The Conversation -- September 5, 2023

Daniel Barnes & Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the far-right Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison Tuesday afternoon following his conviction on a seditious conspiracy charge in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. His sentence is the longest so far in a Jan. 6 case so far, surpassing the 18 years given to Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was also convicted of seditious conspiracy. Tarrio was one of four Proud Boys found guilty of seditious conspiracy in May."

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday and will wear a mask while around others indoors after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for the virus a day earlier, the White House said. The first lady is experiencing 'mild symptoms' after testing positive Monday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. She will remain in Delaware to quarantine."

Dan Mangan of CNBC: “'Daily' statements by ... Donald Trump 'threaten to prejudice the jury pool' in the federal case where he is charged with crimes related to trying to reverse his loss in the 2020 election, prosecutors said Tuesday. Prosecutors made that claim as they pushed back on a call by Trump's lawyers to allow a three-week briefing process for Judge Tanya Chutkan to decide whether 'every ordinary' court filing that refers to sensitive materials should be placed on the court's public docket."

Sara Murray, et al., of CNN: "Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and the remaining defendants in the election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, have pleaded not guilty and have waived their arraignments, new court filings show. Misty Hampton, who faces charges related to the Coffee County voting system breach and was the last holdout among the 19 defendants changed in District Attorney Fani Willis' case, entered her plea early Tuesday afternoon. The other defendants have been filing their pleas in recent days."

Jack Smith Keeps on Keepin' on. Zachary Cohen & Paula Reid of CNN: "Special counsel Jack Smith is still pursuing his investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election a month after indicting Donald Trump for orchestrating a broad conspiracy to remain in power, a widening of the probe that raises the possibility others could still face legal peril. Questions asked of two recent witnesses indicate Smith is focusing on how money raised off baseless claims of voter fraud was used to fund attempts to breach voting equipment in several states won by Joe Biden.... In both interviews, prosecutors have focused their questions on the role of former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell. According to invoices obtained by CNN, Powell's non-profit ... hired forensics firms that ultimately accessed voting equipment in four swing states won by Biden: Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona. Powell faces criminal charges in Georgia.... Powell has also been identified by CNN as one of Trump's un-indicted co-conspirators listed in Smith's federal election indictment."

As the Worms Turn. Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The finger-pointing among Donald Trump's inner circle has begun. And as his four criminal cases march toward trials, some of his aides, allies and co-defendants are pointing at the former president. In court documents and hearings, lawyers for people in Trump's orbit ... are starting to reveal glimmers of a tried-and-true strategy in cases with many defendants: Portray yourself as a hapless pawn while piling blame on the apparent kingpin.... In late August, an information technology aide at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort dramatically changed his story about alleged efforts to erase surveillance video and agreed to cooperate with special counsel Jack Smith.... Then, three GOP activists who were indicted alongside Trump in Georgia ... asserted that their actions were all taken at Trump';s behest. And last week, Trump's former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows -- also charged in the Georgia case -- signaled that his defense is likely to include blaming the former president as the primary driver of the effort."

Enough Already. Dan Mangan of CNBC: "New York Attorney General Letitia James asked a judge Tuesday to sanction Donald Trump, other defendants and their lawyers for rehashing the same failed legal arguments in James' big civil fraud lawsuit against the former president.... In her filing Tuesday, James said that since last October, the defendants have made the same legal arguments against her lawsuit five separate times.... James asked that all the defendants be fined $10,000 collectively, and that another fine of $10,000 be imposed on their lawyers collectively. James' request came four weeks before trial in the lawsuit is set to begin in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan."

Marie: In today's Comments, there's a good discussion of Project 2025: the Heritage Foundation's manifesto on how Donald Trump, upon resuming office, should take control of the federal government, dismantle it and replace career employees with people "loyal" to him and an extreme right-wing "vision." As Patrick notes, the "plan looks more Soviet than Stalin." Here's some more background on Project 2025 from the AP (Aug. 29). It even sounds Orwellian, doesn't it?

Alabama. Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "A panel of federal judges rejected Alabama's latest congressional map on Tuesday, ruling that a new map needed to be drawn because Republican lawmakers had failed to comply with orders to create a second majority-Black district or something 'close to it.' In a sharp rebuke, the judges ordered that the new map be independently drawn, taking the responsibility away from the Republican-controlled legislature while chastising state officials who 'ultimately did not even nurture the ambition to provide the required remedy.'" NPR's story is here. MB: I believe the order ran along the lines of, "Don't you be fucking with federal judges, you piss-ant weanie bigots."

South Carolina. Shawn Nottingham, et al., of CNN: "Attorneys representing Alex Murdaugh, the notorious South Carolina fraudster who was convicted earlier this year of murdering his wife and son, filed a motion with the South Carolina Court of Appeals on Tuesday demanding a new trial and alleging jury tampering by the Colleton County Clerk of Court. The filing states that the Clerk of Court, Rebecca 'Becky' Hill, 'tampered with the jury by advising them not to believe Murdaugh's testimony and other evidence presented by the defense, pressuring them to reach a quick guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense.'... The motion cites at least three sworn affidavits, including one from a juror and one from a dismissed juror, as well as excerpts from Hill's book..., which was published last month."

Texas. The New York Times is liveblogging the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R): "... the impeachment trial of Ken Paxton, the Republican attorney general of Texas, began on Tuesday morning on the floor of the State Senate.... Mr. Paxton, a third-term incumbent championed by hard-core conservatives and ... Donald J. Trump, is facing 20 articles of impeachment, which the Republican-dominated Texas House adopted in May by a vote of 121 to 23. The allegations focus on Mr. Paxton's use of the office to benefit an Austin real estate figure. In the trial's earliest moments, Mr. Paxton's lawyers put forth a series of unsuccessful motions to dismiss the case; all but one failed by a vote of more than two-thirds of the senators present. The unsuccessful maneuvering provided early hints into how the trial might take shape: Mr. Paxton appeared to have the support of at least six senators, but a solid majority of Republicans do not appear to view the trial as a 'sham,' as some of his supporters have called it."

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Fatima Hussein of the AP: &"President Joe Biden, who often says he's the most pro-union president in history, touted the importance of unions and applauded American workers in building the economy during a Labor Day appearance in Philadelphia on Monday.... 'This Labor Day we're celebrating jobs, good-paying jobs, jobs you can raise a family on, union jobs,' Biden told the crowd gathered Monday. Instead of standing at the podium, the president held the microphone in his hand and walked around the stage behind signs that read 'UNION STRONG.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "Jill Biden ... tested positive for Covid-19, the White House announced late Monday night, but she is experiencing only mild symptoms and will remain at the family home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., where she and President Biden spent part of the weekend. Mr. Biden tested negative for the virus after the first lady's diagnosis, a spokeswoman said. The president returned to the White House on Monday evening. Officials said Mr. Biden would continue to test on 'a regular cadence' throughout the week and would monitor for possible signs of infection." CNN's story is here.

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, of the Air Force Frank Kendall & of the Army Christine Wormuth, in a Washington Post op-ed: "... the foundation of America's enduring military advantage ... is being actively eroded by the actions of a single U.S. senator, Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who is blocking the confirmation of our most senior military officers.... Senators ... are free to introduce legislation, gather support for that legislation and pass it. But placing a blanket hold on all general and flag officer nominees, who as apolitical officials have traditionally been exempt from the hold process, is unfair to these military leaders and their families. And it is putting our national security at risk.... Three of our five military branches -- the Army, Navy and Marine Corps -- have no Senate-confirmed service chief in place. Instead, these jobs -- and dozens of others across the force -- are being performed by acting officials without the full range of legal authorities necessary to make the decisions that will sustain the United States' military edge." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: There are probably several ways for the Senate to quash Mr. Potato Head's holds. Whatever they are exactly, Chuck Schumer should begin every session every day by demanding that Republicans go along with the program.

Zach Montague of the New York Times: "After being subpoenaed last year by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot..., [Peter] Navarro refused to comply, insisting that Mr. Trump had directed him not to cooperate and dismissing the subpoena as 'illegal' and 'unenforceable.' Now, after more than a year of legal wrangling, Mr. Navarro, 74, will defend those claims in a trial that starts Tuesday, when jury selection is expected to begin in Federal District Court in Washington. The case centers on a relatively simple question: whether he showed contempt for Congress in defying the House committee's request for documents and testimony."

The Decline & Fall of the American Empire. John Rapley in a New York Times op-ed: "At the famous Bretton Woods Conference [of 1944], the United States developed an international trading and financial system that functioned in practice as an imperial economy, disproportionately steering the fruits of global growth to the citizens of the West. Alongside, America created NATO to provide a security umbrella for its allies, and organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to forge common policies. Over the second half of the century, this system attained a degree of world domination no previous empire had ever known. In the past two decades, however, it has sunk into decline.... [Like Rome's,] America's decline is a product of its success.... [Population m]igration may have eroded the Roman Empire's wealth. Now it's what stands between the West and absolute economic decline.... [To prevail,] America will need to give up trying to restore its past glory through a go-it-alone, America First approach. It was the same impulse that pushed the Roman Empire into the military adventurism that brought about its eventual destruction."

Kirk Swearingen in Salon: "New York Times columnist David Brooks has been writing of late about how we should all just get along. In two August opinion pieces, he places the onus on the 'highly educated elite' to take more responsibility in forming Abraham Lincoln's more perfect union.... As many on the right ... determined to take down our democracy, those on the left were asked why they couldn't fall in line and be ... nicer. The gist of Brooks' argument seems to be that educated liberals need to take responsibility for annoying conservatives.... Mixed in with a lot of well-intentioned bromides about character and community are suggestions for the well-educated ... on how to be friendlier fellow citizens to their QAnon, 'stolen-election' brethren.... Brooks never mentions Trump voters, who ... are coddled in a comfy blankie of lies, obfuscations and conspiracy theory.... Fox News ... viewers are constantly assured that harboring their darkest impulses about women, people of color and people with different sexual and gender identities is completely understandable, even proper. After years of this steady diet of malign disinformation, they trust their authoritarian cult leader more than their religious leaders or even family and friends.... There's no functional relationship between the right and the left in this country because the right purposefully destroyed that relationship." Thanks to Laura H. for the link.

Presidential Race 2024

Sabrina Siddiqui & Catherine Lucey of the Wall Street Journal: "Voters overwhelmingly think President Biden is too old to run for re-election and give him low marks for handling the economy and other issues important to their vote, according to a new Wall Street Journal poll that offers a stark warning to the 80-year-old incumbent ahead of the 2024 contest.... And Biden is tied with ... Donald Trump in a potential rematch of the 2020 election, with each holding 46% support in a head-to-head test.... Although the candidates are only three years apart, 73% of voters said they feel Biden is too old to seek a second term, compared with 47% of voters who said the same of the 77-year-old Trump. Two-thirds of Democrats said Biden was too old to run again. By an 11-point margin, more voters see Trump rather than Biden as having a record of accomplishments as president -- some 40% said Biden has such a record, while 51% said so of Trump. By an eight-point margin, more voters said Trump has a vision for the future. And by 10 points, more described Trump as mentally up to the presidency." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As you know, I don't often link poll reports, but this one was so horrifying, I thought I'd share it. The notion that Trump could boast more "accomplishments" than Biden is mind-blowing. Fox "News" or Facebook must be sending subliminal messages to viewers & users. On the other hand, I do think Biden should drop out of the race now. As the reporters point out, he would be 86 at the end of a second term. That's just too old. Trump would be 82; not that it matters, because he probably would refuse to leave office. BTW, I don't know why I was able to link to the WSJ story, since I don't have a subscription. But I got a possible clue: at first, the page showed up blank & contained a notice that I'd have to buy a subscription to read the story; then the whole article appeared, and at the end of the URL, there's an extension that reads, "mod=followamazon". So I suspect my Amazon Prime account is giving me access. If you're logged into an Amazon Prime account, you too might be able to link WSJ stories, or at least some WSJ stories. Or maybe not. ~~~

     ~~~ Update: Kevin Breuninger of CNBC reports the same stats.

How a Fake Free-Speech Guy Learned to Blame the Victim. Doha Madani of NBC News: "Elon Musk posted that he was against antisemitism Monday and blamed the Anti-Defamation League for lost advertising revenue since his acquisition of X...-Twitter. The tech mogul posted his stance on free speech and antisemitism seemingly out of the blue on his verified account Monday afternoon. When asked by a user who was questioning his stance, Musk alleged that the ADL has been 'trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic.... If this continues, we will have no choice but to file a defamation suit against, ironically, the "Anti-Defamation" League,' Musk wrote. 'If they lose the defamation suit, we will insist that they drop the the "anti" part of their name, since obviously ...' He later wrote in another post that X has 'no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit' against the group to clear its name." MB: You know, Elon, I don't like to own up to my failures, either. But, like Jimmy Buffett, I know it's my own damned fault.

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Connecticut. Amelia Nierenberg of the New York Times: "State officials believe that ... more than 100 Connecticut state police officers ... may have filed false reports of traffic stops in recent years, possibly to boost the internal statistics used to measure their performance. A recent audit described 'a pattern of record manipulation' and said there was a "high likelihood" that at least 25,966 recorded stops between 2014 and 2021 were false and that as many as 58,553 may have been, at minimum, inaccurate.... The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating, state officials said. Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, has launched a separate inquiry.... The ticket reports under scrutiny may have also irrevocably tainted the racial data that the state collects on traffic stops ... because the motorists who were purportedly stopped were disproportionately white...." MB: As nearly as I can tell, there were no tickets issued, so no drivers were ticketed for fake infractions.

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Edward Wong & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, plans to travel to Russia this month to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin to discuss the possibility of supplying Russia with more weaponry for its war in Ukraine and other military cooperation, according to American and allied officials. In a rare foray from his country, Mr. Kim would travel from Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, probably by armored train, to Vladivostok, on the Pacific Coast of Russia, where he would meet with Mr. Putin, the officials said." The AP's story is here.

Kim Tong-Hyung of the AP: "Russia has likely proposed that North Korea participate in three-way naval exercises with China, according to a lawmaker who attended a closed-door briefing with the director of South Korea's top spy agency Monday. The briefing came days after Russia's Ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, told Russian media that including North Korea in joint military drills between Russia and China 'seems appropriate.' Matsegora added it was his own point of view and that he wasn't aware of any preparations, according to Russia's Tass news agency."

News Ledes

They Also Serve Who Only Stand and Wait. New York Times: "Marilyn Lovell, who, as an object of fascination for the news media, the inspiration for movie and TV characters and a figure in history books, incarnated for many Americans the hardships and glamour of being an astronaut's wife, died on Aug. 27 in Lake Forest, Ill. She was 93."

Pennsylvania. CNN: "The manhunt for Danelo Cavalcante has shifted, leaving two nearby school districts closed and the community on high alert, after the escaped murderer was spotted outside the original search area, Pennsylvania police said Tuesday. Cavalcante escaped from Chester County Prison on Thursday morning and authorities began by scouring a heavily wooded area in Pocopson Township and Chester County within 2 miles of the prison -- around 30 miles west of Philadelphia. Police have now expanded the perimeter of the search area after a security camera recorded Cavalcante at a popular botanical gardens [-- Longwood Gardens --] on Monday evening. That's south of where the previously established perimeter was, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said during a news conference Tuesday."

The Conversation -- September 4, 2023

Sabrina Siddiqui & Catherine Lucey of the Wall Street Journal: "Voters overwhelmingly think President Biden is too old to run for re-election and give him low marks for handling the economy and other issues important to their vote, according to a new Wall Street Journal poll that offers a stark warning to the 80-year-old incumbent ahead of the 2024 contest.... And Biden is tied with ... Donald Trump in a potential rematch of the 2020 election, with each holding 46% support in a head-to-head test.... Although the candidates are only three years apart, 73% of voters said they feel Biden is too old to seek a second term, compared with 47% of voters who said the same of the 77-year-old Trump. Two-thirds of Democrats said Biden was too old to run again. By an 11-point margin, more voters see Trump rather than Biden as having a record of accomplishments as president -- some 40% said Biden has such a record, while 51% said so of Trump. By an eight-point margin, more voters said Trump has a vision for the future. And by 10 points, more described Trump as mentally up to the presidency." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As you know, I don't often link poll reports, but this one was so horrifying, I thought I'd share it. The notion that Trump could boast more "accomplishments" than Biden is mind-blowing. Fox "News" or Facebook must be sending subliminal messages to viewers & users. On the other hand, I do think Biden should drop out of the race now. As the reporters point out, he would be 86 at the end of a second term. That's just too old. Trump would be 82; not that it matters, because he probably would refuse to leave office. BTW, I don't know why I was able to link to the WSJ story, since I don't have a subscription. But I got a possible clue: at first, the page showed up blank & contained a notice that I'd have to buy a subscription to read the story; then the whole article appeared, and at the end of the URL, there's an extension that reads, "mod=followamazon". So I suspect my Amazon Prime account is giving me access. If you're logged into an Amazon Prime account, you too might be able to link WSJ stories, or at least some WSJ stories. Or maybe not.

Fatima Hussein of the AP: "President Joe Biden, who often says he's the most pro-union president in history, touted the importance of unions and applauded American workers in building the economy during a Labor Day appearance in Philadelphia on Monday.... 'This Labor Day we're celebrating jobs, good-paying jobs, jobs you can raise a family on, union jobs,' Biden told the crowd gathered Monday. Instead of standing at the podium, the president held the microphone in his hand and walked around the stage behind signs that read 'UNION STRONG.'"

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The paintings above, by Judy Taylor, are part of a series on the history of labor in Maine. They now hang in the Maine State Museum. They were designed for and hung in 2008 in the state's Department of Labor. In 2011, Gov. Paul LePage (R) had the murals removed from the Labor building and put in storage because LePage thought they were too pro-labor FDR's secretary of labor, Frances Perkins, is depicted in the first mural pictured above.

E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post: "Many ... indicators suggest that labor's long decline is over. Heralds of change include well-publicized organizing efforts in new sectors of the economy, broad public sympathy for the Hollywood writers' struggle, and big wage gains by workers increasingly willing to strike for them. There is also President Biden, the most outspokenly pro-labor president since Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman.... On Wednesday, Biden's Labor Department proposed a rule that would make an estimated 3.6 million salaried workers eligible for overtime pay. The week before, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), transformed by Biden's appointments, issued a decision that will boost union organizing after decades in which management held the upper hand. On top of that, the day before, the NLRB issued another rule requiring prompt union elections, a further blow against employer delaying tactics.... And in June, the NLRB made it harder for employers to classify workers as 'independent contractors,' allowing them to join unions and access other labor law protections."

Jessica Contrera & Gillian Brockell of the Washington Post: "Around the turn of the 20th century, at least 18 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 15 were employed. [Lewis] Hine's searing images of those children remade the public perception of child labor and inspired the laws to ban it.... Hine's photos showed the price [of child labor]: unsafe working conditions, dangerous machinery and business owners who refused to educate the children or limit their working hours.... Now, conservative lawmakers in a handful of states are seeking to relax child labor protections. Their efforts come amid a renewed focus on child labor sparked largely by recent reporting on the prevalence of undocumented immigrant children working at meatpacking plants, auto factories and other dangerous job sites." Includes photographs.

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Tennessee. Speaking of Labor. Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: "A woman gave birth alone in a jail cell in Tennessee on Tuesday after seeking medical attention for more than an hour, the authorities said, raising questions about the care provided to the woman and her baby.... The woman, whose name has not been made public, was incarcerated at the Montgomery County Jail in Clarksville, Tenn., about 50 miles northwest of Nashville, when she notified a deputy at 11:31 a.m. about a 'medical concern,' according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. A nurse arrived a few minutes later, the sheriff's office said. The nurse assessed the woman and then left to consult with other medical staff members. Another nurse arrived at 11:54 a.m. to 'conduct a follow-up assessment,' according to the sheriff's office. The medical staff members left to continue to 'assess the situation and order additional medical tests,' the sheriff's office said. However, at 12:41 p.m., a deputy went to the cell and 'discovered that the inmate had given birth while in her cell,' the sheriff's office said. The deputy helped the woman while medical staff members were alerted. The woman and her baby were taken to a hospital, where they remained in stable condition...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So we're supposed to believe that two nurses and numerous "medical staff" couldn't figure out that a woman was in labor and about to give birth. My guess is that the woman was screaming, "The baby's about to come! The baby's about to come!" or something like that. The sheriff's cover story is bull.

Texas. David Goodman of the New York Times: "With television ads and text messages, direct mail and billboards, supporters of the embattled Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, have embarked on an escalating campaign of political pressure, backed by hard-right billionaires, aimed at trying to sway the outcome of Mr. Paxton's upcoming impeachment trial. The targets of their efforts are narrow: the 19 Republican members of the State Senate who will act as jurors in the trial, set to begin on Tuesday, and decide whether allegations of corruption and abuse of power are serious enough to warrant permanently removing and barring Mr. Paxton from office. But the effort to save Mr. Paxton, who is seen by many hard-core conservatives as their legal standard-bearer, is also the latest proxy in the broader fight over the future direction of the party, both in Texas and nationally." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In the range of deplorable GOP politicians, on a scale of 1 to 10, Ken Paxton is a 10.

The Conversation -- September 3, 2023

This is a yooge electronic billboard the Republican Accountability Project has posted in Times Square:

     ~~~ A related Georgia Public Radio story is here. Thanks to RAS for the lead.

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Michael Shear & Nicholas of the New York Times: "President Biden offered his support and condolences to a Florida community hit hard by Hurricane Idalia after being snubbed by Ron DeSantis, the state's Republican governor and a potential rival for the presidency. Mr. Biden and Jill Biden ... took an aerial tour of Live Oak, a small town east of Tallahassee; received a briefing from federal and local emergency medical workers; and met with members of the community. In brief remarks, the president vowed that the federal government would support those affected for as long as it takes to recover. 'We're not going anywhere,' he said. 'The federal government, we're here to help.'" ~~~

~~~ Alex Gangitano of the Hill: "'Nobody can deny the impact of climate crises -- at least nobody intelligent can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore. Just look around, around the nation and the world for that matter,' [President] Biden said while in Live Oak, Fla. 'Historic floods, intense droughts, extreme heat, deadly wildfires that have caused serious damage that we've never seen before.'" ~~~

~~~ Alex Gangitano of the Hill: "President Bidenon Saturday praised Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) while visiting Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia after he was snubbed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. 'I'm very pleased, the guy who we don't agree very much at all, the distinguished former governor and senior senator, he came, talked about to me and to you all [about] what an incredible job the federal government was doing and I found that reassuring,' Biden said in remarks in Live Oak, Fla. 'And, so, I think we can pull all of this together....'... Biden told reporters he wasn't disappointed that DeSantis didn't join the visit. 'No, I'm not disappointed. He may have had other reasons,' the president said. 'But he did help us plan this, he sat with FEMA and decided where we should go, where it would be the least disruptive.'" MB: IOW, President Biden could not have been more gracious, and Ron DeSantis has proved himself to be a bigger jerk than Rick Scott, which is quite a feat. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Nick Robertson of the Hill: "Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for not meeting with President Biden while he visited the state Friday to survey hurricane damage, calling the decision 'absolutely outrageous.' 'There's a 1 percent to 2 percent chance it's logistics. There's a 98 percent to 99 percent chance it's the optics,' Kinzinger said in a CNN interview Saturday. 'Ron DeSantis, at the cost of the benefit to Florida, has decided his political campaign cannot have him meet with Joe Biden, the President of the United States, who ultimately will be signing the checks that Florida is going to be begging for,' he continued." (Also linked yesterday.)

Tara Suter of the Hill: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) responded Saturday to recent White House criticism of her saying she would vote against funding the government if the House decides not to open an impeachment inquiry against the president. 'The White House is attacking me for demanding an impeachment inquiry before I'll vote to fund one penny to our over bloated $32 TRILLION dollar in debt failing government,' Greene wrote in a lengthy thread on X...-Twitter.... Greene on Thursday also placed other conditions on her vote, including eliminating funding for Ukraine, withholding funding for 'Biden's weaponization of government,' and eliminating any remaining COVID-related mandates."

** Shania Shelton of CNN: "Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a longtime fixture of Democratic politics with turns as Energy Secretary and United Nations ambassador under the Clinton administration, died on Friday, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement said in a statement. He was 75." Richardson's New York Times obituary is here. (Also linked yesterday.) President Biden's statement is here.

Girl Troubles

A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. -- A. Lincoln, 1858 ~~~

~~~ ** Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times likens the "federalism" recently imposed by the extremist Supremes to the federalist structure that governed the practice of slavery before the Dred Scott decision: "The reason to compare these proposed limits on travel within and between states to antebellum efforts to limit the movement of free or enslaved Black people is that both demonstrate the limits of federalism when it comes to fundamental questions of bodily autonomy. It is not tenable to vary the extent of bodily rights from state to state, border to border."

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times writes about anxiety among girls and young women; it's worth a read. (Also linked yesterday.)

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Alabama. Ed Pilkington of the Guardian, in the Observer: "Kenneth Smith is one of two living Americans who can describe what it is like to survive an execution, having endured an aborted lethal injection last November during which he was subjected to excruciating pain tantamount, his lawyers claim, to torture. Nine months later Smith has been singled out for another undesirable distinction. If the state of Alabama has its way, he will become the test dummy for an execution method that has never before been used in judicial killings and which veterinarians consider unacceptable as a form of euthanasia for animals -- death by nitrogen gas.... Death penalty experts have decried what is in effect a human experiment." MB: We really should stop pretending we are part of the "civilized world." The only European country that still has the death penalty is Belarus, which, as you'll see in the story linked below, is so uncivilized, it's been disinvited from the Nobel Prize ceremonies.

Florida. Fredreka Schouten of CNN: "A Florida judge on Saturday struck down congressional district lines for northern Florida advocated by Gov. Ron DeSantis, ruling that the Republican governor's map had improperly diluted Black voting power. Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh concluded that the congressional boundaries -- which essentially dismantled the seat once held by Al Lawson, a Black Democrat -- violated the state's constitution, which protects minority-access districts. Marsh's order blocks the state from using the map in congressional elections and orders the legislature to draw a new one. The DeSantis administration is expected to quickly appeal the case all the way to the Florida Supreme Court.... Most of the judges on Florida's high court have been appointed by DeSantis, now in his second term. A separate federal challenge to the state's congressional map is still pending."

Minnesota, et al. "It Takes a Lot of Water to Make a Perfect Fry. "Dionne Searcey & Mira Rojanasakul of the New York Times: In the land of 10,000 lakes, big farmers are draining the aquifers. "By turning on the taps in the depths of [one of the worst droughts on record], R.D. Offutt and other farmers in the state -- where thousands of wells irrigate potatoes and other water-intensive crops like corn, soybeans and sugar beets -- blew through limits designed to protect aquifers that supply drinking water to millions of people.... The water helped R.D. Offutt [which accounted for nearly a third of the water extracted] to achieve its objective of creating long, smooth potatoes that effortlessly sail through the slicers at frozen food processors so Americans could have one of their favorite foods: McDonald's French fries.... [The drainage] exposed how dependent much of the state has become on aquifers that are fragile and often poorly understood. The increasing overuse of groundwater is a nationwide problem, a New York Times data investigation found, with big cities and industrial farms alike draining aquifers at alarming rates." ~~~

     ~~~ Water, Water Everywhere, And Not a Drop to Drink. Marie: There is an existential irony in living in a country where people may die of thirst even as the sea is gradually drowning the coastlines. But, hey, ask most Republicans, like presidential* hopeful & boy pharma baron Vivek Ramaswamy, and he'll tell you climate change is a hoax.

Aaron Boxerman of the New York Times: "The Nobel Foundation reversed course on Saturday and said it would not invite the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus to the Nobel Prize award ceremony, acknowledging that an earlier decision to extend invitations had prompted backlash. Both Russia and Belarus were disinvited from the ceremony last year after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The exclusion was part of a diplomatic campaign by the West to isolate the government of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. The organization also retracted Iran's invitation after a harsh government crackdown on anti-government protests that erupted after the death of a young woman who had been detained by the country's morality police."

News Lede

New York Times: "Thousands of attendees at the Burning Man festival in a remote stretch of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada were told on Saturday to conserve food, water and fuel after heavy rainfall trapped them in thick mud. The event, which takes place in Black Rock City and began on Sunday, was interrupted by heavy rains on Friday night, and organizers directed attendees to shelter in place as rain poured over the area.... Black Rock City is a temporary community that pops up each year in the middle of a vast desert ... for Burning Man. The makeshift town hosts more than 60,000 people every year and is a three-hour drive from the nearest airport, which is more than 100 miles away in Reno.... Burning Man, which has been around since the 1980s, is a self-described 'community and global cultural movement' that is premised on countercultural principles, such as radical self-expression.... The event features art installations and culminates with the burning of a giant sculpture of a man, giving it its name."