November 27, 2021

Darlene Superville of the AP: President "Biden spent more than an hour walking around downtown Nantucket's cobblestone streets, popping unannounced into quaint mom-and-pop shops, appearing to make purchases and posing for photos with surprised business owners.... He stopped in at a leather goods store and several clothing, gift and home goods stores before the family reunited to participate in another one of their traditions: attending Nantucket's annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony."

Matthew Daly of the AP: "The Biden administration on Friday recommended an overhaul of the nation's oil and gas leasing program to limit areas available areas for energy development and raise costs for oil and gas companies to drill on public land and water. The long-awaited report by the Interior Department stops short of recommending an end to oil and gas leasing on public lands, as many environmental groups have urged. But officials said the report would lead to a more responsible leasing process that provides a better return to U.S. taxpayers.... Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement ... that the new report's recommendations will mitigate worsening climate change impacts 'while staying steadfast in the pursuit of environmental justice.'″ The Washington Post's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) called for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to take 'appropriate action' against Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) Friday after Boebert shared an anti-Muslim story about Omar during Thanksgiving break. During an event in her Colorado district, Boebert told the audience about an encounter with Omar in the Capitol, describing another encounter with Omar as 'not my first "Jihad Squad" moment,' according to a video posted on Twitter. 'I was getting into an elevator with one of my staffers,' Boebert told the laughing crowd. '... and I see a Capitol police officer running to the elevator. I see fret all over his face, and he's reaching, and the door's shutting, like I can't open it, like what's happening. I look to my left, and there she is. Ilhan Omar. And I said, "Well, she doesn't have a backpack, we should be fine."' 'Saying I am a suicide bomber is no laughing matter,' Omar tweeted. '...normalizing this bigotry not only endangers my life but the lives of all Muslims. Anti-Muslim bigotry has no place in Congress.' Omar had, earlier on Thursday, said the story was made up.... In a statement, Democratic congressional leaders -- including Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) -- said Boebert has repeatedly made targeted Islamophobic comments against Omar and she should retract her latest story, which they said is fictionalized."

Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Since he was acquitted of homicide and other charges last Friday, Kyle Rittenhouse has said he wanted to stay out of politics, and that he was disturbed by how his case became politicized.... Yet Rittenhouse ... has emerged as a symbolic figure for the pro-Trump right wing.... Rittenhouse made the comments about politics and polarization on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show, which had a crew embedded with the Rittenhouse team during his trial. He has appeared alongside Republican operatives in photos, and he met with Donald Trump himself at the former president's private Mar-a-Lago club in Florida." Schwatz names some of the Trump acolytes who have associated themselves with Rittenhouse. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Lay Your Head Upon My Pillow. S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "Despite months of promising to file an explosive lawsuit that would 'pull down' the 2020 presidential election results and reinstate Donald Trump to the White House, pillow-monger Mike Lindell has instead turned his election-fraud-athon into a four-day sales promotion.... 'o lawsuit has been filed, and the show, which featured the same lies about the election Lindell has been spreading for a year, prominently featured Lindell's pillow ads with its own 'promo code.'... In recent days, Lindell has been claiming that the attorneys general who were going to sign on to his suit were pressured out of doing so by Republican National Committee chair Ronna [Romney] McDaniel. 'Ronna McDaniel better resign today,' he said Thursday." She didn't.

Mary Papenfuss of the Huffington Post: "Donald Trump erupted Friday about Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa's book 'Peril' ― more than two months after it was published and its revelations about the former president filled the media.... Trump appeared to be particularly incensed about revelations that the U.S. may have edged dangerously close to war with China amid his unpredictability after his 2020 election loss -- and the subsequent Jan. 6 violence at the U.S. Capitol.... When anecdotes from the book were first revealed, Trump called Milley a 'dumbass.' In his statement Friday, Trump referred to him as 'one of the dumber generals' and repeated a previous comment that if Milley actually called China, he 'should be tried for treason.' 'I never had even a thought of going to war with China, other than the war I was winning, which was on TRADE,' he wrote.... The Phase One trade deal finally eked out by his administration in 2019 is largely regarded as a failure." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Right before Trump initiated his "winning" war on TRADE, I bought a stainless steel sink for $277. I had to get the specs on it for my plumber the other day, upon which I learned that the current price for that exact same sink is $399. Yes indeed, Donaldo, we are, as you predicted, tired of so much winning.

Tali Arbel & Anne D'Innocenzio of the AP report on Black Friday activity.

The Pandemic, Ctd., Brought to You by the Unvaccinated

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

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

Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "A new, possibly more infectious coronavirus variant, with an unusual number of mutations, had scientists sounding the alarm and countries including the United States moving to impose travel restrictions as the world feared another setback on the long road out of the pandemic. Senior Biden administration officials announced Friday that starting Monday, travel to the United States will be restricted from South Africa and seven other countries -- Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The new policy, which does not affect U.S. citizens and permanent residents, was enacted 'out of an abundance of caution,' officials said, as public health officials work to learn more about the new variant." The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update: More info on the new variant from Victoria at the top of today's Comments. ~~~

~~~ A related Washington Post story, by Annie Linskey, covers travel restrictions implemented as a result of the new coronavirus variant. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ President Biden's statement on the new variant is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Eshe Nelson of the New York Times: "Stocks around the world fell on Friday and oil prices plunged, after evidence of a new coronavirus variant in South Africa prompted another round of travel restrictions and reignited concerns about the economic toll imposed by the pandemic. The S&P 500 logged its worst day since February as a growing list of nations, including the United States, moved to prohibit travel from half a dozen or so African countries. The uncertainty shook a stock market that had been performing robustly, and market watchers said the heightened volatility might continue as countries assessed the risks of the variant. The number of mutations in this new variant has raised fears that it could be especially contagious and render current vaccines less effective. But scientists haven't come to firm conclusions yet." CNBC's report is here.

Rebecca Robbins of the New York Times: "The pharmaceutical company Merck said on Friday that in a final analysis of a clinical trial, its antiviral pill reduced the risk of hospitalization and death among high-risk Covid patients by 30 percent, down from an earlier estimate of 50 percent. The lower efficacy is a disappointment for the drug, known as molnupiravir, which health officials around the world are counting on as a critical tool to save lives and reduce the burden on hospitals. It increases the importance of a similar, apparently more effective, offering from Pfizer that is also under review by the Food and Drug Administration."

Beyond the Beltway

Debra Kahn, et al., of Politico (Nov. 23): "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants half a billion dollars to protect his state from the ravages of 'extreme weather events.' Texas Gov. Greg Abbott devoted $1.6 billion toward preparing communities for increasingly devastating hurricanes. But they still won't say if they believe in climate change. Even if conservative politicians can't stomach the words, they're spending money to combat the fallout hammering their states and cities. Bracing for global warming is the rare climate issue that appeals to both Republicans and Democrats, and 34 states have done some sort of climate-adaptation planning, according to Georgetown University's state policy tracker.... Conservative Republicans still refuse to explicitly connect global warming with what's happening at home."

Missouri. Lindsey Bever & Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "Kevin Strickland was exonerated in a 1978 triple murder, but under Missouri law, he is not eligible for any compensation from the state for the 43 years he spent behind bars -- one of the longest-standing wrongful convictions in the nation's history. That hasn't stopped his supporters from stepping in instead, raising more than $1 million through a GoFundMe campaign to help him start a new life.... Taken into custody as a teenager, Strickland has no retirement savings, no work history to help him get Social Security benefits -- and no compensation from the state of Missouri, which by law only grants people compensation when they are proven innocent through DNA testing."

Way Beyond

Ukraine/Russia. David Stern of the Washington Post: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asserted Friday that a group of Russians and Ukrainians planned to attempt a coup in Ukraine next month and that the plotters tried to enlist the help of the country's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov. Zelensky, speaking at a 'press marathon' for local and international media, said that audio recordings, obtained by Ukraine's security services, caught plotters discussing their plans and mentioning Akhmetov's name." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

November 26, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Matthew Daly of the AP: "The Biden administration on Friday recommended an overhaul of the nation's oil and gas leasing program to limit areas available areas for energy development and raise costs for oil and gas companies to drill on public land and water. The long-awaited report by the Interior Department stops short of recommending an end to oil and gas leasing on public lands, as many environmental groups have urged. But officials said the report would lead to a more responsible leasing process that provides a better return to U.S. taxpayers.... Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement ... that the new report's recommendations will mitigate worsening climate change impacts 'while staying steadfast in the pursuit of environmental justice.'″ The Washington Post's story is here.

Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "A new, possibly more infectious coronavirus variant, with an unusual number of mutations, had scientists sounding the alarm and countries including the United States moving to impose travel restrictions as the world feared another setback on the long road out of the pandemic. Senior Biden administration officials announced Friday that starting Monday, travel to the United States will be restricted from South Africa and seven other countries -- Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The new policy, which does not affect U.S. citizens and permanent residents, was enacted 'out of an abundance of caution,' officials said, as public health officials work to learn more about the new variant." The AP's story is here. ~~~

~~~ A related Washington Post story, by Annie Linskey, covers travel restrictions implemented as a result of the new omicron variant. ~~~

~~~ President Biden's statement on the new variant is here.

David Stern of the Washington Post: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asserted Friday that a group of Russians and Ukrainians planned to attempt a coup in Ukraine next month and that the plotters tried to enlist the help of the country's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov. Zelensky, speaking at a 'press marathon' for local and international media, said that audio recordings, obtained by Ukraine's security services, caught plotters discussing their plans and mentioning Akhmetov's name."

Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Since he was acquitted of homicide and other charges last Friday, Kyle Rittenhouse has said he wanted to stay out of politics, and that he was disturbed by how his case became politicized.... Yet Rittenhouse ... has emerged as a symbolic figure for the pro-Trump right wing.... Rittenhouse made the comments about politics and polarization on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show, which had a crew embedded with the Rittenhouse team during his trial. He has appeared alongside Republican operatives in photos, and he met with Donald Trump himself at the former president's private Mar-a-Lago club in Florida." Schwatz names some of the Trump acolytes who have associated themselves with Rittenhouse.

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: Many thanks to all the well-wishers who remarked in yesterday's Comments. I am so thankful for all of your contributions over the years. I agree that the Comments are the best part of Reality Chex.

Kathryn Watson of CBS News: "President Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited the Coast Guard Brant Station on Nantucket Thursday, thanking the service members for their service and sacrifice. The Bidens are spending Thanksgiving on the Massachusetts island as part of their annual family tradition. Mr. Biden and the first lady spoke with service members and snapped pictures with them."

Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post (Nov. 24): "The Pentagon has created a new intelligence division exclusively dedicated to investigating unidentified objects that breach sensitive U.S. airspace, to understand both their origin and whether they could threaten national security. Announced late Tuesday night, the new division -- which the Defense Department will call its Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group -- is a direct response to more than 140 reports of 'unidentified aerial phenomena,' or UAP, dating back nearly two decades and documented in a government study issued this past summer. That inquiry, intended to determine whether such sightings were signs of foreign threats, atmospheric anomalies, faulty sensors or even extraterrestrial life, yielded a report with few firm conclusions."

The Rimes of the Youngish Mariners. Ian Duncan of the Washington Post: "A congressionally ordered review of the federal sailors academy concluded the school was beset with problems including aging facilities, a striking lack of diversity, and a curriculum that was failing to keep up with the needs of an evolving shipping industry. The National Academy of Public Administration said that widespread problems at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy had festered for years, with school leaders lacking the wherewithal to solve them. The school, the group said, had 'lost its way.'... The Merchant Marine school is part of the Department of Transportation. The review's authors issued 67 recommendations and said it was up to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to launch a task force and overhaul the Kings Point, N.Y., school.... The Transportation Department said it has already taken steps to start modernizing facilities at the academy and to revamp sexual assault protections."

Jacqueline Alemany of the Washington Post: "Stephen K. Bannon, the former Trump White House adviser, has filed an opposition to the U.S. district court's standard protective order for discovery, which prohibits either side from releasing documents or evidence publicly. Bannon, 67, pleaded not guilty last week to contempt-of-Congress charges, and his legal team previously argued that the case would be more complicated by agreeing to the prosecution's protective order for discovery.... Bannon's legal team argued that the government offered little reason the documents should be withheld from public view, adding that many of the documents that would be restricted by the proposed protective order in this case are already public." MB: So he's for full disclosure of documents he won't disclose. Makes sense.

Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "A Scottish judge won't order the government to investigate Donald Trump's golf courses for possible money laundering, although the country's top prosecutor may decide to pursue the case. Lord Sandison issued a 44-page judicial decision Thursday siding with the government, which argued against investigating financial irregularities at the Trump golf courses, and leaving the matter up to Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, who is essentially Scotland's attorney general, reported The Daily Beast." The Beast story is subscriber-firewalled.

The Pandemic, Ctd., Brought to You by the Unvaccinated

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here: "Scientists in South Africa on Thursday identified a concerning new coronavirus variant with mutations that one scientist said marked a 'big jump in evolution,' prompting several countries to quickly limit travel from the region. Within hours, Britain, Israel and Singapore had restricted travel from South Africa and some neighboring countries, citing the threat of the new variant. By Friday, markets were down in Japan in response to the discovery, and officials in Australia and in New Zealand said that they were monitoring the new variant closely. The European Commission will also propose restricting air travel to the bloc from southern Africa...."

Canada. Mack Lamoureux of Vice: "Earlier this week, the so-called QAnon Queen of Canada opened up 'duck-hunting' season in the Great White North.... These 'duck hunters' are'soldiers' of Roman Didulo -- a Canadian woman who has convinced thousands of QAnon adherents that she's the secret ruler of Canada -- targeting health care workers administering COVID-19 vaccines to children, politicians, journalists, and others who make up the cabal at the heart of the QAnon conspiracy.... in a post on Sunday to her over 70,000 followers on Telegram, Didulo ... demanded the mass arrests of those they consider opposition, and wanted her soldiers to take control of newspapers and seize the border. 'Shoot to kill anyone who tries to inject Children under the age of 19 years old with Coronavirus19 vaccines/ bioweapons or any other Vaccines,' she wrote." MB: Nothing in the article suggests either Telegram or Canada is doing anything about Didulo's incitement to murder.

Beyond the Beltway

Georgia. AP: "The former prosecutor charged with misconduct for her handling of the Ahmaud Arbery case was booked at a Georgia jail on Wednesday and released. Former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson turned herself in Wednesday morning at the Glynn County jail, county Undersheriff Ron Corbett said. Jail records show she was released on her own recognizance.... A grand jury indicted Johnson, 49, last week on a felony charge of violating her oath of office and a misdemeanor count of obstructing police. Johnson was the area's top prosecutor when three white men chased and fatally shot Arbery last year. The indictment alleges she used her position to discourage police from making arrests in the 25-year-old Black man's killing." Via the Raw Story.

Massachusetts. Gillian Brockell of the Washington Post has more on Squanto (Tisquantum), including his mysterious death (murder??) about a year after the First Thanksgiving & his possible burial under a Toney Chatham golf course.

New Jersey. Mike Ives & Alyssa Lukpat of the New York Times: "A Newark police officer was charged with reckless vehicular homicide, prosecutors said on Wednesday, accusing the man of hitting a pedestrian with his personal car and briefly taking the body home, where he discussed with his mother what to do with it. The officer, Louis Santiago of the Newark Police Department, was off duty when his Honda Accord drifted into the northbound shoulder of the Garden State Parkway around 3 a.m. on Nov. 1, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release issued on Wednesday. His car struck Damian Z. Dymka, 29, a nurse from Bergen County. Neither Mr. Santiago nor the passenger in his car, Albert Guzman, both 25, called 911 or rendered aid to Mr. Dymka, the prosecutor's office said. Instead, Mr. Santiago drove away and returned to the scene multiple times before loading the victim into the Honda and driving to the home he shared with his parents in Bloomfield, N.J.... Mr. Santiago's father, Lt. Luis Santiago of the Newark Police Department, called 911 at some point to report that his son had been in an accident.When the state police arrived, they found Mr. Dymka's body in the Honda's back seat." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: There are lessons to be learned here, including one about the perils of nepotism. When I read stories like this, I often hark back to the marvelous Tom Paxton's 1963 song "What Did You Learn in School Today?". a song about the Great American Lesson Plan. One of those lessons: "I learned that policemen are my friends."

New York. Sarah Nir of the New York Times: The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade returned to New York City.

Way Beyond

Canada. NPR: "Canada taps into strategic reserves to deal with massive shortage ... of maple syrup.... The Canadian group Quebec Maple Syrup Producers recently announced it was releasing about 50 million pounds of its strategic maple syrup reserves -- about half of the total stockpile. Quebec produces nearly 70% of the world's maple syrup, with the US being its biggest client for the sweet stuff. However, this year producers weren't able to keep up with worldwide demand, which jumped 21%, according to Bloomberg."

Russia. Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "A gas buildup and explosion in a Siberian coal mine on Thursday killed at least 52 people -- including six rescuers -- in the country's worst mining disaster in over a decade, Russian officials said. The accident occurred early in the morning at the Listvyazhnaya mine in the Kemerovo region of Russia, about 2,200 miles east of Moscow, after a ventilation shaft began filling with gas, Russia's Investigative Committee reported. Rescue efforts at the mine, which plunges 1,300 feet into the earth, continued throughout the day even as the death toll kept rising.... Interfax, the Russian news agency, reported that there appeared to be no hope of finding anyone else alive.... Coal mine accidents have been common in Russia since Soviet times, with some attributed to the sporadic enforcement of regulations."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Stephen Sondheim, one of Broadway history's songwriting titans, whose music and lyrics raised and reset the artistic standard for the American stage musical, died early Friday at his home in Roxbury, Conn. He was 91. His lawyer and friend, F. Richard Pappas, announced the death. He said he did not know the cause but added that Mr. Sondheim had not been known to be ill and that the death was sudden. The day before, Mr. Sondheim had celebrated Thanksgiving with a dinner with friends in Roxbury, Mr. Pappas said." ~~~

~~~ "In an interview [with Michael Paulson of the New York Times] on Sunday, the revered composer and lyricist, 91, contentedly discussed his shows running on Broadway and off, as well as new movie about to be released."

New York Times: "Dr. Zena Stein, a South African-born epidemiologist whose influential work encompassed the effects of famine on children, the health of entire communities afflicted by poverty and the impact of the AIDS crisis on women in Africa, died on Nov. 7 at her home in Coatesville, Pa. She was 99."

Thanksgiving Day 2021

A fake depiction of the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Mass.

Marie: When I was in grade school, we learned that a Native American called Squanto (not his real name) was a big help to the Pilgrims because he could speak English. I always wondered how it could be possible that a New England Native knew a foreign language. One of the upsides of old age is that you find the answers to things you "always wondered about." So by accident last week, I learned how Squanto knew English. It won't surprise you: "Tisquantum [Squanto's real name] was kidnapped by English explorer Thomas Hunt who carried him to Spain, where he sold him in the city of Málaga.... Tisquantum eventually traveled to England, where he may have met Pocahontas.... He then returned to America in 1619 to his native village [which had been at the Plymouth site], only to find that his tribe had been wiped out by an epidemic infection [brought by Europeans, of course!]; Tisquantum was the last of the Patuxets. When his tribe died, he went to live with the Wampanoags." No wonder our whitewashed schoolbooks skipped Squanto's story.

Pete Wells of the New York Times on the history of corn. "The Native people who came to the [first Thanksgiving] celebration [in Plymouth, Mass.] were Wampanoags, though, and the corn that was served was Wampanoag corn.... In that corn -- written, in a sense, into its genetic code -- is the story of the people who lived in Plymouth and throughout the Western Hemisphere before Europeans arrived.... It can tell you why, when the wheat crop planted with grain brought from Europe failed, Wampanoag corn kept the Pilgrims from starving, and why it wove itself so deeply into the diets of the European settlers and their descendants."

Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "The Bidens' decision to spend Thanksgiving on Nantucket this year renews a family tradition that dates back to 1975, when Mr. Biden and his wife-to-be spent their first holiday together.... They are staying in a home they have visited in the past, that of David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group private equity firm.... Before he was president, Mr. Biden managed to blend in with the local crowds. Residents said they might see him walking cobblestone roads near the harbor in search of a coffee or taking a plunge in the icy waters of the Atlantic to celebrate the holiday.... But with his new job, Mr. Biden brings a dizzying array of security personnel, members of the media and White House officials, not to mention a parade of family members: his children, Ashley and Hunter; Hunter's wife, Melissa; grandchildren Naomi, Finnegan, Maisy, Natalie, Hunter Biden II and Beau; and Naomi's fiancé, Peter Neal.

Russ Bynum of the AP: “Jurors on Wednesday convicted the three white men charged in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, the Black man who was chased and fatally shot while running through their neighborhood in an attack that became part of the larger national reckoning on racial injustice. The convictions for Greg McMichael, son Travis McMichael and neighbor William 'Roddie' Bryan came after jurors deliberated for about 10 hours. The men face minimum sentences of life in prison. It is up to the judge to decide whether that comes with or without the possibility of parole." The article breaks down the charges & verdicts for each charge. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. The Washington Post story is here: "The three men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery in coastal Georgia last year were convicted of murder Wednesday, in a case that once went 74 days without arrests and that many saw as a test of racial bias in the justice system. The decision was read to the court shortly after 1:30 p.m., after less than two days of deliberations. Members of Arbery's family cried out with joy. Travis McMichael, his father, Greg McMichael, and their neighbor William 'Roddie' Bryan were all convicted of felony murder in the shooting of Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man -- meaning they committed felonies that caused his death. They were also found guilty of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and attempt to falsely imprison. But Bryan and the elder McMichael were acquitted of malice murder, which involves intent to kill. Each defendant now faces a potential penalty of life in prison without parole. All men still face federal hate crime charges." (Also linked yesterday.)

The statement from President Biden is here. The statement from Vice President Harris is here.

Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post on the remarkable story of how Ahmaud Arbery's murder finally came to be investigated & tried. A persistent public outcry, along with a persistent local reporter were important elements, but most important was that the now-convicted murderer Greg McMichael thought releasing that video to the public would exonerate the men & shut up their detractors & accusers. Because "black man running." "At the time [he saw the video], Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, called it a lynching 'before our very eyes.'" MB: As CNN reported yesterday, local police & prosecutors had the video all along yet declined to bring charges.

Fabiona Cineas of Vox: "... despite all the racial issues that surrounded the core facts of the case, skin color hardly came up during this month's trial.... Legal experts and activists who spoke to Vox said the avoidance of addressing race [to 11 white jurors] in the trial was strategic.... But some experts argued that the prosecutors' choice not to mention race in front of a nearly all-white jury suggests that progress on racial justice has been marginal." Cineas details some of the evidence that the defendants were racists -- evidence that prosecutors did not present during the trial. MB: As an MSNBC contributor noted yesterday, much of that evidence is likely to be presented in a federal hate crimes trial against the men. I'll just add that the jurors figured out the racist element for themselves. Wednesday morning, they asked the judge to replay the first part of the 911 call Gregory McDaniel made before the murder, in which his complaint was "There's a black man running down the street."

Ian Duncan of the Washington Post: "Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo Wednesday directing federal prosecutors to prioritize investigations into crimes committed on planes, as record numbers of unruly passengers continue to disrupt travel.... The Federal Aviation Administration has been using its civil authorities to try to crack down on misbehaving passengers, opening 266 enforcement cases, and has sought federal criminal investigations in 37 cases. The majority of incidents have stemmed from disputes over wearing masks, which is required throughout the aviation system.... Garland's memo could help bring more resources to bear on the problem and streamline investigations."

Dino Grandoni of the Washington Post: "President Biden's administration greenlit a major offshore wind project to supply power to New York, arriving as part of a broader push to build out renewable energy and tackle climate change. The federal government's approval Wednesday of a dozen wind turbines, located off the coast of Rhode Island, will send power to the eastern end of Long Island. The move inches the country closer to the Biden administration's goal of generating 30 gigawatts of power from offshore wind energy by the end of the decade. Harnessing the Atlantic's fierce winds is prominent in the president's plan to wean the U.S. power sector off fossil fuels.... The effort to dot the East Coast with towering turbines has at times put advocates at odds with coastal homeowners worried about spoiled seaside views; fishermen concerned about the impact on their catch; and conservationists concerned about the impact on endangered whales. At the moment, only seven commercial turbines -- five in Rhode Island and two in Virginia -- are up and spinning. Europe, by contrast, has already deployed over 5,000 offshore turbines."

Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has introduced a bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal -- the legislative branch's highest honor -- to Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager who last week was found not guilty of homicide and other charges related to his fatal shooting of two men during a protest against police violence last year. Greene introduced a bill Tuesday to give Rittenhouse the award. While the bill's full text was not immediately available, a summary states that the measure would 'award a Congressional Gold Medal to Kyle H. Rittenhouse, who protected the community of Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a Black Lives Matter (BLM) riot.'" ~~~

~~~ If you're curious as to why anyone who suggest a award was due to a vigilante who killed two people & severely injured a third, Donald Trump, with a little help from Greg Sargent, explains: ~~~

~~~ ** Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump ventured into the safe confines of Sean Hannity's show on Tuesday night, where he disclosed that Kyle Rittenhouse had visited him at Mar-a-Lago. 'Really a nice young man,' the former president declared.... But what came next is more troubling -- and more revealing about the Trump movement's darker impulses. 'He should not have had to suffer through a trial,' Trump said, suggesting Rittenhouse had almost been killed by one of his victims and had rightly killed first. 'He should never have been put through that.'... In Trump's telling, the very act of apparently seeking to dispense vigilante justice -- and thus provoking a situation that led to the killing -- amid violence connected to racial justice protests is precisely what should never have been subjected to rule-of-law scrutiny.... Writing at the Atlantic, Adam Serwer connects this tendency to elements of right-wing gun culture that rely on constant invocations of leftist tyranny to inspire and justify preparation for armed resistance to it." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: That is, to "preserve the rule of law," Trump & his ilk say "good people" have to gun down liberals who protest the status quo. When a former president* says something like this, none of us is safe. When he said the Charlottesville neo-Nazis & white supremacists were "good people," this is what he meant. When he said he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue without consequence, he meant, "shoot a liberal" or "shoot a person of color."

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "A long-running criminal investigation into Donald J. Trump and his family business is reaching a critical phase as Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the prosecutor overseeing the inquiry, enters his final weeks as Manhattan district attorney. Mr. Vance's prosecutors have issued new subpoenas for records about Mr. Trump's hotels, golf clubs and office buildings. They recently interviewed a banker employed by Deutsche Bank, Mr. Trump's top lender.... The developments ... show that the Manhattan prosecutors have shifted away from investigating those tax issues and returned to an original focus of their three-year investigation: Mr. Trump's statements about the value of his assets. In particular..., the prosecutors are zeroing in on whether Mr. Trump or his company inflated the value of some of his properties while trying to secure financing from potential lenders. If Mr. Vance's office concludes that Mr. Trump intentionally submitted false values to potential lenders, prosecutors could argue that he engaged in a pattern of fraud."

Gabby Orr of CNN: "A pair of payments [totaling $121,670] the Republican National Committee made to a law firm representing ... Donald Trump [regarding his business practices] is raising questions among former and current GOP officials about the party's priorities in a critical election year and its ability to remain neutral -- as long-standing RNC rules require -- in the 2024 presidential primary.... Some RNC members and donors accused the party of running afoul of its own neutrality rules and misplacing its priorities. Some of these same officials who spoke to CNN also questioned why the party would foot the legal bills of a self-professed billionaire who was sitting on a $102 million war chest as recently as July and has previously used his various political committees to cover legal costs.... 'This is not normal. Nothing about this is normal, especially since he's not only a former President but a billionaire,' said a former top RNC official." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** Leading Cause of Pregnancy Deaths: Murder. Dan Vergano of BuzzFeed News: "Pregnant people are more than twice as likely to be murdered during pregnancy and immediately after giving birth than to die from any other cause, according to a nationwide death certificate study. Homicide far exceeds obstetric causes of death during pregnancy.... Though it is well understood by victims of domestic violence, the danger that pregnant people face -- often from their partners -- receives little public notice.... According to the study, homicide rates were particularly high among pregnant women 24 and younger, and for pregnant Black women, who were three times more at risk than their white counterparts." MB: Gosh, I wonder if it were easier to get an abortion, some of these murders of young women would not have occurred.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "... among [Kevin McCarthy's] most audacious assertions [made last Thursday night & Friday morning during his marathon House floor speech] was that [President] Biden was to blame for the country's failure to quell the pandemic. Mr. McCarthy used this line of attack even as members of his own Republican Party have spent months flouting mask ordinances and blocking the president's vaccine mandates, and the party's base has undermined vaccination drives while rallying around those who refuse the vaccine." Other Republicans are making the same ludicrous charges. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

France. Aurelien Breeden, et al., of the New York Times: "At least 27 people drowned in frigid waters off the coast of France on Wednesday, after a boat carrying migrants trying to reach Britain capsized in the English Channel, one of the worst death tolls in recent years for migrants attempting the dangerous crossing. Gérald Darmanin, France's interior minister, said that the dead ... were part of a group whose 'extremely fragile' inflatable boat was found completely deflated by rescuers. French officials had previously given a death toll of 31, but later revised the figure. Two people were rescued but were hospitalized with severe hypothermia. It was still unclear where the migrants were from, Mr. Darmanin told reporters from Calais."

Germany. Loveday Morris & Vanessa Guinan-Bank of the Washington Post: "After two months of talks, German parties announced a new governing coalition Wednesday that will pave the way for Olaf Scholz of the center-left Social Democrats to take over from Chancellor Angela Merkel after her 16 years in power. The Social Democratic Party, which narrowly won September elections, is allying with two other parties: the climate-conscious Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats.... For both Germany and wider Europe -- where Merkel had taken on the role of a de facto leader -- it marks the end of an era with Germany often at the center stage of policymaking."

Sweden. Short-timer. Miriam Berger of the Washington Post: "Sweden on Wednesday confirmed Magdalena Andersson as its first female leader, nearly 100 years after the Scandinavian country extended women the right to vote.... Hours after assuming office, Andersson resigned from the post when a member of the ruling coalition, the center-left Swedish Green party, quit the government in protest after lawmakers passed a budget bill backed by three right-wing parties. Andersson's Social Democratic Party had put forward an alternative budget proposal that failed to pass. Andersson said she hopes to form a single-party ruling government."