The Ledes

Thursday, September 19, 2024

New York Times: “A body believed to be of the suspect in a Kentucky highway shooting that left five people seriously injured this month was found on Wednesday, the authorities said, ending a manhunt that stretched into a second week and set the local community on edge. The Kentucky State Police commissioner, Phillip Burnett Jr., said in a Wednesday night news conference that at approximately 3:30 p.m., two troopers and two civilians found an unidentified body in the brush behind the highway exit where the shooting occurred.... The police have identified the suspect of the shooting as Joseph A. Couch, 32. They said that on Sept. 7, Mr. Couch perched on a cliff overlooking Interstate 75 about eight miles north of London, Ky., and opened fire. One of the wounded was shot in the face, and another was shot in the chest. A dozen vehicles were riddled with gunfire.”

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The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Thursday
Oct072021

The Commentariat -- October 8, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Zeke Miller & Ellen Knickmeyer of the AP: "President Joe Biden on Friday issued the first-ever presidential proclamation of Indigenous Peoples' Day, lending the most significant boost yet to efforts to refocus the federal holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus toward an appreciation of Native peoples. The day will be observed Oct. 11, along with Columbus Day, which i established by Congress. While Native Americans have campaigned for years for local and national days in recognition of the country's indigenous peoples, Biden's announcement appeared to catch many by surprise."

Mr. Biden Regrets He's Unable to Cover Your Ass. Tom Hamburger, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden rejected ... Donald Trump's request to block documents from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the White House said on Friday, likely setting up a legal and political battle. Trump has claimed executive privilege in seeking to evade the committee's demands for details about Trump and his aides' activities during the Jan. 6 attack. But in the letter to the National Archives and Records Administration, the White House said Biden 'determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States.' Trump responded with a letter of his own Friday that formally claimed executive privilege over about 50 documents requested by the select committee. At a White House briefing, press secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden decision reflected the gravity of the attack.... Biden's decision on Friday came after former White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon told the House committee that he cannot comply with the panel's sweeping request for documents and testimony. But the committee said two other Trump advisers -- former chief of staff Mark Meadows and national security aide Kash Patel -- are 'engaging with the committee.'..." The NBC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: According to legal experts who have appeared on CNN & MSNBC, all Trump's claims to executive privilege, real and imagined, ended on January 20 at noon. Bannon, who hasn't even had an administration job since 2017 is, of course, full of it. And frankly, my dear, I think the DOJ is compelled to bring conspiracy charges against Trump and that self-aggrandizing twerp Jeffrey Clark, at the very least. ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot threatened on Friday to pursue criminal charges against Stephen K. Bannon, the former chief strategist to ... Donald J. Trump, for refusing to comply with its subpoena, announcing it would consider initiating criminal contempt of Congress proceedings. In a statement after Mr. Bannon informed the panel that he would not cooperate in the inquiry, the panel's leaders [-- Reps. Bennie Thompson & Liz Cheney --] said they would 'swiftly consider' the contempt referral, raising the prospect of what could be a prolonged legal battle over what could be crucial evidence in the investigation." MB: Time to clear out the perhaps-mythical cell in the Capitol crypt and fit it with a cot & a bucket.

Rachel Reads the News. Marie: Rachel Maddow did a great job Thursday of reading from the Democratic Senators' report on Trump's January 6 coup attempt. The full show is here, and it begins with the reading. However, I'm not sure you'll be able to access the link, since it may be specific to my IP address. If you can't access it with that link and you get MSNBC through your ISP, link on the show's general page (here), then click on "Full Episodes," and follow the instructions from there. If neither of those works for you, there may be some pirated copies of the show on YouTube. Rachel's reading is worth going to a little trouble to watch, as she gives a very good sense of the report's findings & what they say about the coup-plot participants.

Even When Trump Uses Corrupt Practices to Prop up His Businesses, He Fails. Jonathan O'Connell & David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump's luxury Washington hotel lost more than $70 million while he was in office despite reaping millions in payments from foreign governments, according to federal documents released by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Friday. The committee, chaired by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), released hundreds of pages of financial documents on the property Friday that it received from the General Services Administration, the agency that leased the federally owned property to Trump's company beginning in 2013. Maloney and Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) allege the documents show that Trump received an estimated $3.7 million from foreign governments and received preferential treatment from Deutsche Bank when the bank allowed Trump to defer payments for six years on the principal of the property's $170 million loan. The findings 'raise new and troubling questions about former President Trump's lease with GSA and the agency's ability to manage the former President's conflicts of interest during his term in office when he was effectively on both sides of the contract, as landlord and tenant,' the two Democrats said in a news release." The AP's story is here. MB: Worst U.S. President*, Failed Businessman, Horrible Human Being. ~~~

     ~~~ Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Donald Trump hid losses of more than $70m at his eponymous Washington DC hotel while he was in the White House, House Democrats said on Friday.... According to the House committee [on oversight]: 'On his federally mandated financial disclosures, President Trump reported that the Trump Hotel earned him over $150m in revenue during his time in office. However, the records obtained by the committee show that the Trump Hotel actually incurred net losses of over $70m, leading the former president's holding company to inject at least $24m to aid the struggling hotel. By filing these misleading public disclosures, President Trump grossly exaggerated the financial health of the Trump Hotel. He also appears to have concealed potential conflicts of interest stemming not just from his ownership of this failing business but also from his roles as the hotel's lender and the guarantor of its third-party loans.' The committee said that in 2018 Trump received preferential treatment from Deutsche Bank, which allowed him to delay payments on a $170m loan."

Andrew Desiderio & Lara Seligman of Politico: "The U.S. government's investigation into the mysterious illnesses impacting American personnel overseas and at home is turning up new evidence that the symptoms are the result of directed-energy attacks, according to five lawmakers and officials briefed on the matter. Behind closed doors, lawmakers are also growing increasingly confident that Russia or another hostile foreign government is behind the suspected attacks, based on regular briefings from administration officials -- although there is still no smoking gun linking the incidents to Moscow. The National Security Council has recently been convening more frequent high-level meetings on the topic, according to a current and a former official with direct knowledge -- a sign that the government's review is accelerating." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If compelling evidence emerges, the perps should be marched off to the Hague. This is torture.

When the Ordinary Privileges of Wealth Are Not Enough. Alanna Richer of the AP: "Two wealthy parents were convicted Friday of buying their kids' way into school as athletic recruits in the first case to go to trial in the college admissions cheating scandal that embroiled prestigious universities across the country. Gamal Abdelaziz, a former casino executive, and John Wilson, a former Staples Inc. executive, were found guilty after about 10 hours of deliberations in the case that exposed a scheme to get undeserving applicants into college by falsely portraying them as star athletes."

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

Afghanistan. Samya Kullab & Tameem Akhgar of the AP: "An Islamic State suicide bomber struck at a mosque packed with Shiite Muslim worshippers in northern Afghanistan on Friday, killing at least 46 people and wounding dozens in the latest security challenge to the Taliban as they transition from insurgency to governance. In its claim of responsibility, the region's IS affiliate identified the bomber as a Uygher Muslim, saying the attack targeted both Shiites and the Taliban for their purported willingness to expel Uyghers to meet demands from China. The statement was carried by the IS-linked Aamaq news agency. The blast tore through a crowded mosque in the city of Kunduz during Friday noon prayers...."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "President Biden is expected to announce on Friday that he will use his executive authority to restore sweeping environmental protections to three major national monuments that had been stripped away by ... Donald J. Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter. Mr. Biden will reinstate and slightly expand the original 1.3 million acre boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument, and restore the original 1.8 million acre boundaries of Grand Staircase-Escalante, two rugged and pristine expanses in Utah that are defined by red rock canyons, rich wildlife and archaeological treasures. He will also restore protections covering the Atlantic Ocean's first marine monument, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, an expanse of sea canyons and underwater mountains off the New England coast. Mr. Trump had href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/04/us/trump-bears-ears.html">sharply reduced the size of all three national monuments at the urging of ranchers, the fishing industry and many Republican leaders, opening them to mining, drilling and development." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If I were Biden, I would commandeer an aircraft carrier, hang a huge "Mission Accomplished" banner across it, call up the Marine Band & race out upon the bounding New England coastal waters to make the announcement. It's a PR stunt that works so well for presidents.

Julian Borger & Helen Davidson of the Guardian: "The US has been secretly maintaining a small contingent of military trainers in Taiwan for at least a year, according to a new report [by the Wall Street Journal], the latest sign of the rising stakes in US-China rivalry.... [Prior to their deployment during the Trump administration,] US troops have not been permanently based on the island since 1979, whe Washington established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.... China's foreign ministry issued a statement urging the US to stop military aid to Taiwan."

Congratulations to the U.S. Senate. The gentleladies & gentlemen of the Greatest Deliberative Body on Earth have managed, at the very last minute, to avert a worldwide financial catastrophe of the Senate's own making -- for a period of up to six weeks, before which they will create another world financial crisis. Next up: the House. ~~~

~~~ Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "The Senate passed legislation on Thursday to raise the debt ceiling through early December, after a small cluster of Republicans temporarily put aside their objections and allowed action to stave off the threat of a first-ever federal default. The action came the day after Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, partly backed down from his blockade on raising the debt limit, offering a temporary reprieve as political pressure mounted to avoid being blamed for a fiscal calamity. But the fragile deal to move ahead was in doubt until the very end, with some Republicans reluctant to drop their objections. Mr. McConnell and his top deputies labored into the evening on Thursday to persuade enough members to clear the way for a vote. Ultimately, 11 Republicans joined every Democrat in voting to take up the bill, clearing the 60-vote threshold needed to break the G.O.P. filibuster. The final vote was 50 to 48, with Democrats unanimously in support and Republicans united in opposition. Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the majority leader, said the House would return on Tuesday to take up the bill." This is an update of a story also linked yesterday afternoon. ~~~

     ~~~ Burgess Everett, et al., of Politico: "The Senate approved a short-term debt ceiling fix on Thursday night, bringing Congress a huge step closer to staving off an economic debacle until December. The two-month patch overcame a Senate GOP filibuster, 61-38, then passed with all Democratic votes. The action followed a furious bout of GOP whipping to ensure at least 10 Senate Republicans would allow the bill to advance, giving Democrats the ability to clear the measure with a simple majority threshold." This is an update of a story also linked yesterday.

Former President* Bankrupto Furious Mitch Didn't Tank Your 401K. Felicia Sonmez & Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Thursday's debt-limit deal has prompted a new round of attacks on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell by ... Donald Trump and his supporters.... Looks like Mitch McConnell is folding to the Democrats, again,' Trump said in a statement.... 'He's got all of the cards with the debt ceiling, it's time to play the hand. Don't let them destroy our Country!'" MB: I'm not sure Trump is intelligent enough to know that in the nick of time, Mitch finally decided not to "destroy our country." In any event, it doesn't matter to Trump, because he doesn't care if he "destroys our country" if it vanquished a perceived enemy. ~~~

~~~ Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "Republicans are in disarray after the GOP's Senate leader came to an agreement to raise the debt ceiling to prevent the federal government from defaulting on its debt.... Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) blasted [Mitch] McConnell on the floor of the Senate." Trump's fair-weather friend Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was upset with McConnell, too.

Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol issued three new subpoenas Thursday, continuing its focus on those organizing rallies the day former President Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol. The subpoenas went to Nathan Martin and Ali Abdul Akbar, also known as Ali Alexander, and an affiliated corporation titled Stop the Steal LLC. Both men's names and contact information are listed on a permit application for the 'One Nation Under God' event, which sought to rally on 'the election fraud in the swing states.'"

Luke Broadwater & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump has instructed his former aides not to comply with subpoenas from the special congressional committee investigating the Capitol riot, raising the prospect of the panel issuing criminal referrals for some of his closest advisers as early as Friday.... Mr. Trump's lawyer asked that witnesses not provide testimony or documents related to their 'official' duties, and instead to invoke any immunities they might have 'to the fullest extent permitted by law.' The House committee has ordered four former Trump administration officials -- Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff; Dan Scavino Jr., a deputy chief of staff; Stephen K. Bannon, an adviser; and Kash Patel, a Pentagon chief of staff -- to sit for depositions and furnish documents and other materials relevant to its investigation. They all faced a Thursday deadline to respond. Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and the chairman of the select committee, has threatened criminal referrals for witnesses who do not comply with the subpoenas, and said the panel expected witnesses 'to cooperate fully with our probe.'" Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Thursday's edition of CNN's 'The Lead,' Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) warned ... Donald Trump's allies that they cannot be pardoned anymore if they are prosecuted for contempt of Congress or obstruction."

~~~ BUT a Boost from DOJ. Kyle Cheney & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "A top career official in President Joe Biden's Justice Department blocked efforts by Senate investigators to probe the handling of voter fraud complaints in the aftermath of the 2020 election, according to transcripts released Thursday. As Senate Judiciary Committee aides investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election questioned top Trump-era Justice Department officials, a DOJ attorney present for the interviews intervened repeatedly to say such questions were outside the scope of the panel's inquiry. The official, DOJ attorney Bradley Weinsheimer -- a career official who has worked under attorneys general of both parties -- cited guidance he issued in July.... But his assertions drew repeated, and sometimes pointed, challenges from Judiciary Committee aides in both parties.... The Justice Department declined to comment, but [AG Merrick] Garland confirmed in an interview Monday that the DOJ is in regular contact with the White House on executive privilege issues related to investigations of former President Trump." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "A Senate report on ... Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election offers new details about an Oval Office confrontation between Trump and the Justice Department, revealing the extent to which government lawyers threatened to resign en masse if the president removed his attorney general. The interim report by the Senate Judiciary Committee was issued Thursday. While Republicans on the panel offered their counter-findings, arguing that Trump did not subvert the justice system to remain in power, the majority report by the Democrats offers the most detailed account to date of the struggle inside the administration's final, desperate days." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) CNN's report on the report is here. ~~~

~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post outlines "some key takeaways [front the Democrats' report].... Perhaps the report's biggest disclosure involves something we already knew a bit about: [DOJ attorney Jeffrey] Clark's willingness to be a pawn in Trump's effort to overturn the election.... [Acting AG Jeffrey] Rosen recounted that, at one point, Trump lamented his refusal to assist in not just questioning the election results but -- in Trump's own words -- 'overturning the election.' According to Rosen, Trump opened the [Jan. 3] meeting by saying, 'One thing we know is you, Rosen, aren't going to do anything to overturn the election.' A transcript of his testimony shows Rosen twice described Trump using that phrase.... This report doesn't land in a vacuum. In fact, next to several other recent disclosures, it demonstrates a clear and multifaceted effort to use any tool available to overturn the election." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Since previous news report revealed at least the outlines of most of the report's finding, perhaps the most shocking part is that Republican Senators dared to write a counter-report with subheadings like, "THE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP DID NOT USE THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO OVERTURN THE ELECTION" and "PRESIDENT TRUMP DID NOT EXERT IMPROPER INFLUENCE ON THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT...." Right. ~~~

     ~~~ GOP: A Failed Illegal Plot Is Legal & Proper. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: Sen. Charles "Grassley's [R-Iowa] report highlights the facts that Trump not only didn't ultimately fire Rosen and replace him with the loyalist Clark, as had been threatened, but that he also opted against releasing the letter Clark had drafted about supposed evidence of fraud in Georgia.... As with Ukraine, it wasn't because Trump had some attack of conscience; it's because the plot fell apart.... Trump was talked out of [carrying out the coup] not for moral reasons, but for practical, personal ones[.]... This plot was apparently very much set in motion.... Per Rosen's testimony..., [on] Jan. 3, '[Clark] told me ... that the President had decided to offer him [Rosen] the position [of attorney general], and he had decided to take it. So that I would be replaced that Sunday, and the Department would chart a different path.... So ... I told him, "Well, here's the thing, Jeff Clark, my subordinates don't get to fire me. So ... I'm going to contact the President and tell him I need to talk with him."'"

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "... As a pro-Trump mob grew in size and anger [on January 6], a man in a MAGA hat briefly spoke outside the building with the Proud Boys leader Joseph Biggs. Minutes later, the man, Ryan Samsel, walked to the front of the crowd, turned his hat backward and started to shove aggressively at barricade. As others joined him, the barricade fell, knocking down a police officer and arguably setting off the ensuing riot. While the encounter between Mr. Biggs and Mr. Samsel was caught on video and is often thought of as a tipping point in the Capitol attack, little has been known about what the two men said to each other. For months, however..., the government has known Mr. Samsel's account of the exchange: He has told investigators that Mr. Biggs encouraged him to push at the barricades and that when he hesitated, the Proud Boys leader flashed a gun, questioned his manhood and repeated his demand to move upfront and challenge the police.... It is not clear whether the F.B.I. views Mr. Samsel as credible.... Mr. Biggs's lawyer, denied that his client was armed on Jan. 6 or that he sought to encourage Mr. Samsel to confront the police...."

Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post wonders: "How dumb can a nation get and still survive? Idiotically, we seem determined to find out."

Sara Fischer of Axios: "Google and YouTube on Thursday announced a new policy that prohibits climate deniers from being able to monetize their content on its platforms via ads or creator payments.... It's one of the most aggressive measures any major tech platform has taken to combat climate change misinformation."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Eli Rosenberg & Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "President Biden touted the effectiveness of workplace vaccine mandates and urged companies to begin instituting them on their own during a visit to the Chicago area Thursday as his administration rushed to create a federal rule that will require companies with more than 100 employees to institute vaccination or testing protocols among their staffs. Biden initially shied away from calling for coronavirus vaccine mandates but has fully embraced them with the coronavirus reignited in the country in recent months, hampering the economic rebound and his efforts to move past the pandemic. Since Biden began his for push for more workplace vaccine mandates, evidence that they effectively boost vaccination rates has piled up.... He called the vaccine requirements 'tough medicine' that he came around to only after seeing how many people refused to get vaccinated, amid rising caseloads across the country from the delta variant. Biden met with the chief executive of United Airlines, the first airline to institute a vaccine mandate for employees, and visited the worksite run by a construction company, Clayco, that recently announced a vaccine or testing requirement for its workers."

Heather Long & Andrew Van Dam of the Washington Post: "Millions of Americans have returned to work this year as health risks have subsided, but a full jobs rebound is a long way off, and the recovery so far has largely left behind Black Americans and workers without college degrees. The job losses for these groups are still worse than anything college-educated Americans ever experienced during the pandemic. The highly uneven recovery has been driven by long-standing problems in access to the Internet and child care, along with recent economic head winds: Hiring slowed sharply in August, supply chain issues have worsened, inflation remains high and consumer sentiment plunged in August and remains near its pandemic-era low."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here: “Moderna said on Thursday that it planned to build a vaccine manufacturing facility in Africa, news that was welcomed for the long-term but that does not address the continent's immediate need for Covid-19 vaccines. The company said that a new 'state of the art' facility would eventually produce up to 500 million doses a year of Moderna's mRNA vaccine, which has shown an efficacy rate of more than 90 percent in preventing Covid-19. The plant will, in time, also produce other Moderna vaccines, the company said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Sharon LaFraniere & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "Pfizer and BioNTech asked federa regulators on Thursday to authorize emergency use of their coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, a move that could help protect more than 28 million people in the United States. The companies say they are submitting data supporting the change to the Food and Drug Administration. The agency has promised to move quickly on the request and has tentatively scheduled a meeting on Oct. 26 to consider it. A ruling is expected between Halloween and Thanksgiving." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Florida. Lori Rozsa & Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post: "The tug of war between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and the Biden administration over mask mandates in schools escalated Thursday when the state Board of Education voted unanimously to penalize school districts that continue to require masks, a move the U.S. Department of Education warned could be illegal. The board found that eight districts were not in compliance with a new state law on parental rights and that they violated a recent state health department rule that says students exposed to the coronavirus cannot be ordered to quarantine if they are asymptomatic. School board members in the eight districts will have their salaries withheld."

Beyond the Beltway

** Florida. Jesse Wegman in a New York Times op-ed: "... more than 700,000 people in Florida ... are barred from voting because they can't afford the financial obligations stemming from a prior felony conviction.... Even as other states began reversing their own bans in recent years, Florida remained a holdout -- until 2018, when Floridians overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to nearly everyone with a criminal record, upon the completion of their sentence.... But within a year, Florida's Republican-led Legislature gutted the reform by passing a law defining a criminal sentence as complete only after the person sentenced has paid all legal financial obligations connected to it.... This isn't just Kafkaesque. It may well be the deciding factor in Florida elections: Donald Trump carried the state by roughly 370,000 votes in 2020, or about half the number of Floridians who are denied the right to vote because they can&'t afford to pay their fines and fees." Read on. It gets worse.

New York. Cuomo Hoped to Foist off Hochul on Biden. They Call her "Governor Hochul" Now. Josh Dawsey & Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "Top aides to then-New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sought a job in the Biden administration for then-Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul so they could remove her from the gubernatorial ticket ahead of his planned bid for a fourth term in 2022, according to multiple people.... Cuomo's office told Hochul early this year that they wanted her to leave the ticket so the governor could pick someone with a deeper political pull with minority communities ahead of what he expected to be a difficult campaign.... Hochul was considering ... [possible top jobs in the Biden administration] earlier this year, but the conversations with the White House tapered off this spring amid growing allegations about Cuomo's conduct and mounting scrutiny of his administration's reporting of nursing home deaths related to covid-19, the people said."

Oklahoma Gubernatorial Election. Brittany Shammas of the Washington Post: "Oklahoma's top public education official on Thursday switched her party affiliation to Democratic and announced a bid for governor, blasting Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.Joy Hofmeister, a lifelong member of the GOP first elected as state superintendent in 2014, stressed that her values have not changed and that her decision was not an easy one. But she said she was bothered by what she called Stitt's 'toothless health response.' She has previously broken with him over mask policies in schools."

Texas. Sabrina Tavernise & Ruth Graham of the New York Times: "At least six clinics in Texas returned to performing abortions the day after a federal judge halted enforcement of the nation's most restrictive abortion measure, but a majority had not, a reflection of the power of the law the judge froze. The novel law, which banned most abortions in the state after cardiac activity is detected, about six weeks into pregnancy, continued to exert control over many clinics. Planned Parenthood, whose Texas affiliates operate seven centers that offer abortion services, said on Thursday that despite the ruling it was not carrying out abortions banned under the measure.... After weighing the risks, most of the state's abortion clinics -- there are about 24 across Texas -- decided not to resume abortions on women whose pregnancies exceeded six weeks because of another of the law's unique features: Clinics can be sued retroactively for up to four years for any abortions they provide while the measure is blocked." Emphasis added.

News Ledes

New York Times: Gary "Maynard, a criminology professor who specializes in deviancy, now sits in a Sacramento jail awaiting a hearing' on allegedly purposely setting a forest fire in the Sierra Nevadas.

CNBC: "The U.S. economy created jobs at a much slower than expected pace in September, a pessimistic sign about the state of the economy though the total was held back substantially by a sharp drop in government employment. Nonfarm payrolls rose by just 194,000 in the month, compared to the Dow Jones estimate of 500,000, the Labor Department reported Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 4.8%, better than the expectation for 5.1% and the lowest since February 2020." MB: Not sure this means jobs growth is bad or the "experts" are bad guesstimators.

Celebrate This, Duterte & Putin. AP: "Journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their fight for freedom of expression in countries where media outlets have faced persistent attacks. The Norwegian Nobel Committee stressed that an independent press is vital in promoting peace. 'Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda,' said Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the committee, explaining why the prize was awarded to two journalists." The New York Times liveblog that reports the awards is here.

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Thursday
Oct072021

The Commentariat -- October 7, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Caitlin Emma & Marianne Levine of Politico: "Senate leaders clinched a deal on Thursday to avoid an economic nightmare in less than two weeks, pushing their debt ceiling stalemate into December and creating a fiscal pileup around the holidays. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the agreement on Thursday morning after the Senate adjourned just after midnight. The plan, which the upper chamber could pass later Thursday, would raise the nation's credit limit by $480 billion through Dec. 3, when government funding is also set to expire.... Democrats may need help from at least 10 GOP senators to pass the deal on Thursday. Some Republicans, concerned about letting Democrats off easy, don't want to allow Democrats to pass the measure with a simple 51-vote majority on the floor. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) acknowledged there were Republican objections, but he predicted any holdups would be resolved after the GOP conference meets for lunch Thursday afternoon." The New York Times report is here.

Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "A Senate report on ... Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election offers new details about an Oval Office confrontation between Trump and the Justice Department, revealing the extent to which government lawyers threatened to resign en masse if the president removed his attorney general. The interim report by the Senate Judiciary Committee was issued Thursday. While Republicans on the panel offered their counter-findings, arguing that Trump did not subvert the justice system to remain in power, the majority report by the Democrats offers the most detailed account to date of the struggle inside the administration's final, desperate days." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Since previous news report revealed at least the outlines of most of the report's finding, perhaps the most shocking part is that Republican Senators dared to write a counter-report with subheadings like, "THE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP DID NOT USE THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO OVERTURN THE ELECTION" and "PRESIDENT TRUMP DID NOT EXERT IMPROPER INFLUENCE ON THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT...." Right.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here: "Moderna said on Thursday that it planned to build a vaccine manufacturing facility in Africa, news that was welcomed for the long-term but that does not address the continent's immediate need for Covid-19 vaccines. The company said that a new 'state of the art' facility would eventually produce up to 500 million doses a year of Moderna' mRNA vaccine, which has shown an efficacy rate of more than 90 percent in preventing Covid-19. The plant will, in time, also produce other Moderna vaccines, the company said."

Sharon LaFraniere & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "Pfizer and BioNTech asked federal regulators on Thursday to authorize emergency use of their coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, a move that could help protect more than 28 million people in the United States. The companies say they are submitting data supporting the change to the Food and Drug Administration. The agency has promised to move quickly on the request and has tentatively scheduled a meeting on Oct. 26 to consider it. A ruling is expected between Halloween and Thanksgiving."

~~~~~~~~~~

David Sanger of the New York Times: "President Biden will meet President Xi Jinping of China for their first summit by the end of this year -- but virtually, not in person, a concession to a pandemic era and a recognition of the dangers of going an entire year into a new presidential term without a formal meeting between the leaders of the world's largest and second-largest economies. The announcement on Wednesday from American officials came after a six-hour meeting between Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, and his closest Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, Beijing's top diplomat."

"Build Back Better" Means Not Destroying the Environment. Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: "The White House proposed restoring parts of one of the nation's bedrock environmental laws Wednesday, requiring agencies to conduct a climate analysis of major projects and give affected communities greater input into the process. If finalized, the move to change how the government reviews pipelines, highways and other projects under the National Environmental Policy Act would reverse a significant rollback by the Donald Trump administration. While the proposal won praise from environmentalists, it came under criticism from developers and could make it harder to upgrade the aging bridges and roads President Biden has pledged to rebuild. Brenda Mallory, who chairs the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said in a statement that the changes would not delay major projects because they would make it easier to forge a consensus on how they would be built."

The Turtle Blinks. A Little. Jonathan Weisman & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Senator Mitch McConnell, bowing to the immediate threat of a federal default, said Republicans would allow Democrats to raise the debt ceiling into December, but he refused to lift his blockade of a long-term increase in the government's borrowing limit. The offer appeared to reflect some nervousness on the part of Republicans in an escalating standoff over the government's borrowing limit, as a first-ever default on federal debt looms in as few as 12 days.... The proposal ... confronted Democrats with the prospect of a politically uncomfortable vote that some of them had wanted to avoid, embracing a set dollar amount by which they would raise the debt cap.... Shortly after [McConnell] floated his offer, Democrats put off a planned vote on a bill to lift the debt limit -- which Republicans had vowed to block for the second time in two weeks -- and arranged a closed-door gathering in the Capitol." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ ** New Lede: "Senate Democrats and Republicans neared agreement as they met into the early morning hours Thursday to temporarily pull the nation from the brink of a debt default. The deal would punt their showdown on raising the federal borrowing limit to December after Republicans bowed to pressure to stave off immediate fiscal calamity."~~~

     ~~~ Burgess Everett, et al., of Politico: "Democrats are planning to accept an offer from Mitch McConnell to let them raise the debt ceiling into December without a GOP filibuster, multiple senators said after a closed-door caucus meeting on Wednesday.... But ... Democrats ... pledged to reject his demands that the majority party use the laborious process of budget reconciliation to pass a longer debt ceiling increase."

Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Leading Senate Democrats increasingly see the Republican blockade against raising the federal debt limit as clear justification for changing the chamber's filibuster rule, a long-shot effort that so far has lacked the unanimous support within their ranks it would need to succeed. President Biden, who has sent mixed signals for months about whether he supports scrapping the filibuster, gave fresh momentum to the idea on Tuesday when he told reporters at the White House that it was a 'real possibility' that Democrats could create an exception to the rules and allow the debt ceiling to be raised with a simple majority.... Any weakening of the filibuster would significantly reduce [Mitch] McConnell's power to block the Democratic agenda."

Debbie Cenziper, et al., of the Washington Post: "A bipartisan group of lawmakers plans to introduce legislation this week that for the first time would require trust companies, lawyers, art dealers and others to investigate foreign clients seeking to move money and assets into the American financial system. The bill's sponsors cited the findings of the Pandora Papers investigation, the result of a sweeping international collaboration published this week that exposed how the global elite conceal their wealth in tax havens that increasingly include the United States. Stories by The Washington Post and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) showed that little-known trust companies in Sioux Falls, S.D., established nearly 30 trusts holding assets connected to people or companies accused of corruption, human rights abuses or other wrongdoing in some of the world's poorest communities.... The proposed law, known as the Enablers Act, would amend the 51-year-old Bank Secrecy Act, by requiring the Treasury Department to create basic due-diligence rules for American gatekeepers who facilitate the flow of foreign assets into the United States."

Rachel Pannett of the Washington Post: "The special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction told a congressional subcommittee Wednesday that his office would probe allegations that former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani took millions of dollars with him when he fled the country in mid-August.... In August, the Afghan ambassador to Tajikistan told reporters that Ghani 'stole $169 million from the state coffers,' according to the Associated Press. The diplomat, who said he would file an arrest request with Interpol, did not provide evidence for the claim."

Bernie Has Had Enough of Manchinema. Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: During a 15-minute news conference Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), "chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and leader of the progressive movement, took direct aim at [Sen. Joe] Manchin's [D-W.Va.] statements and positions on the wide-ranging legislation that would invest in climate change, expand and shore up health-care programs, and overhaul the nation's social safety net.... Clearly irritating Sanders was the opaqueness of Manchin's various demands related to the spending package.... 'Senator Manchin has been extremely critical of the $3.5 trillion proposal that many of us support,' Sanders said. 'The time is long overdue for him to tell us with specificity -- not generalities, but beyond generalities, with specificity -- what he wants and what he does not want, and to explain that to the people of West Virginia and America.' He later added that ... a few outliers in the Democratic caucus should not have such power to sway what most Democratic lawmakers and what [President] Biden want. 'I could ... go to Chuck Schumer ... and say, "Chuck, I can't support this bill unless you have a Medicare-for-all provision." But I'm not going to do that,' Sanders said. 'It is wrong and it is really not playing fair that one or two people think that they should be able to stop what 48 members of the Democratic caucus want, what the American people want, what the president of the United States wants.'" ~~~

~~~ Alayna Treene of Axios: "Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) withheld support for a joint statement condemning last weekend's protests against Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) because it also wouldn't include a rebuke of her political views, Axios has learned." MB: Check out the photo that accompanies the post. I'm sorry, but you cannot convince me that a green wig & fake leopard skin halter top is appropriate Senate attire. And, no, I'm not talking about Bernie here.

The Party of Violence. Paul Waldman of the Washington Post: "Republicans in Congress have seen the threat of mob violence, and they are going to ... defend the mob, and make sure law enforcement doesn't crack down too hard on it. That's the clear message being sent from up and down the right -- politicians, pundits, and conservative media -- in response to a memorandum from the Department of Justice laying out an effort to address the rising tide of angry threats directed at school boards and education officials. The memorandum ... presented a perfect opportunity for Republicans to reemphasize to their supporters that 1) the Biden administration is tyrannical; 2) conservatives are oppressed and afflicted; and 3) mob intimidation is an appropriate response to any public policy they disagree with.... Fox News promptly sent a wave of histrionic, dishonest rants to its viewers.... Threats of violence against public officials are now simply part of the Republican repertoire." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Sky Palma of the Raw Story: "A Trump-endorsed candidate for Congress in Ohio is facing allegations that he was physically abusive to former White House press secretary during Stephanie Grisham during his time serving in the Trump administration. Now, Max Miller's request to ban Grisham from talking about their relationship during her tour to promote her book ... has been denied by a judge, Bloomberg reports." The Bloomberg report is firewalled. ~~~

~~~ Felicia Sonmez & Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "More than a dozen high-profile Republicans are co-hosting a fundraiser next week for Max Miller, an Ohio congressional candidate and former Trump White House aide who faces allegations of domestic violence."

Uh, Thanks, Chuck. Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "Sen. Charles E. Grassley (Iowa), the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Wednesday congratulated a Korean American judicial nominee for the 'hard work ethic' of 'you and your people,' invoking a stereotype about Asian Americans. The 88-year-old senator, who is seeking reelection to another six-year term, praised Lucy Koh, a judge nominated by President Biden to the federal appeals court, during her confirmation hearing.... A spokesman for Grassley said the senator's 'intent was to be complimentary, not to insult anyone....'" MB: Later Chuck asked a Black nominee how much affirmative action had helped her unbelievable level of achievement & queried a Puerto Rican nominee on how a Mexican like him could rule fairly on cases involving immigrants.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Twenty years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Supreme Court on Wednesday found itself struggling to address two issues stemming from that period: torture and government secrecy. Before the justices were done for the day, the proceedings had taken a surprising turn. The basic question for the justices was whether the government could invoke national security to block testimony by two C.I.A. contractors who were instrumental in the brutal interrogations of the detainee known as Abu Zubaydah, who was waterboarded more than 60 times and is being held without charge at Guantánamo Bay.... Three justices [-- Breyer, Gorsuch & Sotomayor --] proposed a novel solution: Why not let Abu Zubaydah himself testify in connection with the Polish inquiry? By allowing him to describe what he had endured, the justices suggested, the court could sidestep the question of whether the government had to allow the C.I.A. contractors to appear." Brian Fletcher, the acting U.S. Solicitor General, said he hadn't thought about that, which irritated Justice Gorsuch. ~~~

     ~~~ An NPR story, by Nina Totenberg, is here. ~~~

~~~ When a State Secret Is Not a Secret. Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "At the Supreme Court, the justices asked [acting SJ Brian] Fletcher how the government could invoke the state secrets privilege, which the court first recognized in the 1950s, on information already known.... [BUT] 'As you've put it, it's no secret at all,' [CJ John] Roberts said to [Abu Zubaydah's attorney]. 'But you don't have the United States government acknowledging that. And the United States government says this is critically important because our friends, allies, intelligence sources around the world have to believe that we keep our word, and our word was, this is secret.'"

Katie Benner of the New York Times: When Donald Trump led a nearly three-hour meeting on January 3, the purpose of which was to threaten to remove the acting Attorney General and replace him with election conspiracy theorist Jeffrey Clark, White House Counsel Pat Cipolline said that he and his principal deputy would resign in protest if Trump carried out his plan to get the DOJ to pretend there was mass voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election. "Mr. Cipollone's stand that night is among the new details contained in a lengthy interim report prepared by the Senate Judiciary Committee about Mr. Trump's efforts to pressure the Justice Department to do his bidding in the chaotic final weeks of his presidency.... It provides the most complete account yet of Mr. Trump's efforts to push the department to validate election fraud claims that had been disproved by the F.B.I. and state investigators.... Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement ... that he believes the former president, who remains a front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2024, would have 'shredded the Constitution to stay in power.'"

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A social media influencer who spoke at a pro-Donald Trump rally in Washington on Jan. 5 pleaded guilty Wednesday to disorderly conduct [-- a misdemeanor --] during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Brandon Straka, 44, a former New York City hairstylist, admitted in plea papers to recording himself during the Capitol breach in front of a mobbed entrance, urging a crowd to wrest away a riot shield from a police officer and shouting: 'Take it! Take it!' At another point, according to plea papers, Straka stood behind a crowd of people trying to push their way in, yelling, 'Go! Go!'... In a plea agreement, Straka promised to cooperate by turning over social media and other evidence and to participate in a law enforcement interview."

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "A new investigation into the drowning of nine U.S. service members last year says that senior commanders responsible for ensuring troops' safety failed to keep up with mounting demands imposed on them due to the coronavirus pandemic, the prospect of war with Iran and ... Donald Trump's militarization of the southern border. Released Wednesday, the report does not excuse those Marine Corps officials whose lack of oversight was faulted previously in the sinking of a 26-ton amphibious assault vehicle during predeployment training off the California coast. Rather, it scrutinizes what a senior military leader determined were other contributing factors. Lt. Gen. Carl Mundy III said it would be 'a mistake to discount or overlook' the demands on commanders, their staffs and rank-and-file troops ahead of the disaster on July 30, 2020."

David Byler & Yan Wu, in a Washington Post op-ed, test your belief in popular American political conspiracy theories. Marie: The test is easy for an old codger like me, who has lived through the events and read about most of the theories as they arose. However, if you're someone who wasn't even born when some of these theories first circulated, don't be troubled if you don't know they're false (or at least generally believed to be false).

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here: "The White House on Wednesday announced a billion-dollar investment in at-home rapid coronavirus tests that it said would help quadruple their availability by later this year. By December, 200 million rapid tests will be available to Americans each month, with tens of millions more arriving on the market in the coming weeks, Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House's Covid-19 coordinator, said at a news conference." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Wednesday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Maryland. Katherine Huggins of Mediaite: "A Maryland man allegedly killed his brother and sister-in-law last week because his brother, a pharmacist, had administered Covid-19 vaccines. Court documents revealed that Jeffrey Burnham, 46, told his mother he needed to confront his older brother, Brian Robinette, 'about the government poisoning people with COVID vaccines.' He repeatedly insisted that 'Brian knows something.'"

Mississippi. Brittany Shammas of the Washington Post: Meggan Gray, who co-anchored Biloxi's WLOX morning news show for 14 years, wrote on Facebook the day after she signed off the show that "she lost her job after refusing to be vaccinated for the coronavirus as required by her station's parent company, Gray Television.... It was not clear whether she left the station or was fired." Meggan says that isn't fair. Marie: I can imagine what Meggan thought was newsy. Might be best, WLOX, to hire a co-anchor who elevates facts over conspiracy theories.

New Hampshire. Adam Sexton of WMUR (Manchester): "The New Hampshire Republican representative who shared a document with his colleagues that was riddled with conspiracy theories and anti-Catholic bigotry has resigned his position as chairman of the House Finance Committee. Rep. Ken Weyler's resignation from the committee also means he is no longer chair of the Fiscal Committee.... Weyler came under fire this week for sharing a document with committee members referred to as a 'vaccine death report.' The document contains conspiracy theories but also features blatant anti-Catholicism, including an allegation that top church leaders worship Satan. The 'report' alleges that multiple popes have answered to a hidden leader known as 'The Grey Pope.' The document also claims COVID-19 vaccines contain tentacled creatures and 5G technology intended for mind control." MB: The report is at least partially true. Subversive control mechanisms flowing to my brain tell me that Weyler is in-sane.

Texas. Maria Cramer of the New York Times: "On April 5, 2020, Christopher Charles Perez posted a message on Facebook about an H-E-B grocery store in San Antonio, federal prosecutors said. 'My homeboys cousin has covid19 and has licked everything for past two days cause we paid him too,' Mr. Perez wrote. 'YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.' The claim was not true, and the post came down after 16 minutes, according to court documents. But someone anonymously submitted a screenshot of the post to the Southwest Texas Fusion Center, a group of law enforcement agencies that investigates possible criminal and terrorist activity. When the F.B.I. confronted Mr. Perez, he said he had been trying to scare people from going to public places 'to stop them from spreading the virus,' according to a federal affidavit. This past June, Mr. Perez, 40, of San Antonio, was found guilty of disseminating false information and hoaxes related to biological weapons. On Monday, a federal judge sentenced him to 15 months in federal prison."

Beyond the Beltway

Texas. Sabrina Tavernise & Katie Benner of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Wednesday granted the Justice Department's request to halt enforcement of the recently passed Texas law that bans nearly all abortions in the state while the legal battle over the statute makes its way through the federal courts. In his 113-page ruling, Robert L. Pitman, a Federal District Court judge in Austin, sided with the Biden administration, which had sued to halt a law that has changed the landscape of the abortion fight and further fueled the national debate over whether abortion will remain legal across the country. Judge Pitman used sharp language to criticize the law, known as Senate Bill 8, which was drafted to make it difficult to challenge in court by delegating enforcement to private individuals, who can sue anyone who performs abortions or 'aids and abets' them. 'From the moment S.B. 8 went into effect, women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their own lives in ways that are protected by the Constitution,' he wrote in his opinion." The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Gosh, how is it possible that a relatively-lowly district court judge is more observant of Constitutional guarantees than the majority of the Supremes? Oh, he's an Obama appointee.

Way Beyond

Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "Malaria kills about half a million people each year, nearly all of them in sub-Saharan Africa -- including 260,000 children under 5. The new vaccine, made by GlaxoSmithKline, rouses a child's immune system to thwart Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest of five malaria pathogens and the most prevalent in Africa. The World Health Organization on Wednesday endorsed the vaccine, the first step in a process that should lead to wide distribution in poor countries. To have a malaria vaccine that is safe, moderately effective and ready for distribution is 'a historic event,' said Dr. Pedro Alonso, director of the W.H.O.'s global malaria program.” A CBS News story is here.

News Ledes

Military Times: "Eleven sailors were injured Oct. 2 when the deployed fast-attack submarine Connecticut 'struck an object' while submerged in the Indo-Pacific region, a Navy official confirmed to Navy Times Thursday. None of the injuries were [was!] life-threatening and the vessel is arriving in Guam today, according to the sea service."

New York Times: "The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded on Thursday to Abdulrazak Gurnah for 'his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.' Gurnah was born in Zanzibar, which is now part of Tanzania, in 1948, but he currently lives in Britain. He left Zanzibar at age 18 as a refugee after a violent 1964 uprising in which soldiers overthrew the country's government. He is the first African to win the award -- considered the most prestigious in world literature -- in more than a decade."

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Tuesday
Oct052021

The Commentariat -- October 6, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Jonathan Weisman & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Senator Mitch McConnell, bowing to the immediate threat of a federal default, said Republicans would allow Democrats to raise the debt ceiling into December, but he refused to lift his blockade of a long-term increase in the government's borrowing limit.The offer appeared to reflect some nervousness on the part of Republicans in an escalating standoff over the government’s borrowing limit, as a first-ever default on federal debt looms in as few as 12 days.... The proposal ... confronted Democrats with the prospect of a politically uncomfortable vote that some of them had wanted to avoid, embracing a set dollar amount by which they would raise the debt cap.... Shortly after [McConnell] floated his offer, Democrats put off a planned vote on a bill to lift the debt limit -- which Republicans had vowed to block for the second time in two weeks -- and arranged a closed-door gathering in the Capitol."

The Party of Violence. Paul Waldman of the Washington Post: "Republicans in Congress have seen the threat of mob violence, and they are going to ... defend the mob, and make sure law enforcement doesn't crack down too hard on it. That's the clear message being sent from up and down the right -- politicians, pundits, and conservative media — in response to a memorandum from the Department of Justice laying out an effort to address the rising tide of angry threats directed at school boards and education officials. The memorandum ... presented a perfect opportunity for Republicans to reemphasize to their supporters that 1) the Biden administration is tyrannical; 2) conservatives are oppressed and afflicted; and 3) mob intimidation is an appropriate response to any public policy they disagree with.... Fox News promptly sent a wave of histrionic, dishonest rants to its viewers.... Threats of violence against public officials are now simply part of the Republican repertoire."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here: "The White House on Wednesday announced a billion-dollar investment in at-home rapid coronavirus tests that it said would help quadruple their availability by later this year. By December, 200 million rapid tests will be available to Americans each month, with tens of millions more arriving on the market in the coming weeks, Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House's Covid-19 coordinator, said at a news conference." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Wednesday are here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "President Biden said on Tuesday that Democrats are considering a change to Senate filibuster rules to bypass a Republican blockade over raising the debt limit, which has set the United States on a collision course with a government default. 'Oh, I think that's a real possibility,' Mr. Biden said when asked if Democrats were considering the last-resort route, which would involve making an exception to allow for a debt ceiling bill to pass with a simple majority instead of the usual 60 votes needed. Senate Democrats discussed carving out the exception at their weekly lunch on Tuesday. No conclusions were reached, but notably, according to participants, the two strongest opponents of filibuster changes, Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, did not speak up in protest. They also did not speak up in support."

Jim Tankersley & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "President Biden and Democratic leaders i Congress in recent days have slashed their ambitions for a major expansion of America's social safety net to a package worth $2.3 trillion or less, which will force hard choices about how to scale back a proposal that the president hopes will be transformational. The figure is substantially less than Mr. Biden's earlier plan, which called for $3.5 trillion in new spending and tax cuts to spur a generational expansion of government in Americans' lives, including efforts to fight climate change and child poverty, increase access to education and help American companies compete with China. Democratic leaders will probably need to narrow their plans for free community college, child tax credits and universal prekindergarten so they are offered only to lower- and middle-income Americans, according to party members involved in the negotiations." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Maybe Manchinema, House Democratic conservatives & the entire GOP, like the people of Lake Wobegon, really believe in underachievement. In their hearts, they long to yell, "Keep America Mediocre!"

Missy Ryan, et al., of the Washington Post: "Secretary of State Antony Blinken held last-minute talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Tuesday, suggesting the two countries are seeking to repair relations following an angry feud over a U.S. submarine deal with Australia. Officials had previously said it was not certain if Blinken would meet with the French leader during his two-day visit, for a summit of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, just weeks after the Biden administration's decision to forge a new security pact with Australia and Britain derailed a lucrative French defense deal and ignited a string of angry rebukes from Paris."

Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department is reviewing its decision not to charge FBI agents who failed to properly investigate sex abuse allegations leveled against Larry Nassar, the disgraced former USA gymnastics doctor who sexually abused his patients, including world-famous gymnasts. Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco made the announcement at a hearing Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Lawmakers on the panel have sharply criticized the Justice Department for not pursuing false statements charges against a supervisory FBI agent and his boss for what the agency's inspector general concluded were lies to internal investigators to cover up their failures." (Also linked yesterday.)

Josh Hawley Defends Bullying & Violence. Timothy Bella & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday ordered the FBI to work with local leaders nationwide to help address what he called a 'disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence' against educators and school board members over highly politicized issues such as mask mandates and interpretations of critical race theory.... Republicans at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday accused [President] Biden's Justice Department of heavy-handed tactics to try to intimidate parents speaking at local school board meetings.... 'If this isn't a deliberate attempt to chill parents from showing up at school board meetings, I don't know what is,' Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said to Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. 'You're using the FBI to intervene in school board meetings. This is extraordinary.'"

Julian Barnes & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "Top American counterintelligence officials warned every C.I.A. station and base around the world last week about troubling numbers of informants recruited from other countries to spy for the United States being captured or killed, people familiar with the matter said. The message, in an unusual top secret cable, said that the C.I.A.'s counterintelligence mission center had looked at dozens of cases in the last several years involving foreign informants who had been killed, arrested or most likely compromised. Although brief, the cable laid out the specific number of agents executed by rival intelligence agencies -- a closely held detail that counterintelligence officials typically do not share in such cables." (Also linked yesterday.)

I'm here today because I believe Facebook's products harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy. The company's leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won't make the necessary changes. -- Frances Haugen, in Senate testimony Tuesday ~~~

~~~ Cecilia Kang of the New York Times: "A former Facebook product manager who turned into a whistle-blower gave lawmakers an unvarnished look into the inner workings of the world's largest social network on Tuesday and detailed how the company was deliberate in its efforts to keep people -- including children -- hooked to its service. In more than three hours of testimony before a Senate subcommittee, Frances Haugen, who worked on Facebook's civic misinformation team for nearly two years until May, spoke candidly and with a level of insight that the company's executives have rarely provided. She said Facebook had purposely hidden disturbing research about how teenagers felt worse about themselves after using its products and how it was willing to use hateful content on its site to keep users coming back." ~~~

~~~ Marcy Gordon of the AP: "A former Facebook data scientist told Congress on Tuesday that the social network giant's products harm children and fuel polarization in the U.S. while its executives refuse to make changes because they elevate profits over safety. Frances Haugen testified to the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection. She is accusing the company of being aware of apparent harm to some teens from Instagram and being dishonest in its public fight against hate and misinformation. Haugen has come forward with a wide-ranging condemnation of Facebook, buttressed with tens of thousands of pages of internal research documents she secretly copied before leaving her job in the company's civic integrity unit. She also has filed complaints with federal authorities alleging that Facebook's own research shows that it amplifies hate, misinformation and political unrest, but the company hides what it knows." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times liveblogged the testimony here. The Washington Post's liveblog of the hearing is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Zuck Is Too Cute by Half. Alex Heath of the Verge: "Mark Zuckerberg posted a staunch defense of his company in a note to Facebook staffers, saying that recent claims by an ex-employee about the social network's negative effects on society 'don't make any sense.'... 'The argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical,' Zuckerberg said in the memo, which he also posted on his public Facebook page. 'We make money from ads, and advertisers consistently tell us they don't want their ads next to harmful or angry content. And I don't know any tech company that sets out to build products that make people angry or depressed. The moral, business and product incentives all point in the opposite direction.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Zuckerberg apparently has never heard of Fox "News," which -- as Chris Hayes pointed out on his MSNBC show Tuesday night -- incentivizes its employs to get vaccinated for Covid-19 while riling its viewers with anti-vax messaging nearly every day. Fox also incessantly encourages its viewers to get hopping mad at all Democrats, climate activists, immigrants, etc. The teevee network's thrives -- as does Facebook, to a lesser extent -- on a business model that provokes user rage. If it "makes sense" for Fox, it "makes sense" for Facebook. And Zuck knows it.

Peter Stone of the Guardian: "Donald Trump is facing increasing legal scrutiny in the crucial battleground state of Georgia over his attempt to sway the 2020 election there, and that heat is now overlapping with investigations in Congress looking at the former president's efforts to subvert American democracy. A criminal investigation into Trump's 2 January call prodding Georgia's secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to 'just find' him 11,780 votes to block Joe Biden's win in the state is making headway. The Georgia district attorney running the inquiry is now also sharing information with the House committee investigating the 6 January attack on the Capitol in Washington DC. Meanwhile, a justice department taskforce investigating threats to election officials nationwide has launched inquiries in Georgia, where election officers and workers received death threats or warnings of violence, including some after Trump singled out one official publicly for not backing his baseless fraud claims." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Worse News for Donald: he is no long one of the Fab Forbes 400. ~~~

     ~~~ Dan Alexander of Forbes: "Donald Trump is worth an estimated $2.5 billion, leaving him $400 million short of the cutoff to make this year's Forbes 400 list of America's richest people. The real estate mogul is just as wealthy as he was a year ago, when he stood at No. 339 on the ranking, but he is down $600 million since the start of the pandemic. Technology stocks, cryptocurrencies and other assets have thrived in the Covid era. But big-city properties -- which make up the bulk of Trump's fortune -- have languished, knocking the former president out of the nation's most exclusive club. If Trump is looking for someone to blame, he can start with himself. Five years ago, he had a golden opportunity to diversify his fortune. Fresh off the 2016 election, federal ethics officials were pushing Trump to divest his real estate assets. That would have allowed him to reinvest the proceeds into broad-based index funds and assume office free of conflicts of interest." (Also linked yesterday.)

It's the Media's Fault! Donna Cassata of the Washington Post: "Former vice president Mike Pence said media reporting on the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection is meant to 'demean' supporters of ... Donald Trump, some of whom stormed the Capitol that day shouting, 'Hang Mike Pence!' In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News on Monday night, Pence sought to explain media coverage of the Jan. 6 riot in which he was hurriedly evacuated from the Senate chamber and taken to a secure location amid threats to his life. 'I know the media wants to distract from the Biden administration's failed agenda by focusing on one day in January,' Pence told Hannity. 'They want to use that one day to try and demean the character and intentions of 74 million Americans who believed we could be strong again and prosperous again and supported our administration in 2016 and 2020.'" MB: In case you never noticed, mike pence is really weird. If a bunch of violent lunatics tried to murder me in the course of overturning a (quasi-)democratic election, I know for sure I would not blame the media for making a bit deal of it. (Also linked yesterday.)

Maybe Trump's Former Caddie Is Hiding from the Process Server. Ryan Nobles, et al., of CNN: "More than a week after subpoenaing former Donald Trump aide Dan Scavino to cooperate with its investigation into the January 6 riot at the US Capitol, the House select committee investigating the attack has been unable to physically serve the subpoena to him, according to multiple sources familiar with the effort.... One source familiar with the situation joked that the committee should just tweet the subpoena to the former Trump aide since he's been actively trolling the panel there in recent days." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm not sure the lede makes sense. It seems to me that Scavino has not been subpoenaed if he has not been served in person. It's not entirely clear to me that a Congressional subpoena must be served in person, but that seems to be the case.

Stephanie Grisham is not through skewering the Trumps. In a Washington Post op-ed she writes, Donald and Melania Trump knew that my relationship with my boyfriend, a White House staffer, "turned abusive -- and they didn't seem to care." After I told each of them separately about the abuse, "the president and first lady seemed totally unfazed about whether there was an abuser -- another abuser -- in their workplace. There was no follow-up from either of them to see if I needed help or protection. There was no investigation ordered.... Knowing what he knows, [Donald] Trump has endorsed my ex's bid for Congress." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham on Tuesday accused her former boyfriend, whom she describes as a congressional candidate who has been endorsed by ... Donald Trump, of being violent toward her during their time working in the White House. Grisham made the accusation in a Washington Post op-ed Tuesday morning. She did not name her former boyfriend but noted in the piece that Trump 'has endorsed my ex's bid for Congress.' Within hours of the piece's publication online, Grisham's former boyfriend, Trump White House aide Max Miller, sued her alleging defamation. Miller accused Grisham of making 'libelous and defamatory statements' and asked a Cleveland judge to prevent her from discussing her accusations during interviews with CNN later Tuesday." A Raw Story report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Unless an abuser severely injures his victim, perhaps the most difficult part of domestic abuse is enduring the abuser's denials. Partner abuse is all about control, and especially in male-on-female abuse, the male will present himself as the psychologically "stable" partner & imply or state outright that his partner or former partner is mentally unbalanced, vindictive and/or a liar. A victim can get away from an abuser, but she can't get out of the sickening afterglow of the gaslight. The effort to control continues long after the bruises have disappeared.

Ellen Francis of the Washington Post: "Climate change is wiping out coral reefs and will kill more if oceans keep getting warmer, researchers warned on Tuesday in a new study that spanned much of the globe. The world already lost 14 percent of its coral between 2009 and 2018 -- or what amounts to more than all the coral now living in Australia's reefs -- scientists with the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network found. They blamed rising sea surface temperatures: While local factors like too much fishing, pollution and construction on the coast play a role, coral bleaching has done the most harm."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Tuesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Laurie McGinley of the Washington Post: "Johnson & Johnson asked the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to grant emergency use authorization for a booster dose of its single-shot coronavirus vaccine, making it the final vaccine used in the United States for which permission is being sought for an extra shot. The action is part of an effort by Biden administration officials to provide increased protection against covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, which has claimed more than 700,000 lives in the United States. The filing came as a top FDA official said updated data might make a strong case that everyone 18 and older should be eligible for boosters -- but added that the agency will have to see whether its outside advisory committee agrees."

Antonio Planas of NBC News: "Covid-19 killed a disproportionate number of the country's Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans last year and exacerbated health disparities among the groups, a new study concludes. An estimated 477,200 more people died because of Covid-19 and other reasons from March to December 2020 compared to the same time in 2019, according to a study led by researchers with the National Cancer Institute published Monday in Annals of Internal Medicine."

Arizona. Juan Perez of Politico: "A top Treasury Department official warned Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday that millions of dollars in federal aid may be in jeopardy because of two mask-shirking education programs in his state. The department's notice marks a new front in the Biden administration's attempts to clamp down on Republican governors who have resisted public health guidelines for schools, now that more than 700,000 Americans have died from Covid-19 since the pandemic took hold last year. [Applicants for grand funds must comply with a state law that outlaws mask mandates and vaccine requirements.] 'We are concerned that two recently created Arizona grant programs undermine evidence-based efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19.... A program or service that imposes conditions on participation or acceptance of the service that would undermine efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19 ... is not a permissible use of [federal] funds,' ... Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo wrote in a letter to Ducey...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The story has two grafs outlining the grant conditions. I think there's a "not" missing from the second graf.

Colorado. Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: "A Colorado-based health system says it is denying organ transplants to patients not vaccinated against the coronavirus in 'almost all situations,' citing studies that show these patients are much more likely to die if they get covid-19.... UCHealth's rules for transplants entered the spotlight Tuesday when Colorado state Rep. Tim Geitner (R) said it denied a kidney transplant to a Colorado Springs woman because she was not vaccinated against the coronavirus.... UCHealth ... confirmed Tuesday that nearly all of its transplant recipients and organ donors must get vaccinated against the coronavirus, in addition to other vaccinations and health requirements. A spokesman, Dan Weaver, said that other transplant centers in the United States have similar policies or are transitioning to them."

Louisiana. Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "Louisiana's largest health-care system is giving its employees a choice as it seeks to boost coronavirus vaccination numbers: ensure your spouse has received a shot or face higher health insurance costs. Beginning next year, employees of Ochsner Health System will see a roughly $200-a-month surcharge if their spouse or domestic partner on the company health plan is not vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to a letter sent to affected employees last week. The surcharge does not apply to child beneficiaries covered by the plan." Access is free to nonsubscribers.

Marie: A Reality Chex contributor commented a few days ago on a story of a nurse who was selling fake vaccination cards, "People are willing to spend money for fake certificates, rather than getting free vaccines that can literally save their lives? I don't understand." It seemed perplexing to me, too. I suppose most anti-vaxxers want the forged cards for convenience's sake, like gaining access to restaurants & other businesses that demand proof of vaccination. But the Louisiana & Colorado stories demonstrate that for some, purchasing a phony "proof" may be cost-effective or even (at least in the short term) life-saving.

Beyond the Beltway

Idaho. Keith Ridler of the AP: "With Idaho Gov. Brad Little out of the state on Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin issued an executive order involving COVID-19 vaccines.... Little ... promised to rescind it in quick order.... McGeachin, a far-right Republican, is running for governor. In Idaho, the governor and lieutenant governor don't run on the same ticket. McGeachin's executive order issued Tuesday afternoon seeks, among other things, to prevent employers from requiring their employees be vaccinated against COVID-19. Most mainstream Republicans prefer to stay out of the employee-employer relationship.... Also on Tuesday, McGeachin was rebuffed by Major General Michael J. Garshak in a query about activating troops and sending them to the U.S.-Mexico border."

Missouri. Raja Razek & Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Missouri executed death row inmate Ernest Johnson on Tuesday after the US Supreme Court rejected a petition earlier in the day that had sought to delay it, citing an intellectual disability. Johnson -- who was convicted of robbing a gas station and murdering three clerks nearly 27 years ago -- was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m. CT after the administration of a lethal injection, according to Karen Pojmann, communications director for the Missouri Department of Corrections. The petition from Johnson's lawyers, which was submitted to Justice Brett Kavanaugh, argued that the 61-year-old had 'presented overwhelming evidence' of his intellectual disability."

New York. Grace Ashford of the New York Times: Last summer, New York State's Commission on Public Ethics approved then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo's request to write a book about his leadership during the Covid-19 outbreak without even taking a vote. "The book ... -- which earned Mr. Cuomo $5.1 million -- and the commission's approval are now at the center of a fresh controversy surrounding the ex-governor.... [Despite Mr. Cuomo's resignation in August,] just last month [the commission] voted not to look back into the book deal and its approval. Since then, the commission's chair has stepped aside, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has appointed two new members. On Tuesday, both joined a majority in voting to open an investigation into Mr. Cuomo and the approval of his book deal.... The commission agreed on Tuesday to hire outside counsel to run the inquiry."

New York. David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation Tuesday morning raided the offices of the right wing, controversial, pro-Trump NYC Sergeants Benevolent Association. FBI agents may have also raided the home of the group's leader, Ed Mullins, according to multiple reports. 'The union is headed by Mullins, a brash leader known for his over-the-top social media attacks on NYPD leadership and Mayor de Blasio,' The New York Daily News reports, confirming the raid with the FBI.... It is not known why the FBI conducted the raid but last week Gothamist reported on 'a WNYC/Gothamist investigation of online records that appears to tie several New York law enforcement officers and public officials -- including at least two active members of the NYPD -- to a far-right, anti-government militia.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. William Rashbaum & Michael Gold of the New York Times : "In a statement late Tuesday, the union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, acknowledged the search and said that its president, Edward D. Mullins, was 'apparently the target of the federal investigation.' The union, which describes itself as the fifth-largest police union in the United States, added in the statement that 'given the severity of this matter and the uncertainty of its outcome,' its executive board had asked Mr. Mullins to resign and that he had complied.'" This is an update of a story linked earlier. An AP story is here.

Way Beyond

Afghanistan. Sudarsan Raghavan of the Washington Post: "In Kabul and other Afghan cities, the United States will be remembered for enabling two decades of progress in women's rights, an independent media and other freedoms. But in the nation's hinterlands, the main battlegrounds of America's longest war, many Afghans view the United States primarily through the prism of conflict, brutality and death.... In Wardak province, 25 miles southwest of the capital, the U.S. military, the CIA and the ruthless Afghan militias they armed and trained fought the Taliban for years. Trapped in the crossfire were villagers and farmers. Many became casualties of U.S. counterterrorism operations, drone strikes and gun battles.... [The Taliban's ability to seize power so quickly this past summer was] abetted by the harsh tactics of U.S. forces and their Afghan allies and by the corruption and ineffectiveness of the U.S.-backed Afghan government.... The Taliban controlled the villagers through fear, intimidation and their own brand of viciousness. But rural Afghan society is largely conservative, and residents mostly agreed with the militants' harsh interpretation of Islam." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So maybe one reason the U.S. was unprepared for the rapid fall of the Kabul government was not the fault of bad intelligence but a refusal by the U.S. military to believe we weren't beloved in Sinzai.

Europe. Barbara Moens of Politico: "Europe is coming to the bitter realization that it will probably have to make a once unthinkable concession to end the trade war that ... Donald Trump ignited, and which ... Joe Biden is continuing. Many Europeans had hoped Biden would revoke Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, but he hasn't done so, even though the duties were imposed in 2018 on the highly questionable grounds that they were required to protect 'national security.' Lowering the defense shield of Trump's tariffs would expose Biden to blowback from politically sensitive steel milling communities like those in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Under Trump, the EU accused Washington of bullying for trying to force Brussels to accept self-imposed export restrictions on steel and aluminum to end the tariff standoff. But the Europeans are now conceding that they might have to swallow a compromise under Biden that is uncomfortably similar to the one they so adamantly rejected under Trump."

France. Aurelien Breeden of the New York Times: "Clergy members in the Roman Catholic Church in France sexually abused more than 200,000 minors over the past seven decades, according to an estimate published on Tuesday by an independent commission that concluded the problem was far more pervasive and systematic than previously known. The long-awaited 2,500-page report by the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church laid out in detail how the church hierarchy had repeatedly silenced the victims and failed to report or discipline the clergy members involved." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ David Herszenhorn of Politico: "Emmanuel Macron is still not sure that Joe Biden gets it, or that the age-old alliance between France and the U.S. is back on track.... As Macron arrived on Tuesday evening for an EU leaders' meeting in Slovenia to discuss so-called strategic autonomy, it was clear that he was still annoyed and still insistent that the White House demonstrate its contrition in deeds not just words. Asked by Politico if he was now confident that Biden recognized France's importance as an ally, Macron replied curtly in English: 'We will see.' 'I just believe in facts,' Macron continued. 'I do hope. I do think it's feasible. I do think it's more productive for both of us. I will see. And I think we scheduled to discuss together mid-October, we will catch up during the G20 and I think it will be the right occasion to see how we can reengage very concretely.'"

Vatican, France. AP: "Pope Francis expressed 'shame' for himself and the Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday for the scale of child sexual abuse within the church in France and acknowledged failures in putting the needs of victims first. The pope spoke during his regular audience at the Vatican about a report released Tuesday that estimated some 330,000 French children were abused by clergy and other church authority figures dating back to 1950." Related story linked yesterday.

News Lede

AP: "The Nobel Prize for chemistry has been awarded to German scientist Benjamin List of the Max Planck Institute and Scotland-born scientist David W.C. MacMillan of Princeton University. They were cited for their work in developing a new way for building molecules known as 'asymmetric organocatalysis.'"

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