacks against Ukraine's already-battered energy system, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech late Tuesday, urging households to remain conscious of their energy usage in the evening hours. Zelensky earlier in the day said that 30 percent of the country's power stations had been destroyed by Russian attacks since Oct. 10, causing 'massive blackouts.'... The United States, Britain and France will raise the issue of Iran transferring weapons to Russia during a closed-door meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, according to diplomats familiar with the situation. The decision follows U.S. and European concerns about Russia's attacks on Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure using Iranian drones.... Russia resumed attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure Tuesday, killing at least one person in Kyiv, according to the country's largest private electricity producer."
Marie: As I surmised in a Comment last week, Republicans have no interest in protecting allied nations' efforts to establish viable democracies in the face of violent invasion by totalitarian, imperial aggressors. Either that, or they've joined Donald Trump's Traveling Russian Marionette Show. ~~~
~~~ Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is signaling that if Republicans win the House majority in next month's midterm elections, the GOP is likely to oppose more aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
U.K. Eshe Nelson of the New York Times: "Consumer prices in Britain rose 10.1 percent in September from a year earlier, continuing their steep climb as the nation grapples with rapidly increasing food prices, high energy costs and political uncertainty.... Prices were pushed higher by large increases in the cost of food and, to a lesser extent, at restaurants and hotels. Food prices rose 14.5 percent in September from a year earlier, the largest annual rise in more than 40 years...."
Marina Hyde of the Guardian: "The prime minister [Liz Truss ]certainly now presents as a captured beast, having spent the entire summer campaigning stridently against the hideous failings of precisely the policies she is now saying are the only thing that make sense. Yet as [surprise new chancellor Jeremy] Hunt outlined the biggest U-turn in modern political history to the Commons yesterday afternoon, Truss flanked him, wearing that sad, faraway smile of a Tory wife standing next to her husband explaining why he's resigning over a sex scandal. This arguably isn't the optimal look for a leader.... This morning we learned from armed forces minister James Heappey that none of them even realised Truss's mini-budget had the potential to backfire.... As of yesterday, ordinary people are realising that the calamitous mini-budget and this era-defining U-turn have combined to leave them in the worst of both worlds...." MB: I guess this column is funnier because the situation Hyde describes is befalling a country that is not our own.
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