December 20, 2021

Marie: Squarespace is messed up again. The company now offer absolutely no technical assistance at all no matter how much they screw up. Realty Chex was down for a while, then the edit function was down, now the edit function is iffy. So I don't know what to expect. But if there's crap on the site and/or if it's down for days, it's not because I'm sick or dead.

Afternoon Update:

Tara Golshan & Arthur Delaney of the Huffington Post: "Publicly, [Joe Manchin's] biggest gripes [about the Build Back Better bill] are about the cost of the bill. But privately, Manchin has told his colleagues that he essentially doesn't trust low-income people to spend government money wisely. In recent months, Manchin has told several of his fellow Democrats that he thought parents would waste monthly child tax credit payments on drugs instead of providing for their children, according to two sources familiar with the senator's comments.... Manchin has also told colleagues he believes that Americans would fraudulently use the proposed paid sick leave policy, specifically saying people would feign being sick and go on hunting trips.... Continuing the child tax credit for another year is a core part of the Build Back Better legislation that Democrats had hoped to pass by the end of the year. The policy has already cut child poverty by nearly 30%. Manchin's private comments shocked several senators, who saw it as an unfair assault on his own constituents and those struggling to raise children in poverty." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is the perfect argument. No matter that there is statistical proof that the child tax credit has been a boon to American children, Joe can always point to cases of parents squandering the benefits on drugs or other things that are of no benefit to their children. Once you decide that most poor people are poor because they're irresponsible and not because of market forces or other factors largely beyond their control, end of discussion. I was wondering if Manchin drove his Maserati from his 65-foot yacht to the Fox studio.

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times:"Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, vowed on Monday to press forward with votes on a revised version of President Biden's $2.2 trillion marquee climate, tax and spending plan.... Votes on the plan would come in early 2022, Mr. Schumer pointedly noted in a letter to his colleagues, 'so that everymember of this body has the opportunity to make their position known on the Senate floor, not just on television.... We simply cannot give up.'"

Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Stymied by Republicans on voting rights legislation, Senator Chuck Schumer on Monday gave the clearest sign yet that he would try to force a fundamental change in Senate rules if needed to enact federal laws to offset voting restrictions being imposed by Republican-led legislatures around the country. In a letter to colleagues, Mr. Schumer, the New York Democrat and majority leader, said that the Senate would take up stalled voting rights legislation as early as the first week of January and that if Republicans continued to filibuster, the Senate would 'consider changes to any rules which prevent us from debating and reaching final conclusion on important legislation.' But it is not clear how far Democrats will be willing or able to go in working around the 60-vote requirement for most legislation and finding a way to pass voting rights legislation with a simple majority."

~~~ Wyoming Will Be Their New Home. Debbie Cenziper & Will Fitzgibbon of the Washington Post: "In recent years, families from India to Italy to Venezuela have abandoned international financial centers for law firms in Wyoming's ski resorts and mining towns, helping to turn the state into one of the world's top tax havens. A dozen international clients who created Wyoming trusts were identified in the Pandora Papers, a trove of more than 11.9 million records obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and shared with The Washington Post.... The documents offer a rare look at Wyoming's discreet financial sector and the people who rely on its services.... In Wyoming, with the support of state lawmakers, the industry charged ahead, promoting a suite of financial arrangements to potential customers around the world. At the heart of those arrangements are trusts, legal agreements that allow people to stash away money and other assets so they are protected from creditors and incur few or no tax obligations for themselves or their heirs."

Your Tax Dollars Are Rusting. Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "According to an investigation by the Atlantic's John B. Washington, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of steel purchased by Donald Trump's administration to build his ill-fated border on the U.S.-Mexico border now sits rusting away in the desert with no concrete plans on what to do with it.... After Trump lost his re-election bid in 2020, the incoming administration of President Joe Biden pulled the plug on the controversial relic of the Trump era, with workers pulled off the job and materials left behind."

Jonah Bromwich, et al., of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump filed a lawsuit on Monday against the New York State attorney general, Letitia James, seeking to halt her long-running civil investigation into his business practices and to bar her from participating in a separate criminal investigation. The suit, filed in federal court in Albany by Mr. Trump and his family real estate business, argues that Ms. James's involvement in both inquiries has been politically motivated. It lists statements she has made that Mr. Trump's lawyers argue are evidence of her bias against him." A CNBC story is here.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Monday are here.

Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "A booster shot of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine significantly raises the level of antibodies that can thwart the Omicron variant, the company announced on Monday.... Most coronavirus vaccines seem unable to stave off infection from the highly contagious variant. Moderna's results show that the currently authorized booster dose of 50 micrograms -- half the dose given for primary immunization -- increased the level of antibodies by roughly 37-fold, the company said. A full dose of 100 micrograms was even more powerful, raising antibody levels about 83-fold compared with pre-boost levels, Moderna said. Both doses produced side effects comparable to those seen after the two-dose primary series. But the dose of 100 micrograms showed slightly more frequent adverse reactions relative to the authorized 50-microgram dose."

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** Emily Cochrane & Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, said on Sunday that he could not support President Biden's signature $2.2 trillion social safety net, climate and tax bill, dooming his party's drive to pass its marquee domestic policy legislation as written.... In a statement released shortly after [his Fox 'News" announcement], he was scathing toward his own party, declaring that 'my Democratic colleagues in Washington are determined to dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face.'... Mr. Manchin's comments on Sunday provoked an unusually blistering broadside from Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, who accused Mr. Manchin in a lengthy statement of reneging on his promises.... 'If his comments on Fox and written statement indicate an end to that effort,' she said, 'they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the president and the senator's colleagues in the House and Senate.'... Ms. Psaki said Mr. Manchin ... had submitted his own offer for a bill in person at the White House last week, a meeting the officials had not previously divulged." An NPR story is here. Politico's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ ** Here's Psaki's full statement, via the White House. Definitely worth reading. ~~~

     ~~~ Pamela Brown of CNN says that President Biden signed off on Psaki's statement before she made it. ~~~

     ~~~ The Arrogance of Being Joe Manchin. Ryan Lizza & Rachel Bade of Politico: "Less than 30 minutes before he killed the Democratic Party's most important piece of legislation, an aide was dispatched by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to give the White House and congressional leadership a heads up.... At the White House, there was panic and disbelief. He sent an aide to tell the president of the United States that he was about to go on Fox News and put a bullet in BBB? Top White House officials scrambled to call the senator and talk him out of what he was about to do. 'We tried to head him off,' a senior White House official told Playbook, but Manchin 'refused to take a call from White House staff.'" Emphasis removed. ~~~

     ~~~ Amber Phillips of the Washington Post: "Coming from a White House that prides itself on collegiality, pragmatism and a we-can-work-it-out attitude, [Jen Psaki's] statement was a remarkable rebuke of one of their own. It was similar in tone and substance to the fury directed at [Joe] Manchin by House liberals, who worried aloud for months that Manchin couldn't be trusted. On Sunday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, accused Manchin of betraying the party: 'He routinely touts that he is a man of his word, but he can no longer say that.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So the best thing to do is kidnap Manchin, hide him in an undisclosed location, get a look-alike to vote for the bill, and when Manchin claims this all has happened, say he's insane. More seriously, what a rotten, cruel, lying, duplicitous, attention-manic SOB. ~~~

~~~ Matt Egan of CNN: "Senator Joe Manchin's opposition to the Build Back Better Act prompted Goldman Sachs to swiftly dim its US economic outlook. The Wall Street firm told clients Sunday it no longer assumes President Joe Biden's signature legislation will get through the narrowly divided Congress, citing the West Virginia Democrat's announcement that he's a 'no' on the $1.75 trillion bill. 'A failure to pass BBB has negative growth implications,' Goldman Sachs economists, led by Jan Hatzius, said in the research report. Citing the 'apparent demise' of Build Back Better, Goldman Sachs now expects GDP to grow at an annualized pace of 2% in the first quarter, down from 3% previously."

** Edward-Isaac Dovere & Manu Raju of CNN: "Senate Republicans are poised to deny President Joe Biden an appointment to the Supreme Court if they take the majority in the 2022 midterm elections.... Biden has so far avoided the kind of pressure [on Stephen Breyer] that Barack Obama tried to exert on Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2013, when the President hosted the aging justice at the White House for lunch to nudge her toward the exit. But in the West Wing and among civil rights leaders, the frustration is about more than just a Supreme Court seat: every day that Breyer remains on the bench is a day that Biden isn't able to fulfill his campaign pledge to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court.... Meanwhile, Senate Republicans aren't shy about laying out how they'd handle a nomination from Biden if they take the majority: They wouldn't. 'You know what the rule is on that,' said Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee. 'You go back to 1886 and ever since then, when the Senate's been of one party and the president's been of another party, you didn't confirm.' There is no such rule."

Robert McFadden of the New York Times: "Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican who succeeded Newt Gingrich in the House of Representatives, and in 15 years in the Senate was a moderate conservative, often championing bipartisan cooperation, until his resignation for health reasons in 2019, died on Sunday at his home in Atlanta. He was 76."

Nicole Asbury of the Washington Post: "A Watkins Elementary School staff member told third-graders in library class to reenact scenes from the Holocaust, directing them to dig their classmates' mass graves and simulate shooting the victims, according to an email from the school's principal. The instructor was placed on leave Friday.... The instructor allegedly made antisemitic comments during the reenactment. The parent said that when the children asked why the Germans did this, the staff member said it was 'because the Jews ruined Christmas.'"

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Stephanie Nolen of the New York Times: "A growing body of preliminary research suggests the Covid vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defense against becoming infected by the highly contagious Omicron variant. All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have initial success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world. The other shots -- including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and vaccines manufactured in China and Russia -- do little to nothing to stop the spread of Omicron, early research shows. And because most countries have built their inoculation programs around these vaccines, the gap could have a profound impact on the course of the pandemic."

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Two prominent Democratic senators, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey, announced separately on Sunday that they had tested positive with a breakthrough case of the coronavirus. Both senators disclosed their cases on Sunday, and said they were experiencing mild symptoms after being vaccinated and receiving a booster shot. Ms. Warren said she received the positive result Sunday, while Mr. Booker said his test result came back after he began experiencing symptoms Saturday. The cases come barely a day after the Senate left Washington for the year, after senators labored through hours of votes on nominations that ended in the predawn hours Saturday." A CNN story reports that Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) says he also tested positive for a breakthrough case of Covid-19.

One Man Who Wasn't Afraid of the Big Bad Oaf. Deirdre McPhillips & Devan Cole of CNN: "The outgoing director of the National Institutes of Health said Sunday that he faced political pressure from ... Donald Trump and other Republicans to endorse unproven Covid-19 remedies such as hydroxychloroquine and to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Francis Collins, whose last day as NIH director is Sunday, told CBS News that he got a 'talking to' by Trump, but that he held his ground and would have resigned if Trump made him endorse remedies for Covid-19 that were not based in science."

Hunter Walker of the Uprising: "On Dec. 12, Reuters published a story detailing how 'a Chicago publicist for hip-hop artist Kanye West' visited the home of a Georgia election worker in the final days of Donald Trump's presidency to warn that there would be dire consequences if she did not admit to bogus voter fraud allegations. Among many other wild details, the story claimed the publicist, Trevian Kutti, told the election worker she was going to put 'a man named "Harrison Ford" on speakerphone' because he had 'authoritative powers to get you protection.'... 'There are federal people that are involved here,' Kutti added.... However, there are multiple indications that Kutti did not actually use the name of the famous actor and instead referred to Harrison Floyd, who was a staffer on Trump's presidential campaign. Floyd ... was the executive director of 'Black Voices For Trump.'... Cooperation between Kutti and Floyd could ... tie West's circle to Trump's election team."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Chile. Pascale Bonnefoy & Ernesto Londoño of the New York Times: "Chileans on Sunday elected Gabriel Boric as their next president, entrusting the young leftist lawmaker with helping to shape the future of a nation that has been roiled by protests and is now drafting a new Constitution. At 35, Mr. Boric will be the nation's youngest leader and by far its most liberal since President Salvador Allende, who died by suicide during the 1973 military coup that ushered in a brutal 17-year dictatorship."

China. Chris Buckley of the New York Times: "Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis star whose account of sexual coercion by a former Communist Party leader ignited weeks of tensions and galvanized calls for boycotts of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, has reversed her assertion that she had been sexually assaulted by the official. Ms. Peng made the comments in an interview that was published on Sunday by a Singaporean newspaper. But the retraction appeared unlikely to extinguish concerns about her well-being and suspicions that she had been the target of well-honed pressure techniques and a propaganda campaign by Chinese officials."

December 19, 2021

S.N.A.F.U. Azmat Kahn of the New York Times: "... cases ... drawn from a hidden Pentagon archive of the American air war in the Middle East since 2014 ... -- the military]s own confidential assessments of more than 1,300 reports of civilian casualties, obtained by The New York Times -- lays bare how the air war has been marked by deeply flawed intelligence, rushed and often imprecise targeting, and the deaths of thousands of civilians, many of them children, a sharp contrast to the American government's image of war waged by all-seeing drones and precision bombs. The documents show, too, that despite the Pentagon's highly codified system for examining civilian casualties, pledges of transparency and accountability have given way to opacity and impunity. In only a handful of cases were the assessments made public. Not a single record provided includes a finding of wrongdoing or disciplinary action. Fewer than a dozen condolence payments were made, even though many survivors were left with disabilities requiring expensive medical care. Documented efforts to identify root causes or lessons learned are rare.... This is the first part of a series. Part 2 will examine the air war's human toll." ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Levenson of the New York Times lays out six key takeaways from Part 1 of the series. It's a devastating picture of U.S. air operations. ~~~

     ~~~ The military reports of civilian casualties, via the New York Times, are here. "The documents were obtained through Freedom of Information requests beginning in March 2017 and subsequent lawsuits filed against the Defense Department and the U. S. Central Command. The Times has categorized the published reports as credible, noncredible & process docs. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you have served in the military or know people who have, then you know how screwed up the military has been, is and will be.

Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "A congressional year that began with an assault on the seat of democracy ended at 4 a.m. Saturday with the failure of a narrow Democratic majority to deliver on its most cherished promises, leaving lawmakers in both parties wondering if the legislative branch can be rehabilitated without major changes to its rules of operations. 'It has been a horrible year, hasn't it?' asked Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, as she looked back on failed efforts to convict a former president and to create a bipartisan commission to examine the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, as well as numerous legislative endeavors that could not find bipartisan majorities." MB: If Lisa had wanted to make it a little less horrible, she could have announced she would vote in favor of the Build Back Better bill, no matter what was in it. (She was the only GOP senator to vote to advance restoration of part of the voting rights act.) (Also linked yesterday afternoon.

Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "In its final business of the year, the Senate confirmed Rahm Emanuel, the controversial former Chicago mayor and White House chief of staff, as ambassador to Japan early Saturday morning on a bipartisan vote. Emanuel's confirmation came as Senate Democrats struck a deal with Republicans to advance dozens of other Biden administration nominees, including ambassadors to major U.S. allies that had been sitting in limbo because of opposition from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who sought to force a vote that could block the Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 pipeline.... Early Saturday morning..., Democrats agreed to a pipeline vote next month in return for the confirmation of nearly 50 ambassadors -- including envoys to Ireland, Switzerland, Sweden and the European Union -- plus several other Biden administration nominees.... Emanuel was the only State Department nominee to require a roll-call vote.... More than 100 Biden nominees remain on the Senate calendar awaiting floor action." ~~~

~~~ Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The Senate confirmed President Biden's 40th federal judicial nominee early on Saturday morning, the most judges confirmed in a president's first year in the last 40 years. In a pre-dawn mad dash before leaving Washington for the holidays, lawmakers confirmed 10 district court judges, bringing the year-end total to 40 and notching an achievement not seen since former President Ronald Reagan. It underscored how the White House has set a rapid pace in filling vacancies on the federal bench, even besting the records set by the Trump administration, which maintained a laser focus on reshaping the judiciary.... The Senate confirmed 18 circuit and district court judges in ... Donald J. Trump's first year in office, and 12 in President Barack Obama's inaugural year. Mr. Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pledged to counter the Trump era's aggressive efforts to transform the judiciary with young right-wing judges who are mostly white and male. Since January, the president has sent the Senate an extraordinarily diverse roster of nominees, both in terms of ethnic background and professional experience."

Whitney Wild of CNN: "'Stop the Steal' leader Ali Alexander has handed over to the House Select Committee investigating January 6 thousands of text messages and communication records that include his interactions with members of Congress and ... Donald Trump's inner circle leading up to the riot, according to a court document submitted late Friday night. The revelations emerged from Alexander's challenge to the committee's effort to obtain his phone records directly from his telecommunications provider.... The move comes more than a week after Alexander sat for several hours of testimony with committee organizers.... Alexander is a central figure for investigators seeking to understand how the rallies on January 6 were funded, organized, promoted and eventually erupted into an attack at the Capitol intended to stop the certification of electoral votes for Joe Biden's presidency."

Zachary Cohen & Holmes Lybrand of CNN: "Roger Stone ... met briefly Friday with the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot and asserted his Fifth Amendment rights to every question asked, he said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Noah Bookbinder of CREW, in an NBC News opinion piece: "Donald Trump should never have been allowed to retain ownership of his Washington, D.C., hotel while president. A new report confirmed that the controls allegedly in place to limit potential corruption failed completely. Trump exposed these flaws in the system; Congress must act now before they are exploited again. This week, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure issued a report finding that the General Services Administration ... completely failed to prevent or even identify potential legal and constitutional violations arising from Trump's ownership of the hotel.... Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., the committee's chairman, told NBC News the report 'brings to light GSA's flagrant mismanagement of the Old Post Office lease and its attempt to duck its responsibility to support and defend the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clauses.'... The Protecting Our Democracy Act, which the House passed last week, includes provisions strengthening the enforcement of the emoluments clauses and gives more teeth to congressional oversight and more protection to inspectors general and whistleblowers. The Senate should pass it as soon as possible."

Jason Samenow of the Washington Post: "Exceptionally mild weather dominating the Lower 48 this month shows little sign of meaningful change through the Christmas holiday. This means rather underwhelming chances for a white Christmas in many parts of the United States, a state of affairs to which we probably should become accustomed. Our warming climate appears to be eating away at white Christmas chances, newly available data shows." MB: Speak for yourself, Jason. I'm having a white weekend-before-Christmas. It's 4:30 am ET, & the snowplow just went past my front door, no doubt plowing deep snowpiles onto the ends of my driveway. The guy is perverse.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Kelly O'Donnell & Minyvonne Burke of NBC News: "President Joe Biden will deliver a speech Tuesday to address the omicron variant and unveil new steps the administration is taking to help communities in need of assistance, a White House official told NBC News on Saturday. Biden is expected to go beyond his already unveiled 'winter plan' with additional measures while 'issuing a stark warning of what the winter will look like for Americans that choose to remain unvaccinated,' the official said. The news comes amid a rise in Covid-19 cases and pleas from federal health officials for people to get vaccinated."

Erin Doherty of Axios: "The Omicron variant has been detected in 89 countries and has a 'substantial growth advantage' over the Delta variant, the World Health Organization announced.... COVID-19 cases detected with the newest variant are doubling every 1.5 to 3 days in areas where there is community spread, WHO said. 'Omicron is spreading rapidly in countries with high levels of population immunity,' said the organization, adding: 'given current available data, it is likely that Omicron will outpace Delta where community transmission occurs.'"

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here: "New York State reported yet another increase in coronavirus cases on Saturday as a convergence between the fast-spreading Omicron variant and a winter surge of the Delta variant continues to drive a spike in infections." ~~~

~~~ SNL Live-ish. Emily Yahr of the Washington Post: "In a first for 'Saturday Night Live,' hours before an episode was set to air, producers scrapped the planned show and sent most of the cast home...." Tom Hanks & Tina Fey pitched in to help out scheduled host Paul Rudd. "It's going to be a little bit like that new Beatles documentary. A lot of old footage but enough new stuff that you'like, 'Okay, I'll watch that,'" Rudd said. An NBC News story is here.

Washington State. Mike Baker of the New York Times: "State Senator Doug Ericksen, a Republican who had led efforts to oppose Washington State's Covid-19 emergency orders and vaccine mandates, has died after his own battle with the illness. He was 52." An AP story is here.

Beyond the Beltway

The Party of Racists Steps Up Its Game. Nick Corasaniti & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "... a growing number of Black elected officials across the country -- ranging from members of Congress to county commissioners -- ... have been drawn out of their districts, placed in newly competitive districts or bundled into new districts where they must vie against incumbents from their own party. Almost all of the affected lawmakers are Democrats, and most of the mapmakers are white Republicans. The G.O.P. is currently seeking to widen its advantage in states including North Carolina, Ohio, Georgia and Texas, and because partisan gerrymandering has long been difficult to disentangle from racial gerrymandering, proving the motive can be troublesome. But the effect remains the same: less political power for communities of color. The pattern has grown more pronounced during this year's redistricting cycle, the first since the Supreme Court struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act in 2013.... Efforts to curb racial gerrymandering have been [further] hampered by a 2019 Supreme Court decision, which ruled that partisan gerrymandering could not be challenged in federal court." ~~~

~~~ AND There's This. Michigan. Tara Bahrampour of the Washington Post: "The U.S. government may have missed counting tens of thousands of people in Detroit in the 2020 Census, according to a report released this week by the University of Michigan.... After census data was released this summer, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan questioned the results, noting that electric company records showed active contracts for more households than the 2020 Census enumerated.... Decennial census data is used to determine a decade's worth of congressional apportionment, redistricting and allocation of $1.5 trillion a year in federal funds. The report follows analyses suggesting the 2020 Census may have undercounted Black people at a significantly higher rate than usual. Around four-fifths of Detroit's population is Black. At a news conference Thursday, Duggan ... said the city plans to appeal to the U.S. Commerce Department, which oversees the Census Bureau, and might sue in federal court." MB: Not much chance the undercount was an accident.

December 18, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Forgot this one this morning: ~~~

~~~ Zachary Cohen & Holmes Lybrand of CNN: "Roger Stone ... met briefly Friday with the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot and asserted his Fifth Amendment rights to every question asked, he said."

Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "A congressional year that began with an assault on the seat of democracy ended at 4 a.m. Saturday with the failure of a narrow Democratic majority to deliver on its most cherished promises, leaving lawmakers in both parties wondering if the legislative branch can be rehabilitated without major changes to its rules of operations. 'It has been a horrible year, hasn't it?' asked Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, as she looked back on failed efforts to convict a former president and to create a bipartisan commission to examine the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, as well as numerous legislative endeavors that could not find bipartisan majorities." MB: If Lisa had wanted to make it a little less horrible, she could have announced she would vote in favor of the Buiid Back Better bill, no matter what was in it. (She was the only GOP senator to vote to advance restoration of part of the voting rights act.)

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Jake Tapper & Jamie Gangel of CNN: "Members of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol believe that former Texas Governor and Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry was the author of a text message sent to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows the day after the 2020 election pushing an 'AGRESSIVE (sic) STRATEGY' for three state legislatures to ignore the will of their voters and deliver their states' electors to Donald Trump, three sources familiar with the House Committee investigation tell CNN. A spokesman for Perry told CNN that the former Energy Secretary denies being the author of the text. Multiple people who know Rick Perry confirmed to CNN that the phone number the committee has associated with that text message is Perry's number.... The text was first presented publicly on the House floor Tuesday night by Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, and reads: 'HERE's an AGRESSIVE (sic) STRATEGY: Why can t (sic) the states of GA NC PENN and other R controlled state houses declare this is BS (where conflicts and election not called that night) and just send their own electors to vote and have it go to the SCOTUS.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Rick Perry isn't all that bright, but apparently he has a Smartphone because if we're to believe his spokesperson, the phone must have generated the coup plot all by itself. The real bottom line: there is now solid evidence that a former Trump Cabinet member was plotting a coup even before all the votes were counted & sharing those nefarious plans with Trump's top aide. (North Carolina eventually went to Trump.) And Perry, being a former governor, would know how to manipulate state legislatures. ~~~

     ~~~ Steve M.: "As I always say, Donald Trump didn't turn the GOP into an anti-democratic party. The GOP has been opposed to democracy since at least the era of George W. Bush and his obsession with voter fraud. Trump vastly increased the level of anti-democratic aggression, but pre-Trump Republicans were already with the program. Some have preferred to create a veneer of legitimacy about their anti-democratic activities, which would explain why Republicans in the states resisted Trump's efforts to steal the 2020 election after the votes were in and counted, but they're all fine with the notion of putting a thumb or two on the scale to ensure Republican victories."

Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) signaled support for the bipartisan House committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, saying what the panel is trying to uncover is 'something the public needs to know.' In an interview with Spectrum News that aired Thursday, McConnell said he looks forward to hearing what else the committee will reveal about the insurrection, a view that puts him at odds with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who has attacked the work of the panel as purely political. 'I think the fact-finding is interesting. We're all going to be watching it,' McConnell said. 'It was a horrendous event, and I think what they're seeking to find out is something the public needs to know.' McConnell's statements are noteworthy given that earlier this year he opposed the creation of [a fact-finding commission]...." ~~~

~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "On Tuesday, CNN's Manu Raju asked [Mitch] McConnell about the revelation that Trump allies ... had pleaded with [Trump chief-of-staff Mark] Meadows during the riot to get Trump to stop it. The text messages showed those people recognized Trump was the catalyst for the events, despite their later comments. McConnell ... responded: 'I do think we're all watching, as you are, what is unfolding on the House side, and it will be interesting to reveal all of the participants who were involved.'... [McConnell's possible motive: he recognizes that the committee's findings will] reflect quite poorly on those involved, and McConnell recognizes it will be difficult to dispute that.... Whatever the [motive]..., what he's saying is a departure from his party that significantly hamstrings efforts to undermine the committee."

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Brandon Straka, a Donald Trump ally who spoke at a Jan. 5 'Stop the Steal' rally in Washington -- and has since pleaded guilty for joining the mob that stormed onto the grounds of the U.S. Capitol the next day -- has provided investigators with information they say 'may impact the government's sentencing recommendation.' It's an indication that Straka, one of the few Jan. 6 defendants who is also of interest to congressional investigators, has cooperated with prosecutors in a substantive way.... Straka pleaded guilty in October to a single misdemeanor charge and was set to be sentenced next week. But prosecutors have asked for a 30-day sentencing delay so that his new evidence 'can be properly evaluated.'"

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A Florida man [Robert Palmer] who hurled a fire extinguisher at police officers during some of the most ferocious fighting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was sentenced on Friday to more than five years in prison, the longest term handed down so far to any of the more than 700 people charged in the attack.... Prosecutors say he threw a wooden plank-like spear at the police, sprayed a fire extinguisher at officers and then hurled the empty canister at them.... Before his sentencing hearing in Federal District Court in Washington, Mr. Palmer, 54, wrote a letter to Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, saying that he had come to recognize that Mr. Trump and his allies had lied to their supporters by 'spitting out the false narrative about a stolen election and how it was "our duty" to stand up to tyranny.'"

Jesse Wegman of the New York Times: "While [voter fraud scam artists] pretend to care about real election crimes, their purpose ... is to concoct a world in which the votes of certain people (and it always seems to be the same people) are presumptively invalid. That's why they are not chastened by data demonstrating -- again and again and again and again — that there is essentially no voter fraud anywhere in this country. Thanks to their efforts, about three quarters of Republicans believe the 2020 election was stolen, and they won't be convinced by evidence to the contrary.... Voter fraud is vanishingly rare. It is virtually never coordinated. And when it does happen, it is often easily discovered and prosecuted by authorities.... Donald Trump turned fact-free charges of voter fraud into an art form, but the exploitation of the predictable public fear generated by that sort of rhetoric has been a central feature of the Republican playbook for years.... The goal of the voter-fraud brigade ... was to indoctrinate voters with the terror of stolen elections, and to pave the way for a hostile takeover of American democracy in the future." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: We probably should stop thinking of the voter-fraud nonsense as a conspiracy theory and think of it more as the promotion of bigotry against Democratic voters, particularly Democratic voters of color. Racist bigotry has been the defining appeal of the Republican party since Richard Nixon & Lee Atwater developed their "Southern stragegy"; fake voter fraud is just another iteration of "you can't trust them Nee-gros."

** Retired Army Generals Paul Eaton, Antonio Taguba & Steven Anderson, in a Washington Post op-ed: "As we approach the first anniversary of the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, we -- all of us former senior military officials -- are increasingly concerned about the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election and the potential for lethal chaos inside our military, which would put all Americans at severe risk. In short: We are chilled to our bones at the thought of a coup succeeding next time.... The potential for a military breakdown mirroring societal or political breakdown is very real. The signs of potential turmoil in our armed forces are there. On Jan. 6, a disturbing number of veterans and active-duty members of the military took part in the attack on the Capitol.... Recently, and perhaps more worrying, Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino, the commanding general of the Oklahoma National Guard, refused an order from President Biden mandating that all National Guard members be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Mancino claimed that while the Oklahoma Guard is not federally mobilized, his commander in chief is the Republican governor of the state, not the president. The idea of rogue units organizing among themselves to support the 'rightful' commander in chief cannot be dismissed."

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: A new book by political scientist Barbara Walter argues: "'We are closer to civil war than any of us would like to believe.'... The United States has already gone through what the CIA identifies as the first two phases of insurgency -- the 'pre-insurgency' and 'incipient conflict' phases -- and only time will tell whether the final phase, 'open insurgency,' began with the sacking of the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters on Jan. 6. Things deteriorated so dramatically under Trump, in fact, that the United States no longer technically qualifies as a democracy.... Other [studies] have reached similar findings.... It is no exaggeration to say the survival of our country is at stake."

Sonia Rao of the Washington Post: “Peloton dropped its ad featuring 'Sex and the City' actor Chris Noth on Thursday after he was accused of sexually assaulting two women in separate incidents. Later that same day, actress Zoe Lister-Jones referred to him as a 'sexual predator.' The Hollywood Reporter detailed the allegations against Noth in an article published Thursday, stating that the women had reached out earlier in the year in response to the promotion of .. [a] 'Sex and the City' reboot that premiered last week. According to the publication, the press cycle 'stirred painful memories' of the alleged incidents, said to have occurred in Los Angeles in 2004 and New York in 2015. Both women [-- who said Noth raped them --] remained anonymous. Noth ... said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter that the allegations were 'categorically false' and described the encounters as consensual."

Marie: Over the past ten years or so, I have made quite a few purchases from Wayfair, an online furniture & decor store. Now, according to QAnon, it turns out Wayfair is a hub for child sex trafficking! (Washington Post link.) According to QAnon -- and many "regular people" taken in by the hoohah -- products Wayfair markets as pricey cabinets are actually kidnapped girls. It seems sex-trafficking conspiracy theories have been a major boon for QAnon, which grew out of the fake Pizzagate child sex-trafficking hoohah and then expanded to pro-Trump propaganda, on the insane theory that Trump would save girls from become victims of the sex-traffickers. Rosanne Boyland, an insurrectionist who died at the January 6 siege of the Capitol, bought into the Wayfair story. "She was certain that on Jan. 6, Trump was going to announce the arrest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and his master plan to save the children.... To those studying QAnon, Rosanne's story was further proof that conspiracy theories about child sex trafficking were serving as on-ramps to far-right radicalization and disturbing acts of violence. Outside of the insurrection, there have been at least nine QAnon-inspired crimes in 2020 and 2021 committed by people who believed they were in the midst of saving the children, according to data from a University of Maryland analysis." If you have a WashPo subscription, this long article is worth reading.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "About 1,300 Americans are dying from the coronavirus each day. The national case, death and hospitalization rates remain well below those seen last winter, before vaccines were widely available. But suddenly, positive tests are growing. State officials in New York reported more than 20,000 coronavirus cases on Friday, which they said was more than on any other day of the pandemic. In Connecticut and Maine, reports of new infections have grown by around 150 percent in the last two weeks. In Ohio and Indiana, hospitalization rates are approaching those seen during last winter's devastating wave. "Living in a constant crisis for 20 months-plus is a little overwhelming," said Dr. Matthew Deibel, the medical director for emergency care at Covenant [in Saginaw, Michigan].... With coronavirus hospitalizations increasing 20 percent nationally over the last two weeks, to 68,000 people, doctors and nurses are speaking with renewed alarm about conditions and pleading with people to get vaccinated."

Lauren Hirsch, et al., of the New York Times: "A federal appeals panel on Friday reinstated a Biden administration rule requiring larger companies to mandate that their workers get vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing by early January. The decision, by a split three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, overturned a ruling last month by its counterpart in New Orleans, the Fifth Circuit, that had blocked the government from carrying out the rule. The contested rule, issued by the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, has faced a wave of lawsuits from businesses and Republican-controlled states. Several challengers immediately said they planned to file or already had filed emergency motions with the Supreme Court to block the rule." A CNBC report is here.

** Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "The Trump administration engaged in 'deliberate efforts' to undermine the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic for political purposes, a congressional report released Friday concludes. The report, prepared by the House select subcommittee investigating the nation's Covid response, says the White House repeatedly overruled public health and testing guidance by the nation's top infectious disease experts and silenced officials in order to promote ... Donald Trump's political agenda."

Pete Muntean of CNN: "Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly, who testified unmasked at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, has since tested positive for the coronavirus, the airline said in a statement. 'Although testing negative multiple times prior to the Senate Commerce Committee Hearing, Gary tested positive for COVID-19 after returning home, experiencing mild symptoms, and taking a PCR test,' Southwest (LUV) said. 'Gary is doing well and currently resting at home, he has been fully vaccinated and received the booster earlier this year.'... Kelly testified at the hearing that he believes masks do not add substantial protection to airplane passengers and cited aircraft ventilation systems."

Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "Moderna is pausing a patent dispute with the federal government over its groundbreaking coronavirus vaccine, saying it is 'grateful' to government scientists who collaborated with the company and wants to 'avoid any distraction' in the fight against the omicron variant. The decision could have implications for the Biden administration's global vaccination strategy, as officials look for leverage to share mRNA vaccine discoveries with developing countries in an effort to ramp up worldwide supply. It is also expected to turn down the heat on the Cambridge, Mass., vaccine maker, which projected as much as $18 billion in sales from its vaccine this year, and has received stinging criticism for doing too little to share its breakthroughs with poorer nations." MB: Yes, because $18 billion (and counting) is kind of a "distraction."

Beyond the Beltway

Minnesota. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "Testifying in front of the jurors who will decide her fate, Kimberly Potter broke down on Friday as she watched body camera video that captured her fatal shooting of a 20-year-old Black man during an encounter that began with a traffic stop over an air freshener. The shooting of Daunte Wright, she said, was the only time she had ever fired her gun in 26 years of policing in Brooklyn Center, a Minneapolis suburb. And, Ms. Potter said, it had been a mistake. She had meant to stun Mr. Wright with her Taser, a weapon she said she had also never used in the field. Ms. Potter, who is white, shook her head and tightly closed her eyes as a prosecutor played a video of her shouting 'I'll Tase you!' and 'Taser! Taser! Taser!' before firing a single bullet into Mr. Wright's chest."

Puerto Rico. Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "Two years ago, federal agents arrested Puerto Rico's former education secretary, Julia Keleher, as part of a sprawling corruption investigation whose accusations helped uncork public dissatisfaction with the island's leaders and contributed to the furious ouster of a young and ambitious governor.... On Friday, a federal judge in Puerto Rico sentenced Ms. Keleher to serve six months in prison and 12 months of house arrest and pay a $21,000 fine. She had pleaded guilty in June to two felony counts involving conspiracies to commit fraud. Ms. Keleher's sentencing came amid a new spate of corruption arrests -- three mayors in three weeks -- that has dominated headlines in Puerto Rico."