December 26, 2021

A "Keyhole into the Past." Dennis Overbye & Joey Roulette of the New York Times: "The dreams and work of a generation of astronomers headed for an orbit around the sun on Saturday in the form of the biggest and most expensive space-based observatory ever built. The James Webb Space Telescope, a joint effort of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, lifted off from a spaceport near the Equator in Kourou, French Guiana, a teetering pillar of fire and smoke embarking on a million-mile trip to the morning of time.... The telescope, named for the NASA administrator who led the space agency through the early years of the Apollo program, is designed to see farther in space and further back in time than the vaunted Hubble Space Telescope. Its primary light gathering mirror is 21 feet across, about three times bigger than Hubble, and seven times more sensitive.... The Webb's mission is to seek out the earliest, most distant stars and galaxies, which appeared 13.7 billion years ago, burning their way out of a fog leftover from the Big Bang (which occurred 13.8 billion years ago). Astronomers watching the launch remotely from all over the world, many Zooming together in their pajamas, were jubilant....The Webb will examine all of cosmic history, billions of years of it, astronomers say -- from the first stars to life in the solar system. This week, the NASA administrator Bill Nelson called the telescope a 'keyhole into the past.'" The Guardian's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: There are some things I take on faith, as it turns out, when I don't understand them. How can a camera take pictures of something that happened billions of years ago in a galaxy far, far away when I can't take pictures of my grandparents on a picnic in 1913? Or can I? 

Alexandra Jaffe of the AP: "President Joe Biden marked his first Christmas in office by making calls to military service members stationed around the world, offering them holiday wishes and gratitude for their service and sacrifice for the nation. Joined by his wife, Jill, and their new puppy, Commander, the president on Saturday spoke via video to service members representing the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard, stationed at bases in Qatar, Romania, Bahrain and the U.S." Here's video. ~~~

     ~~~ There's Always a Schmuck. Or a Schmeck. Joe DePaulo of Mediaite: "The man who told President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden 'Let's go Brandon' during a Christmas phone call claims he was just joking and that he's been receiving threats. Speaking to The Oregonian on Saturday, the man -- Jared Schmeck, from Central Point, OR -- said that although he believes Biden '[could] be doing a better job,' he did not intend any 'disrepect.'... 'He seems likes he's a cordial guy. There's no animosity or anything like that. It was merely just an innocent jest to also express my God-given right to express my frustrations in a joking manner... I love him just like I love any other brother or sister.' 'Let's go Brandon' has become a popular substitute among conservatives for 'Fuck Joe Biden.'" Mediaite's original story on Schmeck is here. Tommy Christopher reports that Biden took the remark in stride.

Guardian: "Despite surging Omicron cases of the coronavirus in the US, Joe and Jill Biden made an unannounced joint visit to a children's hospital in Washington DC on Christmas Eve. The US president's visit to Children's National Hospital was a surprise for patients and staff, the White House reported, and was believed to be the first visit to the institution by a sitting president.... Pictures on Friday showed the first couple with young patients, everyone wearing face masks to help prevent the spread of Covid-19."

Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "A New York trial court judge has upheld his order preventing The New York Times from publishing documents prepared by a lawyer for the conservative group Project Veritas, in a move that alarmed First Amendment advocates concerned about judicial intrusion into journalistic practices. In a ruling made public on Friday, the judge, Justice Charles D. Wood of State Supreme Court in Westchester County, went further: He ordered The Times to immediately turn over any physical copies of the Project Veritas documents in question, and to destroy any electronic copies in the newspaper's possession. The Times said it would seek a stay of the ruling and was planning to appeal it." The Guardian's story is here. ~~~

~~~ New York Times Editors: "The Times, like any other news organization, makes ethical judgments daily about whether to disclose secret information from governments, corporations and others in the news. But the First Amendment is meant to leave those ethical decisions to journalists, not to courts. The only potential exception is information so sensitive -- say, planned troop movements during a war -- that its publication could pose a grave threat to American lives or national security. Project Veritas's legal memos are not a matter of national security.... Justice Wood has taken it upon himself to decide what The Times can and cannot report on. That's not how the First Amendment is supposed to work.

The New York Times' live updates for Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.

** South Africa. Marilyn Berger of the New York Times: "Desmond M. Tutu, the cleric who used his pulpit and spirited oratory to help bring down apartheid in South Africa and then became the leading advocate of peaceful reconciliation under Black majority rule, died on Sunday in Cape Town. He was 90."

December 25, 2021

No technical difficulties yet because I can't even find a suitable template for the "updated" Reality Chex. Too bad I don't want my very own Wesbsite to boast about my uncoming wedding or my impressive CV, because there are plenty of templates for that.

Meanwhile, some TV station is playing "Home Alone" on a practically continuous loop. So sometimes in the commercials of a show I'm watching I'll switch over to "Home Alone," and today I caught the bit of the film that features this:

My father used to sing us this one at Christmas time. Thanks to Patrick for the link:

If you want to take a short breather from the festivities, lock yourself in your study and play the Washington Post's "Find the Elves."

December 24, 2021

Marie: Later today, I'm going to start working on moving Reality Chex to a new platform. I don't know how long this will take, but my guess is "long." So if Reality Chex is down or empty or nonsensical, don't worry. You're a witness to technical difficulties. And Merry Christmas to you, too. I trust yours will be better than mine, even if for you Christmas is just a day when nothing is open except the Chinese restaurant.

Kyle Blaine & Veronica Stracqualursi of CNN: "President Joe Biden says he supports making an exception to the Senate filibuster rules in order to pass voting rights legislation. 'If the only thing standing between getting voting rights legislation passed and not getting passed is the filibuster, I support making the exception of voting rights for the filibuster,' Biden told ABC News' David Muir in an interview that aired Thursday morning. It's the most direct answer Biden has given on his position on the filibuster and voting rights." (Also linked yesterday.)

\Lock 'Em Up. Laurence Tribe, Donald Ayer & Dennis Aftergut in a New York Times op-ed: Attorney General Merrick "Garland's success depends on ensuring that the rule of law endures. That means dissuading future coup plotters by holding the leaders of the insurrection fully accountable for their attempt to overthrow the government. But he cannot do so without a robust criminal investigation of those at the top, from the people who planned, assisted or funded the attempt to overturn the Electoral College vote to those who organized or encouraged the mob attack on the Capitol. To begin with, he might focus on Mark Meadows, Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and even Donald Trump -- all of whom were involved, in one way or another, in the events leading up to the attack. Almost a year after the insurrection, we have yet to see any clear indicators that such an investigation is underway, raising the alarming possibility that this administration may never bring charges against those ultimately responsible for the attack." (Also linked yesterday.)

Tom Hamburger, et al., of the Washington Post: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is focusing intently on Donald Trump's actions that day as it begins to discuss whether to recommend that the Justice Department open a criminal investigation into the former president. Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) said in an interview that of particular interest is why it took so long for him to call on his supporters to stand down.... [Thompson] also said the committee is weighing other potential criminal referrals surrounding the pressure put on state and local officials to overturn the results of the election, along with whether people raised money for the rallies and events surrounding Jan. 6 while knowing the claims of election fraud were false."

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Bernie Kerik, the former New York City police chief who aided Rudy Giuliani’s effort to discredit the results of the 2020 election, is inching closer to compliance with a subpoena from the Jan. 6 select committee for his testimony and documents. In a Thursday letter to Chair Bennie Thompson..., Kerik's attorney Timothy Parlatore indicated that Kerik intends to share documents he believes are 'not privileged' with the panel by the end of next week and produce a log of other documents he believes should be withheld due to various privileges. Kerik, raising concerns that his documents could be released selectively or without context, indicated that he planned to post them on a public website. Parlatore also indicated that Kerik would appear for a Jan. 13 deposition, as the panel has demanded, but intended to raise objections to the validity of the committee's subpoena." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Since Trump waived attorney-client privilege in regard to Kerik, I don't know what "various privileges" Kerik imagines he enjoys. The ex-felon privilege? The Trump-pardoned privilege? The Total Landscaping privilege? Kerik's Wiki bio (linked) reads like The Life of a Complete Ass.

Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Donald Trump & his gang of rogues are claiming that the FBI is behind the January 6 riots. Their new "proof": the FBI hasn't tried to find the D.C. pipe bomber (because the FBI knows who s/he is -- one of their own operatives!). I don't understand why the Trumposphere hasn't yet blamed Hillary Clinton for the insurrection. BTW, Bump embeds some footage of the would-be bomber I had not seen before.

Tierney Sneed, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump appealed to the Supreme Court on Thursday to block the release of documents from his White House to the House committee investigating the January 6 riot at the Capitol, escalating his effort to keep about 700 pages of records secret. Hours after Trump's request was filed, the House committee asked the justices to expedite their consideration of the request, with a proposed schedule that would allow the court to say by the middle of next month whether it was taking up the case.... At issue are hundreds of documents including activity logs, schedules, speech notes and three pages of handwritten notes from then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows -- paperwork that could reveal goings-on inside the West Wing as Trump supporters gathered in Washington and then overran the US Capitol...." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Grifters United, Ltd. Douglas MacMillan & Jonathan O'Connell of the Washington Post: "A Chinese firm helping ... Donald Trump take his new media company public has been the target of investigations by federal securities regulators, who say the firm misrepresented shell companies with no products and few employees as ambitious, growing enterprises, documents and interviews show. Arc Capital, an investment advisory firm based in Shanghai, has repeatedly helped create or finance companies with little or no revenue, no customers and office locations that point to P.O. boxes, according to Washington Post review of regulatory and court filings. One claimed to be developing autonomous drone software despite having no employees; another said it operated a publicly traded in-home bakery 'specializing in freshly-made cakes and cupcakes' before saying it pivoted into touch-screen technologies for a 'diversified blue-chip client base,' regulatory filings show.... The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Arc of deceiving investors about the scope of its operations, the locations of the businesses and the identities of the people behind them, documents show." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Seems perfectly legit to me. I expect Trump is planning to diversify Trump TV into "Little Ivanka Cupcakes." Ivanka's tiny cakes might have marshmallow centers like Little Debbie's, but they will be all vanilla, folks. Totally white.

FEC Lets DeJoy Off the Hook. Felicia Sonmez, et al., of the Washington Post: "Federal campaign finance regulators have dismissed two complaints against Postmaster General Louis DeJoy following a legal review that concluded there was no evidence of wrongdoing by DeJoy within a five-year statute of limitations. The government watchdog groups Campaign Legal Center and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) accused DeJoy in complaints filed last year of running a 'straw donor scheme' before he took office at the U.S. Postal Service. The complaints came after five people who worked for DeJoy's former business told The Washington Post they were urged by his aides or by DeJoy himself to write checks and attend fundraisers for Republican candidates at his Greensboro, N.C., home between 2003 and 2014.... But the Federal Election Commission released documents Wednesday showing nearly 20 people who worked for the successor company denied being pressured or reimbursed.... DeJoy could still face criminal exposure related to the alleged fundraising. The FBI last spring opened a criminal investigation into DeJoy's fundraising activity...."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "The Fox News host Jesse Watters used notably violent language this week in urging a gathering of conservatives to publicly confront Dr. Anthony S. Fauci..., who has become a frequent source of criticism on the political right.... Fox News has not disciplined Mr. Watters for the remarks. The network said in a statement that ... 'it's more than clear that Jesse Watters was using a metaphor for asking hard-hitting questions to Dr. Fauci.' [Watters'] amped-up language was in keeping with the tone of prominent conservative figures, who for months have routinely and casually referred to Dr. Fauci in bracingly derogatory terms.... The networ's highest-rated hosts often depict him as an authoritarian determined to strip Americans of basic freedoms. Tucker Carlson has claimed that Dr. Fauci 'created Covid,' and accused him of spreading 'authoritarian germ hysteria.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm sure Anthony Fauci, like all of us, has his imperfections, but he has worked his entire adult life trying to save the lives of others, and at a salary much lower than he likely would have received if he'd worked in the private sector. And for all that, he gets vilified & threatened 24/7 by stupid, right-wing teevee "personalities." No good deed goes unpunished. Merry Christmas.

Cat Zakrzewski of the Washington Post: "Amazon has been heavily expanding into areas that the government designates for special tax incentives, according to a new analysis that comes amid growing regulatory scrutiny of the e-commerce giant. The company has located delivery stations, fulfillment centers and even an air hub in 'opportunity zones,' regions across the country where investors can qualify for capital gains tax breaks under a 2017 law. The initiative had bipartisan backing and was intended to incentivize investment in some of the most economically distressed regions of the country. But critics of the program have raised concerns that such programs further enrich wealthy investors and corporations for projects that would have happened without government assistance. And because there aren't requirements that investors and corporations publicly report how they are using the tax breaks, it's difficult to measure impact."

Faiz Siddiqui of the Washington Post: "Tesla will no longer allow drivers and front-seat passengers to play video games while its cars are in motion, the company told federal regulators after a probe was opened this week.... The company in the past has touted potential safety benefits of its advanced driver-assistance system, Autopilot, comparing its performance to driving overall.... Autopilot's performance is not directly comparable to regular driving because the system consists of primarily highway-only features."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here.

Maria Godoy of NPR: "With another coronavirus variant racing across the U.S., once again health authorities are urging people to mask up indoors.... Given how contagious omicron is, experts say, it's seriously time to upgrade to an N95 or similar high-filtration respirator when you're in public indoor spaces. 'Cloth masks are not going to cut it with omicron,' says Linsey Marr, a researcher at Virginia Tech who studies how viruses transmit in the air."

Biden Team Drops the Ball. Michael Shear & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "As a candidate, [Joe] Biden excoriated the lack of [Covid-19] testing during the Trump administration, saying in March 2020 that 'the administration's failure on testing is colossal, and it's a failure of planning, leadership and execution.' But the Omicron variant caught the White House off guard, as the president has acknowledged, and cases have far outstripped the government's ability to make tests available. The president's pledge of a half-billion tests on Tuesday was the centerpiece of a newly aggressive testing effort, announced just days before Christmas, as Americans try to find the hard-to-find tests so they know whether they are infected during the holiday season.... Contracts to purchase tests could be finalized as soon as next week, officials said. Whether testing manufacturers can now ramp up to produce an extra 500 million at-home tests -- and how soon -- is unclear."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Thursday are here: "The United States logged a seven-day average coronavirus case count of 168,981 on Wednesday, amid a nationwide spike driven partly by the omicron variant, Washington Post figures show, surpassing a summer peak of just over 165,000 infections on Sept. 1." (Also linked yesterday.)

Maria Paul of the Washington Post: "Major commercial airlines United and Delta said they would cancel dozens of flights on Christmas Eve, citing staff shortages stemming from the omicron-fueled surge in coronavirus cases sweeping the country. On Thursday, United Airlines said in a statement it was canceling 120 flights the following day because the fast-spreading variant has had 'a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation.' Delta said in a statement that its teams had 'exhausted all options and resources -- including rerouting and substitutions of aircraft and crews to cover schedules flying; before cancelling over 90 flights on Christmas Eve due to weather events and staffing issues."

Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "... health experts warn the symptoms that previously helped people to gauge whether they had a cold, flu or covid-19 are no longer the useful marker they once were.... In this omicron-dominant season, symptoms of cold, flu or covid-19 are overlapping to a large degree (with the exception of the losing a sense of taste or smell, which remains specific to covid-19)." The article is free to nonsubscribers.

Rebecca Robbins & Carl Zimmer of the New York Times: "The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized a second antiviral pill for Covid but said it should not be a preferred treatment. The F.D.A. cleared the pill, developed by Merck and known as molnupiravir, for adults who are vulnerable to becoming severely ill from Covid and for whom alternative Covid treatment options authorized by the F.D.A. are 'not accessible or clinically appropriate.' Older people and those who have conditions like obesity, diabetes and heart disease would be eligible to get a prescription for Merck's pills if they get sick from the coronavirus and cannot get treatments such as Pfizer's newly authorized pills or monoclonal antibody treatments. Both vaccinated and unvaccinated people will be eligible. The treatment -- to be taken as 40 pills over five days -- is expected to be available within a few weeks. Merck's pill works by introducing errors into the virus's genes to stop it from replicating, which has raised concerns about the risk that it could cause reproductive harm. The F.D.A. said that women who were pregnant should generally not take the pills, but that there could be exceptions." The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Olafimihan Oshin of the Hill: "Former President Trump in an interview with conservative media personality Candace Owens pushed back over her claims undermining the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. In a Tuesday episode of the Daily Wire show 'Candace,' Trump told Owens that he takes credit for the 'incredible speed' of how the vaccines were developed during his time in office and his partnership with private pharmaceutical companies. 'I came up with a vaccine, with three vaccines,' Trump told Owens. 'All are very, very good. Came up with three of them in less than nine months. It was supposed to take five to 12 years.'... '... the vaccines work.... The ones who get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don't take the vaccine. But it's still their choice. And if you take the vaccine, you're protected,' Trump told Owens." Trump also said that the vaccine is "one of the greatest achievements of mankind." And he came up with it! Trump's Tomb headliner: "came up with one of the greatest achievements of mankind" chiseled into the finest gold-veined pink marble.

Beyond the Beltway

Minnesota. Amy Forliti & Scott Bauer of the AP: "A suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she confused her handgun for her Taser was convicted of manslaughter Thursday in the death of Daunte Wright.... The mostly white jury deliberated for about 27 hours over four days before finding former Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter guilty of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter. Potter, 49, faces about seven years in prison on the most serious count under the state's sentencing guidelines, but prosecutors said they would seek a longer term." The Washington Post's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

New York, Where It's Okay to Feel up a Cop. Ed Shanahan of the New York Times: "Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will not face criminal charges over a female state trooper's accusation that he touched her inappropriately when she was protecting him during a 2019 event at Belmont Park racetrack, a Long Island prosecutor said on Thursday. The prosecutor, Joyce Smith, Nassau County's acting district attorney, said in a statement that an 'exhaustive investigation' into the trooper's allegations -- which first surfaced in a damning report by New York's attorney general -- had found them to be 'credible, deeply troubling, but not criminal under New York law.':

Pennsylvania. AP: "The vehicle stolen at gunpoint in Philadelphia from U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon was found in neighboring Delaware with five suspects inside, who were in police custody Thursday, police said. Scanlon's blue Acura MDX was located Wednesday night in Newark, Delaware, about 45 miles (74 kilometers) from Philadelphia, Delaware State Police said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Kathryn Watson & Justin Carissimo of CBS News: "Five teenagers have been charged in the armed carjacking of U.S. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon in Philadelphia, authorities said.... The FBI charged Josiah Brown, 19, with carjacking and the use of a firearm in the carjacking. Police identified the juvenile suspects as a 14-year-old female and three male juveniles, aged 13, 15, and 16.... All five suspects are from Wilmington, Delaware.... Scanlon said President Biden called her Thursday to check on her, and they discussed the importance of gun control measures."

Way Beyond

Russia. Isabelle Khurshudyan & Mary Ilyushina of the Washington Post: "Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a marathon annual news conference Thursday, blamed the West for tensions on the Ukraine border and fears of war, but stopped short of issuing any pronouncements likely to drive further escalation. One of his most prominent television appearances of the year, the appearance, which lasted about four hours, was an opportunity for him to convince Russians that Kyiv's westward turn is an urgent security threat to Moscow -- one that could justify military action.... Though Putin was given two opportunities to say definitively that Russia would not invade Ukraine, he instead reiterated his demand for a promise in writing that NATO would not expand eastward." (Also linked yesterday.)