December 5, 2021
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Katharine Seelye of the New York Times: "Bob Dole, the plain-spoken son of the prairie who overcame Dust Bowl deprivation in Kansas and grievous battle wounds in Italy to become the Senate majority leader and the last of the World War II generation to win his party's nomination for president, died on Sunday. He was 98."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here.
Props to PD Pepe & Forrest M. for pointing out in today's thread how very smart Dr. Margie Greene (or, as she's known in the home of the unwashed, Majorette Traitor Gangrene) is:
Every single year more than 600,000 people in the US die from cancer. The country has never once shut down. Not a single school has closed. And every year, over 600,000 people, of all ages and all races will continue to die from cancer. -- Majorie Taylor Greene, in a tweet
News from the Funny Papers. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "The double negative, a common grammatical elephant trap, claimed a high-profile victim on Saturday night. Donald Trump. In a statement, the former president said: 'Anybody that doesn't think there wasn't massive election fraud in the 2020 presidential election is either very stupid, or very corrupt!' There was no massive election fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden by 306-232 in the electoral college and by more than 7m ballots in the popular vote. But Trump thinks, or at least says, that there was massive election fraud. Though his own formula would therefore make him 'very stupid, or very corrupt', his claims have had deadly effect, stoking the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January." When a person who claims to have "a very good brain" turns out to be "very stupid, or very corrupt," it's "Sad!"
~~~~~~~~~~
Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: Donald "Trump appears to have exposed dozens, if not hundreds, of people, including his 77-year-old opponent, to a potentially deadly illness. It was a remarkable demonstration of his selfish indifference to the health and welfare of everyone around him.... When asked about this news, on Wednesday, President Biden said, simply, that he did not 'think about the former president.' I think this dismissal is a mistake.... The news of Trump's decision to endanger everyone around him was an opportunity to ... emphasize the many and overlapping disasters he inherited from the former president and how both Trump and his party were poor stewards of the United States and the American people. A sharp remark would have put Trump's failure back in the news and forced other Republicans to respond to it -- on Biden's terms."
Luke Broadwater & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Members of the select congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol are pressing to overhaul the complex and little-known law that ... Donald J. Trump and his allies tried to use to overturn the 2020 election, arguing that the ambiguity of the statute puts democracy itself at risk. The push to rewrite the Electoral Count Act of 1887 -- enacted more than a century ago in the wake of another bitterly disputed presidential election -- has taken on new urgency in recent weeks as more details have emerged about the extent of Mr. Trump's plot to exploit its provisions to cling to power. Mr. Trump and his allies, using a warped interpretation of the law, sought to persuade Vice President Mike Pence to throw out legitimate results when Congress met in a joint session on Jan. 6 to conduct its official count of electoral votes. It was Mr. Pence's refusal to do so that led a mob of Mr. Trump's supporters to chant 'Hang Mike Pence,' as they stormed the Capitol, delaying the proceedings as lawmakers fled for their lives." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Lisa Kim of Forbes: "Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) tweeted a Christmas photo of his family Saturday in which they're all holding guns and smiling in front of a Christmas tree, with the caption: 'Merry Christmas! ps. Santa, please bring ammo,' days after a mass shooting at a Michigan high school sparked renewed calls for gun control measures. In the photo, Massie appears to be holding an M60 machine gun while seated next to his youngest daughter, who sports an Uzi -- his wife, three other children and another man hold assault-style rifles." Joe.My.God. has the Massies' mow-'em-down "Christmas" photo.
Brian Stelter of CNN: "CNN said Saturday that anchor Chris Cuomo has been 'terminated' by the network, 'effective immediately.' The announcement came after an outside law firm was retained to review information about exactly how Cuomo aided his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, when the then-governor was accused of sexual harassment.... 'While in the process of [a] review, additional information has come to light,' CNN's statement [said]. 'Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate.' While the contours of Chris Cuomo's involvement with the governor's office were reported several months ago, the specifics were detailed in a massive document dump on Monday. The documents -- released by New York Attorney General Letitia James after an investigation into the governor -- showed that Chris Cuomo, while working as one of CNN's top anchors, was also effectively working as an unpaid aide to the governor." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Michael Grynbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "On Wednesday, Debra S. Katz, a prominent employment lawyer, informed CNN of a client with an allegation of sexual misconduct against Chris Cuomo. Ms. Katz said in a statement on Saturday that the allegation against the anchor, which was made by a former junior colleague at another network, was 'unrelated to the Gov. Andrew Cuomo matter.' It was not fully clear what role the allegation played in CNN's decision to dismiss Mr. Cuomo. Ms. Katz is also the lawyer for Charlotte Bennett, a onetime aide to Andrew Cuomo who accused the former governor in February of sexual harassment."
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Ellen Francis & Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: "Most vaccines are safe to use as boosters and give people more immunity against the coronavirus, according to a new study of seven of them. The mRNA vaccines by pharmaceutical giants Pfizer, with partner BioNTech, and Moderna appeared to give the highest boost of antibodies 28 days after the extra dose, although other vaccines in the study may take more time to build up better immunity."
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Generalissimo DeSantis. Steve Cortono of CNN: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to reestablish a World War II-era civilian military force that he, not the Pentagon, would control. DeSantis pitched the idea Thursday as a way to further support the Florida National Guard during emergencies, like hurricanes. The Florida National Guard has also played a vital role during the pandemic in administering Covid-19 tests and distributing vaccines. But in a nod to the growing tension between Republican states and the Biden administration over the National Guard, DeSantis also said this unit, called the Florida State Guard, would be 'not encumbered by the federal government.' He said this force would give him "the flexibility and the ability needed to respond to events in our state in the most effective way possible." DeSantis is proposing bringing it back with a volunteer force of 200 civilians, and he is seeking $3.5 million from the state legislature in startup costs to train and equip them." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Paul Blest of Vice: "Nearly two dozen states have active state guards, including California, New York, and Texas. But some state guards have previously been a hotbed of far-right extremism. In 1987, Utah Gov. Norman Bangerter 'dismantled and reorganized' the Utah State Guard from more than 400 people to fewer than three dozen, after a review found the force included 'convicted felons, mental cases, and neo-Nazis.' One member was found to have traveled to Idaho to train members of the Aryan Nation in combat." Ken W. provides a link to a Daily Beast story on Ron's little project. (Firewalled.) And Akhilleus (and others) commented on the little general's plans in yesterday's thread. (Also linked yesterday.)
Michigan. Bryan Pietsch of the Washington Post: "The Michigan high school student accused of fatally shooting four classmates had numerous conversations with school counselors in the day and hours before the shooting, before staff sent him back to class despite finding images of bullets on his phone and disturbing drawings at his desk, the superintendent told parents in a detailed letter. Those conversations will be part of an independent investigation into the school's actions, the superintendent of Oxford Community Schools, Tim Throne, said. In a lengthy note to families on Saturday, Throne ...detailed the school's account of the events preceding the shooting...." CNN's report is here. MB: The most shocking aspect of the counselors' inaction, IMO, was that they knew there were firearms in the Crumbley home, yet they sent Ethan back to the classroom without checking his person, his backpack or his locker. Read the story & decide for yourselves. ~~~
~~~ Kathleen Foody & Corey Williams of the AP: "A judge imposed a combined $1 million bond Saturday for the parents of the Michigan teen charged with killing four students at Oxford High School, hours after police said they were caught hiding in a Detroit commercial building. James and Jennifer Crumbley entered not guilty pleas to each of the four involuntary manslaughter counts against them during a hearing held on Zoom. Jennifer Crumbley sobbed and struggled to respond to the judge's questions at times and James Crumbley shook his head when a prosecutor said their son had full access to the gun used in the killings. Judge Julie Nicholson assigned bond of $500,000 apiece to each of the parents and required GPS monitoring if they pay to be released, agreeing with prosecutors that they posed a flight risk." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Wisconsin. Laura Thornton, in a Washington Post op-ed: "On Nov. 10, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Republican state lawmakers proposed a hostile takeover of election management in their state. As Johnson told the New York Times, 'Unfortunately, I probably don't expect [Democrats] to follow the rules. And other people don't either, and that's the problem.' Johnson's conclusion: The current system of bipartisan oversight by both parties should be abolished, and Republican legislators must be in control of the elections in which they are competing.... The proposed Wisconsin power grab is shocking in its brazenness. If this occurred in any of the countries where the United States provides aid, it would immediately be called out as a threat to democracy.... Yet we are conspicuously failing to hold ourselves to the same standard.... Wisconsin's shenanigans are just the latest in a series of actions to undermine the most basic democratic principles we demand of others: One person, one vote. Neutral election management. Majority rule. Acceptance of election results. Peaceful transition of power. Don't storm your legislature and attack people and then pretend it didn't happen."
Way Beyond
Christina Goldbaum of the New York Times: "Nearly four months since the Taliban seized power, Afghanistan is on the brink of a mass starvation that aid groups say threatens to kill a million children this winter -- a toll that would dwarf the total number of Afghan civilians estimated to have been killed as a direct result of the war over the past 20 years. While Afghanistan has suffered from malnutrition for decades, the country's hunger crisis has drastically worsened in recent months. This winter, an estimated 22.8 million people -- more than half the population -- are expected to face potentially life-threatening levels of food insecurity, according to an analysis by the United Nations World Food Program and Food and Agriculture Organization.... Such widespread hunger is the most devastating sign of the economic crash that has crippled Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power. Practically overnight, billions of dollars in foreign aid that propped up the previous Western-backed government vanished and U.S. sanctions on the Taliban isolated the country from the global financial system, paralyzing Afghan banks and impeding relief work by humanitarian organizations."