July 9, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "President Biden said in an interview that aired on Sunday that Ukraine was not ready for membership in NATO and that it was 'premature' to begin the process to allow Ukraine to join the alliance in the middle of a war. In an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, Mr. Biden said that he did not 'think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now,' and that the process could take place only after a peace agreement with Russia was in place." The Hill's report is here.

Simon Romero, et al., of the New York Times: "... Instead of surging as elected officials and immigration advocates had warned, the number of migrants trying to enter the United States has plummeted following the expiration in May of a pandemic-era border restriction. The unusual scenes of relative calm flow from a flurry of actions the Biden administration has taken, such as imposing stiffer penalties for illegal border crossings, to try to reverse an enormous jump in migrants trying to reach the United States. But it is also the result of tough steps Mexico has taken to discourage migrants from massing along the border, including transporting them to places deep in the country's interior.... The harsh conditions [Mexico imposes] attracted a global spotlight following a devastating fire in March at a Juárez migrant detention center that left dozens dead." MB: For better or for worse, this does kind of deflate Republican blowhards' favorite fear-mongering issues.

Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Nearly two years after Congress finalized the first in a series of measures to improve the nation's aging infrastructure and combat climate change, some of the GOP lawmakers who originally tried to scuttle the spending are now welcoming it. They have privately courted newly available federal money to improve their local roads, bridges, pipes, ports and internet connections, and publicly celebrated when their cities and states have secured a portion of the aid. The dynamic has created some uncomfortable contrasts, since those same GOP lawmakers still maintain that President Biden's legislative agenda has served as a drag on the nation's economy, worsening inflation. The White House, meanwhile, has seized on Republicans' shifting tone as part of its new campaign to promote 'Bidenomics,' which took Biden and his top advisers to Michigan, Ohio and other 2024 election battlegrounds over the past week to tout their work.... 'All those members of Congress who voted against it suddenly realize how great it is, and they're bragging about it,' Biden said [in South Carolina Thursday]."

Zach Montellaro of Politico: "Over the past year and a half, eight Republican-led states quit a nonpartisan program designed to keep voter rolls accurate and up to date. Top Republican election officials in those states publicly argued the program was mismanaged. The conspiracy theorists who cheered them on falsely insisted it was a front for liberals to take control of elections. But experts say the program, known as the Electronic Registration Information Center, was among the best nationwide tool states had to catch people trying to vote twice in the same election. Now, those Republican-led states who left -- and other states who lost access to their data -- are scrambling to police so-called 'double voters' ahead of the presidential election in 2024." MB: As for me, I'm looking forward to voting in all those Republican-led states.

Tamia Fowlkes of the Washington Post: "For many voters under 35 years of age, especially those on the left, the Supreme Court has become a political issue in the same way that climate change, gun violence and immigration have over the course of the past two decades, some political scientists and organizers have said.... The court's recent rulings, along with last year's decision striking down the right to abortion established in 1973's Roe v. Wade, could prompt more young people to be active in next year's presidential and congressional elections, some observers predict."

Here's a fun story that appeared in the Independent, a former U.K. broadsheet that now appears only online. MB: I don't consider the paper's reports particularly reliable, but this one probably has basis in fact:

Michigan. Now, This Is Disarray! Oliver O'Connell of the Independent, republished by Yahoo! News: "Tensions boiled over within the Michigan Republican Party on Saturday resulting in an altercation at a hotel to which the police were called. The GOP's state committee came together for a meeting at the Doherty Hotel in Clare as members have been feuding over the party's direction and the leadership approach of the new chairwoman, Kristina Karamo, The Detroit News reports. Some Michigan Republicans ... were frustrated to find the meeting was limited only to members of the state committee and was taking place behind a locked door. In an interview with The Detroit News, James Chapman, a Republican from Wayne County, said he had travelled to Clare for the meeting but was forced to listen to it through a locked door. Mr Chapman said he and others said the Pledge of Allegiance together in the lobby outside the meeting, after which he jiggled the doorknob of the meeting room. It was then that Mark DeYoung, chairman of the Clare County Republican Party, approached the door, saw someone flip him off through a small window, and opened it. 'He kicked me in my balls as soon as I opened the door,' Mr DeYoung said, adding that Mr Chapman ran at him and slammed him into a chair. Mr DeYoung gave his account to the outlet over the phone from an emergency room where he said he was being treated for a broken rib. For his part, Mr Chapman alleges that Mr DeYoung had swung at him and said: 'I'll kick your ass.' Mr DeYoung denies this happened. Continuing, Mr Chapman says he removed his glasses, took Mr DeYoung by the legs and knocked him down...."

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: Maureen Dowd's column about Joe Biden's seventh grandchild is one that -- as Dowd herself emphasizes -- is one that people of all political persuasions can agree. (Also linked yesterday.)

Yellen in China. Alan Rappeport & Keith Bradsher of the New York Times: "Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen wrapped up her two-day visit to Beijing, where she made progress in restoring some balance to the rocky economic relationship between the U.S. and China. This trip has been a centerpiece of Ms. Yellen's time as Treasury secretary, a top cabinet official involved in overseeing ties with China. Her meeting on Saturday with Vice Premier He Lifeng, her counterpart, was a first step in easing relations.... Ms. Yellen did not announce any breakthroughs at a news conference on Sunday at the U.S. Embassy. She suggested that the trip would yield more regular, constructive conversations with Chinese officials."

David Smith of the Guardian: "Republicans on Capitol Hill are moving up a gear in a wide-ranging assault on the justice department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that would have been unthinkable before the rise of Donald Trump. The party that for half a century claimed the mantle of law and order has, critics say, become a cult of personality intent on discrediting and dismantling institutions that get in Trump's way.... Some Republicans, especially on the far right, are now demanding [Attorney General Merrick] Garland's impeachment, a sanction that no cabinet official has suffered since 1876. Kevin McCarthy, the House speaker, told the conservative Fox News network recently: 'Someone has lied here. If we find that Garland has lied to Congress, we will start an impeachment inquiry.' Meanwhile, Christopher Wray, the director of the FBI, is discovering that his status as a Trump appointee offers no immunity against the Republican onslaught.... The acrimony threatens to dominate the rest of the year in an already unproductive Congress."

** Clarence's Rich Friends: the Gifters Who Keep on Giving. Abbie Van Sickle & Steve Eder of the New York Times: "When he joined the Horatio Alger Association [months after being confirmed as a justice of the Supreme Court], Justice [Clarence] Thomas entered a world whose defining ethos of meritocratic success &-- that anyone can achieve the American dream with hard work, pluck and a little luck -- was the embodiment of his own life philosophy, and a foundation of his jurisprudence.... At Horatio Alger, he moved into the inner circle, a cluster of extraordinarily wealthy, largely conservative members who lionized him and all that he had achieved.... His friendships forged though Horatio Alger have brought him proximity to a lifestyle of unimaginable material privilege. Over the years, his Horatio Alger friends have welcomed him at their vacation retreats, arranged V.I.P. access to sporting events and invited him to their lavish parties....

"A look at his tenure at the Horatio Alger Association, based on more than two dozen interviews and a review of public filings and internal documents, shows that Justice Thomas has received benefits -- many of them previously unreported -- from a broader cohort of wealthy and powerful friends. They have included major donors to conservative causes with broad policy and political interests and much at stake in Supreme Court decisions, even if they were not directly involved in the cases.... Justice Thomas's acceptance of such hospitality apparently predates his time on the court.... [Thomas] is hardly alone among his colleagues in accepting benefits from rich friends and sympathetic organizations." The story gives numerous examples of the expensive perks Thomas' richy-rich friends have bestowed upon him. And somehow those lavish gifts never ended up on his financial disclosure forms.

Elon, Spreading Lies Around the World. Shayan Sardarizadeh of BBC News: "False and misleading posts about the Ukraine conflict continue to go viral on major social media platforms.... Some of the most widely shared examples can be found on Twitter, posted by subscribers with a blue tick, who pay for their content to be promoted to other users. Many misleading posts have been shared online about the recent riots in France, but one viral post last week focused on US military aid to Ukraine. It featured a screenshot of what appeared to be a headline from a news website, along with an image of two rifles. 'French police are fired upon with American rifles that may have come from Ukraine,' reads the headline. Several Twitter accounts with Blue subscriptions have shared the post, which has been viewed more than a million times. BBC Verify has traced it back to pro-Kremlin channels on the Telegram messaging app."

Presidential Race 2024

Iowa Caucuses. Anjali Huynh of the New York Times: "Iowa Republicans voted on Saturday to hold their caucuses on Jan. 15, 2024, pushing the state's first-in-the-nation nominating contest weeks earlier than in recent years. The state party voted unanimously to hold the elections on the third Monday of the month, which coincides with the federal holiday recognizing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." CNN's report is here.

Ian Ward of Politico, in Politico Magazine, dives into "the darker corners of the Internet" to find the sources of Ron DeSantis' weird anti-gay video. (DeSantis' team did not create the video; rather, they distributed it with the message "To wrap up 'Pride Month.'") (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update! A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics: "A video spotlighted by the DeSantis War Room Twitter account that painted Donald Trump as accommodating on LGBTQ+ issues has been quietly deleted. However, the Tweet highlighting the video is still up as of this writing Saturday morning. The deletion, first noticed by Axios reporter Alex Thompson, caps off days of blowback against Ron DeSantis which included the Governor defending the video as 'fair game' and saying that Trump was a 'pioneer' in allowing transgender women to participate in beauty pageants that Trump put on."

Beyond the Beltway

Lucy Kafanov of CNN: "Republican attorneys general from seven states signed a letter Wednesday to Target..., warning clothes and merchandise sold as part of the retail giant's Pride month campaigns could violate their state's child protection laws. GOP attorneys general from Indiana, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and South Carolina signed the letter, writing they were 'concerned by recent events involving the company's "Pride" campaign.' The letter asserts the states are obliged to 'enforce state laws protecting children' from 'content that sexualizes them,' including obscenity laws. The letter also suggests Target may be breaching the law by making decisions that are allegedly 'unprofitable' and not in the best interests of its shareholders, citing it as a violation of the company's fiduciary duty. The AGs said they believed the campaign was a 'comprehensive effort to promote gender and sexual identity among children,' criticizing items such as 'LGBT-themed onesies, bibs, and overalls, T-shirts labeled "Girls Gays Theys"; "Pride Adult Drag Queen Katya" (which depicts a male dressed in female drag); and girls' swimsuits with "tuck-friendly construction."'... Target did not have comment on the letter." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Well, this is one time that "Officer, why aren't you out catching the real criminals?" is a valid complaint. Obviously, these AGs do not have enough to do so they're occupying themselves making sure gay kids and others don't see any images that might constitute affirmation.

Florida. Grethel Aguila of the Miami Herald, republished by Yahoo! News: "A law enacted by Gov. Ron DeSantis July 1 declared certain driver's licenses and learner's permits from five states [-- Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island & Vermont --] invalid in Florida. The restriction primarily affects undocumented immigrants and is part of a larger immigration law that critics argue is among the harshest in the country.... Not every license from the five states on the list is considered invalid in Florida -- just those labeled with certain conditions...." MB: It appears the restrictions all apply to licenses that are marked, in some way, as not valid for identification purposes. BTW, Miami Herald, governors do not enact laws; they sign bills into law. Legislatures enact laws.

Oklahoma. Adam Gabbatt of the Guardian: "The state official in charge of Oklahoma’s schools is facing calls for impeachment, after he said teachers should tell students that the Tulsa race massacre was not racially motivated. In a public forum on Thursday, Ryan Walters, Oklahoma's [elected] state superintendent of public instruction, said teachers could cover the 1921 massacre, in which white Tulsans murdered an estimated 300 Black people, but teachers should not 'say that the skin color determined it'.... Walters ... has consistently indulged in rightwing talking points including 'woke ideology.'... According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, a state-run agency, the massacre is 'believed to be the single worst incident of racial violence in American history'." MB: Alas, the article does not cite a single call for impeachment, only a remark from the chair of the state's Democratic party, who said she "wished" Walters would be impeached. So I can't say the story's main claim of "calls for impeachment" is true. I linked the story mainly because I don't mind repeating evidence that Oklahoma's superintendent of education is an utter moron.

Tennessee. Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "A federal appeals panel on Saturday said a Tennessee law that would ban hormone therapy and puberty blockers for transgender youth could go into effect, marking the first time a federal court has allowed a law banning transition care to fully take hold in the United States. The ruling, issued by a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, comes less than two weeks after a district court judge temporarily blocked the ban on hormone therapy and puberty blockers. The judges, who will now consider a broader appeal on the temporary hold on the law, said a final decision would come before Sept. 30. The decision is a notable blow to transgender youth, their families and their allies, who have leaned on the nation's judiciary as a last resort to block a series of sweeping laws that target transition care, legislation they say would be harmful to young people's health. Until the ruling Saturday, judges had been compelled by the argument that the laws are discriminatory against transgender people and violated the Constitution, ruling to either temporarily or permanently block their enforcement." The AP's report is here.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Moscow accused Kyiv and Ankara of violating a prisoner exchange agreement after five commanders from Ukraine's Azov Brigade returned to Ukraine from Turkey, where they were held after being freed from Russian captivity. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that neither Turkey nor Ukraine consulted Russia about the transfer. The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he accompanied the men from an Istanbul airport back to Ukraine after a state visit to Turkey.... [President] Biden faces the challenge of uniting allies at this week's NATO summit, where divisions are mounting over the Ukraine war.... Ten people were killed in Russian attacks across the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine, Ukraines national police said Sunday." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's summary report is here.

Tom Ambrose of the Guardian & Agency: "The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has visited Snake island to mark 500 days since Russia's invasion. The island became a symbol of Ukrainian defiance after guards refused to surrender to Russian forces on the first day of the war.... Wearing a black hoodie and a camouflage bullet-proof vest, Zelenskiy laid flowers to honour those who defended the island, and thanked all the soldiers who had fought for Ukraine in the months since Russia's invasion."

July 8, 2023

Late Morning Update:

Marie: Maureen Dowd's column about Joe Biden's 7th grandchild is one that -- as Dowd herself emphasizes -- is one that people of all political persuasions can agree.

Ian Ward of Politico, in Politico Magazine, dives into :the darker corners of the Internet" to find the sources of Ron DeSantis' weird anti-gay video. (DeSantis' team did not create the video; rather, they distributed it with the message "To wrap up 'Pride Month.'")

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: Check out the latest entry under "Infotainment." Clearly, I am easily amused.

Alan Rappeport , et al., of the New York Times: "The Biden administration called on China on Saturday to do more to help developing countries combat climate change, urging the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases to back international climate finance funds that it has so far declined to support. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen delivered the message during her second day of meetings in Beijing, where she is seeking to cultivate areas of cooperation between the United States and China. While China has expressed support for programs to help poor countries cope with the effects of climate change, it has resisted paying into such funds, arguing that it is also a developing nation."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The investigations into ... Donald J. Trump's hoarding of government files and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election cost taxpayers about $5.4 million from November through March as the special counsel, Jack Smith, moved toward charging Mr. Trump, the Justice Department disclosed on Friday. Budgeting documents also showed that Robert K. Hur, the special counsel investigating President Biden's handling of classified documents after he left the vice presidency, spent just under $616,000 from his appointment in January through March. And John H. Durham, who was appointed special counsel during the Trump administration to investigate the Russia inquiry, reported spending a little over $1.1 million from October 2022 to the end of March, representing the first half of the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Mr. Durham's investigation had ended, but he was writing a final report he delivered in May....

"To date, Mr. Durham has reported spending about $7.7 million in taxpayer funds since Attorney General William P. Barr gave him special counsel status in October 2020, entrenching him to continue his investigation after Mr. Trump lost the election. Mr. Durham, however, began his assignment in the spring of 2019, and the Justice Department has not disclosed what taxpayers spent on about the first 16 months of his work. That period included trips to Europe as Mr. Barr and Mr. Durham fruitlessly pursued a pro-Trump conspiracy theory that the Russia inquiry had originated in a plot by Western spy agencies."

Rudy's Bad Hair Dye Day. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A legal ethics committee in Washington that oversaw a disciplinary case late year against Rudolph W. Giuliani recommended on Friday that he be disbarred for his 'unparalleled' attempts to overturn the 2020 election in favor of his client at the time..., Donald J. Trump.... The panel from the D.C. Bar's board on professional responsibility said that Mr. Giuliani's efforts to 'undermine the integrity' of the election had 'helped destabilize our democracy' and 'done lasting damage' to the oath to support the U.S. Constitution that he had sworn when he was admitted to the bar. While the panel acknowledged a record of public service by Mr. Giuliani, a former New York City mayor and U.S. attorney in Manhattan, it also noted that 'all of that happened long ago.'" Politico's story is here. MB: There is a palpable irony in a man once hailed as "America's Mayor" was at the center of an attempt to destroy America's government. ~~~

~~~ So this is what you get: ~~~

     ~~~ This Felon Who Violently Attacked Cops Should Become a Cop! Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "A federal judge nominated by ... Donald Trump gave a 'break' Friday to a man who used bear spray during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, saying he did not deserve the prison sentence requested by prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced Tyler Bensch, who pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts in connection with the riot, to two years of probation and 60 days home incarceration. Prosecutors had requested nine months in federal prison..... [Bensch's court-appointed lawyer] went on to say that Bensch hopes to start a career in law enforcement, adding that it's 'not beyond the realm of possibility' that he could do so even with his misdemeanors." MB: After all, under the premise that cops should not be too bright, I suppose Bensch would be a pretty standard police academy cadet.

Philip Bump of the Washington Post delves into right-wing "logic": many wingers believe that the police acted badly on January 6, that they should have accommodated the insurrectionists instead of fighting to defend the leftists who were depriving President* Trump of a second term. From that notion flow the views that "the government cracked down on Jan. 6 rioters as a proxy for the political right more broadly and/or that those imprisoned were 'political prisoners' and that the insurrectionists were honorable, rational people acting to defend the government, not trying to subvert the peaceful transfer to a lawfully-elected new president. MB: It's axiomatic, I suppose, that if you start with a false or flawed premise, you are going to reach a false or flawed conclusion.

Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "John F. Kelly, who served as ... Donald J. Trump's second White House chief of staff, said in a sworn statement that Mr. Trump had discussed having the Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies investigate two F.B.I. officials involved in the investigation into his campaign's ties to Russia. Mr. Kelly said that his recollection of Mr. Trump's comments to him was based on notes that he had taken at the time in 2018. Mr. Kelly provided copies of his notes to lawyers for one of the F.B.I. officials, who made the sworn statement public in a court filing. 'President Trump questioned whether investigations by the Internal Revenue Service or other federal agencies should be undertaken into Mr. Strzok and/or Ms. Page,' Mr. Kelly said in the statement. 'I do not know of President Trump ordering such an investigation. It appeared, however, that he wanted to see Mr. Strzok and Ms. Page investigated.' Mr. Kelly's assertions were disclosed on Thursday in a statement that was filed in connection with lawsuits brought by Peter Strzok, who was the lead agent in the F.B.I.'s Russia investigation, and Lisa Page, a former lawyer in the bureau, against the Justice Department for violating their privacy rights when the Trump administration made public text messages between them." Read on.

Change is unstoppable. And to the extent Bruen and decisions like it try to stop that change, they will not last long. The only question is how long the People will let them remain. -- U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, in a decision forced by a Supreme Court ruling ~~~

~~~ Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: "Lower-court judges are bound to follow the law as decreed by the Supreme Court. They aren't bound to like it. And so, lost amid the end-of-term flurry at the high court, came another remarkable ruling by U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves of Mississippi. Reeves declared that the court's interpretation of the Second Amendment compels the unfortunate conclusion that laws prohibiting felons from having guns violate the Second Amendment. He took a swipe at the conservative justices' zealous protection of gun rights even as they diminish other constitutional guarantees. And, for good measure, he trashed originalism, now 'the dominant mode of constitutional interpretation' of the Supreme Court's conservative majority.... 'And, one hopes, a future Supreme Court will not rest until it honors the rest of the Constitution as zealously as it now interprets the Second Amendment.'... Indeed, 'many of our Nation's finest moments came when we rejected the original public meaning of a constitutional provision,' he noted, citing rulings on school desegregation, gender equality and gay rights."

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times debunks the notion that Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan's lone dissent in Plessey v. Ferguson was a milestone in civil rights jurisprudence. Rather, Bouie posits that Harlan embraced the notion that Jim Crow laws were unnecessary because white people were naturally superior to Blacks. Bouie notes that later justices, like Renquist, Thomas and most infamously, Roberts, have adopted and exploited Harlan's theory of a "colorblind Constitution" just as Harlan did: to quash advancements in civil rights legislation & executive actions. Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race 2024

Michelle Price of the AP: "Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed President Joe Biden's reelection campaign, sending a strong sign of Democratic unity from one of the party's most liberal members. 'I think he's done quite well, given the limitations that we have,' Ocasio-Cortez said on the 'Pod Save America' podcast Thursday. 'I do think that there are ebbs and flows.' Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described democratic socialist from New York, has sometimes bucked Biden and the party's leaders, including voting against the deal the president negotiated with Republicans in May to raise the nation's debt ceiling and casting the lone Democratic vote against a spending bill to keep the government operating and avoid a partial government shutdown."

Sarah Ferris & Olivia Beavers of Politico: "Kevin McCarthy is risking Donald Trump's wrath by not officially endorsing his third White House bid, but the speaker is also fulfilling an important mission: sparing the House GOP a civil war over 2024. While scores of McCarthy's members have already backed Trump, plenty of other Republicans are steering clear of the polarizing former president in the GOP primary. That camp includes virtually every swing-seat lawmaker, many of whom fear that embracing Trump could spell their electoral doom next fall -- as well as allies of Trump's rivals, from Ron DeSantis to Doug Burgum."

Gideon Rubin of the Raw Story: "Former Central Intelligence Director Michael Hayden in a new ad slammed Donald Trump over allegations the former president mishandled classified documents that led to a 37-count federal indictment, Bloomberg News reports. Hayden said Trump 'must face consequences' in the ad.... 'We don&'t know who saw them, but we have to assume those documents were compromised,' Hayden says.... The one-minute ad, which was funded by the Republican Accountability Project, will start running Monday in three battleground states, the report said.... Hayden is a political independent who has served under presidents of both parties, but the retired four-star general put aside his political differences with Democrats in 2020 to back Joe Biden's candidacy, saying at the time that 'Biden is a good man. Donald Trump is not.'"

Rafael Bernal of the Hill: "Two civil rights organizations [-- Mi Familia Vota and Free Speech for People --] are launching a campaign to pressure state governments to disqualify former President Trump from appearing on ballots in 2024. The groups say secretaries of state are empowered by the 14th Amendment to bar Trump from running for office because of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.... The groups believe Trump's role in the Jan. 6 insurrection -- for which he is also under investigation -- does fit the constitutional clause's definitions. That clause bars from a series of public offices people who 'having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.'"

Kari Lake for Veep! Tom Sullivan in Hullabaloo: "Kari Lake's oh-so-unsubtle efforts to audition as Donald Trump's 2024 running mate may be backfiring.... The failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate and championship election-denier seems not to know to avoid upstaging The Donald. Lake has spent more time at Mar-a-Lago than Melania Trump lately, a source told People, in 'a suite there that she practically lives in.' The Daily Beast reports that Lake is falling out of Trump's favor: 'She's a shameless, ruthless demagogue who wants power and will do whatever she has to do to get it,' a Trump adviser told The Daily Beast."

Paul Waldman of the Washington Post: "... as the 2024 Republican contenders maneuver for position and respond to the news of each day, a strange contradiction has emerged. On one hand, they tell voters that America's deepest problems have been solved and that we bask in the light of the Almighty's favor. On the other, they insist that our country is a nightmare of moral depravity and suffering.... The loudest negative voices in American politics..., aren't Democrats, they're Republicans.... As [Donald Trump] said in a recent post on his social platform (I'll spare you the all caps), 'Crime & inflation are rampant, our borders are open, our elections are rigged, our economy is in shambles, our energy independence is gone, our "leader" is mercilessly mocked, & our country is being destroyed both inside & out.'... Meanwhile..., Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is running one of the grimmest campaigns in memory, painting a picture of a nation in the grip of depravity." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Why, it's almost as if Trump can't see himself: he complains that "our 'leader' is mercilessly mocked" even as he is the most merciless mocker of all. But I'm mostly wondering about his complaint about rigged elections: if the cause of rigged elections flows from the top, as he implies, how is it that the most rigged election in American history happened during Trump's own watch?

The Fee Is Too Damn High. Ryan Mac & Lauren Hirsch of the New York Times: "Twitter's parent company sued a leading corporate law firm on Friday for what it said were unjust payments related to Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition of the social media company last year. A $90 million payment that Twitter made to Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, a top mergers and acquisitions firm, amounted to 'unjust enrichment' and should be paid back, according to the lawsuit, which the parent company, X Corp., filed in San Francisco Superior Court.... Twitter's previous management hired Wachtell Lipton after Mr. Musk tried to terminate his agreement to acquire the company last year. He was unsuccessful, and the purchase closed in October."

Bill Barrow of the AP: "Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are marking their 77th wedding anniversary with a quiet Friday at their south Georgia home, extending their record as the longest-married first couple ever as both nonagenarians face significant health challenges. The 39th president is 98 and has been in home hospice care since February. The former first lady is 95 and has dementia. The Carter family has not offered details of either Jimmy or Rosalynn Carter's condition but has said they both have enjoyed time with each other and a stream of family members, along with occasional visits from close friends, in recent months."

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Dana Rubenstein, et al., of the New York Times: "A retired inspector who worked and socialized with Mayor Eric Adams when they were both members of the New York Police Department was charged on Friday with conspiring with four construction executives and a bookkeeper to funnel illegal donations to Mr. Adams's 2021 campaign. The 27-count indictment accuses the defendants, some of whom had sophisticated knowledge of campaign finance law, of trying to conceal the source of thousands of dollars in donations by making them in the names of colleagues and relatives. The indictment, announced by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, says the group sought influence and perhaps city contracts, but it does not accuse Mr. Adams or his campaign of misconduct and does not suggest he was aware of the scheme."

Marie: I was opining in yesterday's Comments that dumb people believe whatever fits into their skewed worldview. So whaddaya think about this guy? ~~~

     ~~~ Oklahoma. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "Far-right Oklahoma State [School] Superintendent Ryan Walters suggested at a public hearing in Norman that lessons about the infamous racial massacre that destroyed the most prosperous Black community in Oklahoma don't have to mention race, reported Fox 25 News.... Someone asked him if teaching about the infamous 'Black Wall Street' massacre in the city of Tulsa would be banned under his restrictions on teaching 'Critical Race Theory.' 'Let's not tie it to the skin color and say that the skin color determined that,' Walters replied." MB: Let that sink in: whites massacred Black people & burned of their neighborhood. But that had nothing to do with race. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Texas. Molly Hennessy-Fiske of the Washington Post: "... an impeachment trial Sept. 5 [of state attorney general (and [alleged!] crook) Ken Paxton] ... is likely to further divide [Republicans] and spur primary challenges next year. Democrats, meantime, are sensing opportunities as they expect the battle to drive a party that's already among the most conservative in the country even further to the right ahead of the 2024 election, turning a slew of state legislative and congressional races competitive. The Texas Republican infighting mimics the party's national dispute, which has pitted traditional conservatives against Trump allies -- and has largely gone Trump's way so far. Paxton is perhaps the most powerful Trump surrogate in Texas. He's an evangelical champion of anti-immigrant, antiabortion, anti-transgender and so-called 'election integrity' legislation revered by his party for his legal battles against the Biden administration. Paxton spoke at Trump's 'Stop the Steal' rally ... ahead of the insurrection.... Paxton ... had faced criminal investigations, legal battles and accusations of wrongdoing for years." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Texas. Morgan Lee & Paul Weber of the AP: "A white gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack on Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart in ... [El Paso] was sentenced Friday to 90 consecutive life sentences but could still face more punishment, including the death penalty. Patrick Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty earlier this year to nearly 50 federal hate crime charges in the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, making it one of the U.S. government's largest hate crime cases. Crusius, wearing a jumpsuit and shackles, did not speak during the hearing and showed no reaction as the verdict was read. The judge recommended that Crusius serve his sentence at a maximum security prison in Colorado." The Washington Post's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Wisconsin. Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "Abortion-rights supporters in Wisconsin secured an incremental but important legal victory on Friday when a judge allowed a lawsuit seeking to restore abortion access in the state to proceed. The case, which centers on a law passed in 1849 that has been seen as banning abortion, could eventually end up at the State Supreme Court. Liberal justices will be in the majority on that court starting next month after winning a contentious judicial election this year that focused largely on abortion."

Wisconsin. Marie: When I linked to an AP story Thursday about how Democratic Gov. Tony Evers used his line-item veto power to increase school funding for four centuries, I neglected to include the part that explained how he did it: According to Alex Wagner of MSNBC, the governor is prohibited by law from striking strategic words to change the meaning of legislation. That is, the governor can't just cross out a "not" to reverse the legilature's intent. But the law doesn't say anything about vetoing numbers. So the AP notes that "Evers took language that originally applied [a] $325 increase for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years and instead vetoed the '20' and the hyphen to make the end date 2425." Ergo, "... 2024-2025" became "...2024-2025:; i.e. "... 2425". Sweet. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Despite Zelensky's last-minute appeals, 'Ukraine will not be joining NATO' at the alliance's upcoming summit in Lithuania, [U.S. National Security Advisor Jake] Sullivan said at a briefing on Friday, though he called the summit 'an important moment on the pathway toward [Kyiv's] membership.' But NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a Friday news conference that he expects the bloc's leaders to reaffirm at the summit 'that Ukraine will become a member of NATO' and 'unite on how to bring Ukraine closer to its goal.'... The Kremlin's propaganda apparatus is in overdrive working to discredit Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin and to cast President Vladimir Putin as the wise leader who saved Russia from civil war, Robyn Dixon [of the Washington Post] reports. But even as the state-controlled media is trashing Prigozhin as a greedy, treasonous opportunist, the Kremlin has permitted him to return to Russia and recover millions in cash and personal weapons, showing that it's not so easy to make him disappear."

Katie Rogers & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "President Biden defended his decision on Friday to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, which are outlawed by many of America's closest allies, saying it was a difficult decision but 'the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition' in the fight against Russian forces.... 'It was a very difficult decision on my part -- and by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill,' Mr. Biden said in an interview with CNN.... 'And so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to -- not permanently -- but to allow for this transition period,' he added.... 'Ukraine would not be using these munitions in some foreign land,' [National Security Advisor Jake] Sullivan said. 'This is their country they're defending. These are their citizens they're protecting, and they are motivated to use any weapon system they have in a way that minimizes risks to those citizens.'" Worth reading on if this decision makes you uncomfortable.

Anushka Patil of the New York Times: "The United States confirmed on Friday that it was in talks with Russia about a potential prisoner swap for the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but cautioned that the discussions had not yet produced 'a clear pathway to a resolution.' The Kremlin spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov said this week that the two countries were in contact about the possibility of a swap. President Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, confirmed the Kremlin's remarks on Friday, but he said that he did not want to give 'false hope.'"

Netherlands. Claire Moses & Dan Bilefsky of the New York Times: "The Dutch government collapsed on Friday after the parties in its ruling coalition failed to reach an agreement on migration policy, underlining how the issue of asylum seekers coming to Europe continues to divide governments across the continent. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who was overseeing his fourth cabinet and is one of Europe's longest-serving leaders, told reporters on Friday that he would submit his resignation to the king.... The disintegration of the government triggers new general elections in the fall, and a caretaker government headed by Mr. Rutte will remain in place until then. For months, the parties in the coalition government had struggled to come to an agreement about migration, debating terms of family reunification and whether to create two classes of asylum: a temporary one for people fleeing conflicts, and a permanent one for people fleeing persecution." Politico's story is here.

July 7, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Bill Barrow of the AP: "Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are marking their 77th wedding anniversary with a quiet Friday at their south Georgia home, extending their record as the longest-married first couple ever as both nonagenarians face significant health challenges. The 39th president is 98 and has been in home hospice care since February. The former first lady is 95 and has dementia. The Carter family has not offered details of either Jimmy or Rosalynn Carter's condition but has said they both have enjoyed time with each other and a stream of family members, along with occasional visits from close friends, in recent months."

Michelle Price of the AP: "Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed President Joe Biden's reelection campaign, sending a strong sign of Democratic unity from one of the party's most liberal members. 'I think he's done quite well, given the limitations that we have,' Ocasio-Cortez said on the 'Pod Save America' podcast Thursday. 'I do think that there are ebbs and flows.' Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described democratic socialist from New York, has sometimes bucked Biden and the party's leaders, including voting against the deal the president negotiated with Republicans in May to raise the nation's debt ceiling and casting the lone Democratic vote against a spending bill to keep the government operating and avoid a partial government shutdown."

Sarah Ferris & Olivia Beavers of Politico: "Kevin McCarthy is risking Donald Trump's wrath by not officially endorsing his third White House bid, but the speaker is also fulfilling an important mission: sparing the House GOP a civil war over 2024. While scores of McCarthy's members have already backed Trump, plenty of other Republicans are steering clear of the polarizing former president in the GOP primary. That camp includes virtually every swing-seat lawmaker, many of whom fear that embracing Trump could spell their electoral doom next fall -- as well as allies of Trump's rivals, from Ron DeSantis to Doug Burgum."

Kari Lake for Veep! Tom Sullivan in Hullabaloo: "Kari Lake's oh-so-unsubtle efforts to audition as Donald Trump's 2024 running mate may be backfiring.... The failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate and championship election-denier seems not to know to avoid upstaging The Donald. Lake has spent more time at Mar-a-Lago than Melania Trump lately, a source told People, in 'a suite there that she practically lives in.' The Daily Beast reports that Lake is falling out of Trump's favor: 'She's a shameless, ruthless demagogue who wants power and will do whatever she has to do to get it,' a Trump adviser told The Daily Beast."

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times debunks the notion that Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan's lone dissent in Plessey v. Ferguson was a milestone in civil rights jurisprudence. Rather, Bouie posits that Harlan embraced the notion that Jim Crow laws were unnecessary because white people were naturally superior to Blacks. Bouie notes that later justices, like Renquist, Thomas and most infamously, Roberts, have adopted and exploited Harlan's theory of a "colorblind Constitution" just as Harlan did: to quash advancements in civil rights legislation & executive actions. Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link.

Marie: I was opining earlier today that dumb people believe whatever fits into their skewed worldview. So whaddaya think about this guy? ~~~

     ~~~ Oklahoma. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "Far-right Oklahoma State [School] Superintendent Ryan Walters suggested at a public hearing in Norman that lessons about the infamous racial massacre that destroyed the most prosperous Black community in Oklahoma don't have to mention race, reported Fox 25 News.... Someone asked him if teaching about the infamous 'Black Wall Street' massacre in the city of Tulsa would be banned under his restrictions on teaching 'Critical Race Theory.' 'Let's not tie it to the skin color and say that the skin color determined that,' Walters replied." MB: Let that sink in: whites massacred Black people & burned of their neighborood. But that had nothing to do with race.

Texas. Molly Hennessy-Fiske of the Washington Post: "... an impeachment trial Sept. 5 [of state attorney general (and [alleged!] crook) Ken Paxton] ... is likely to further divide [Republicans] and spur primary challenges next year. Democrats, meantime, are sensing opportunities as they expect the battle to drive a party that's already among the most conservative in the country even further to the right ahead of the 2024 election, turning a slew of state legislative and congressional races competitive. The Texas Republican infighting mimics the party's national dispute, which has pitted traditional conservatives against Trump allies -- and has largely gone Trump's way so far. Paxton is perhaps the most powerful Trump surrogate in Texas. He's an evangelical champion of anti-immigrant, antiabortion, anti-transgender and so-called 'election integrity' legislation revered by his party for his legal battles against the Biden administration. Paxton spoke at Trump's 'Stop the Steal' rally ... ahead of the insurrection.... Paxton ... had faced criminal investigations, legal battles and accusations of wrongdoing for years."

Texas. Morgan Lee & Paul Weber of the AP: "A white gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack on Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart in ... [El Paso] was sentenced Friday to 90 consecutive life sentences but could still face more punishment, including the death penalty. Patrick Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty earlier this year to nearly 50 federal hate crime charges in the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, making it one of the U.S. government's largest hate crime cases. Crusius, wearing a jumpsuit and shackles, did not speak during the hearing and showed no reaction as the verdict was read. The judge recommended that Crusius serve his sentence at a maximum security prison in Colorado." The Washington Post's report is here.

Marie: When I linked to an AP story Thursday about how Democratic Gov. Tony Evers used his line-item veto power to increase school funding for four centuries, I neglected to include the part that explained how he did it: According to Alex Wagner of MSNBC, the governor is prohibited by law from striking strategic words to change the meaning of legislation. That is, the governor can't cross out a "not" to reverse the legislature's intent. But the law doesn't say anything about vetoing numbers. So the AP notes that "Evers took language that originally applied [a] $325 increase for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years and instead vetoed the '20' and the hyphen to make the end date 2425." Ergo, "... 2024-2025" became "...2024-2025" i.e." ... 2425". Sweet.

~~~~~~~~~~

Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "President Biden outlined an economic agenda on Thursday that he believes has helped all voters, regardless of whether they voted for him, and name-checked Republican lawmakers who have attacked his policies but whose constituents have benefited from billions in federal funding. 'I didn't get much help from the other team, but that didn't stop us from getting it done,' Mr. Biden said, drawing applause from a crowd at the facility, in a state that revived his 2020 presidential campaign. He thanked Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who had voted for both pieces of legislation. Mr. Biden said that his policies had brought some 14,000 jobs to the state and that 'jobs that used to go to Mexico, India, Romania and China are now coming home to South Carolina.'"

Alan Rappaport of the New York Times: "Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen on Friday criticized the Chinese government's harsh treatment of companies with foreign ties and its recent decision to impose export controls on certain critical minerals, suggesting that such actions justify the Biden administration's efforts to make U.S. manufacturers less reliant on China. Ms. Yellen delivered the forceful defense of American industry on her first day of meetings in Beijing during a high-stakes trip to ease tension between the United States and China. Her comments, to a group of executives from American businesses operating in China, underscored challenges that the world's two largest economies face as they look to move beyond their deep differences. 'During meetings with my counterparts, I am communicating the concerns that I've heard from the U.S. business community -- including China's use of nonmarket tools like expanded subsidies for its state-owned enterprises and domestic firms, as well as barriers to market access for foreign firms,' Ms. Yellen told business leaders at an event held by the American Chamber of Commerce in China. 'I've been particularly troubled by punitive actions that have been taken against U.S. firms in recent months.'"

Joseph Menn of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday asked a federal judge to stay his sweeping July 4 injunction barring many government interactions with social media companies on free-speech grounds, arguing that it was vague, confusing and likely to be overturned on appeal.... The government team asked for a stay to be granted by July 10 until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit rules on the Justice Department's planned appeal of the injunction, or else that [Judge Terry] Doughty stay the order for a week to allow time for a faster emergency appeal. The six-page motion argues that parts of the order contradict each other, such as a prohibition on some officials speaking publicly about false social media posts conflicting with a provision that nothing should stop officials from exercising their own right to free speech." MB: Are we surprised that a Trump-appointed judge doesn't know what he's doing?

One Less Contestant in the Miss Freedom Caucus Pageant. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is no longer enough of a hardline right-wing lawmaker for the House Freedom Caucus. Freedom Caucus Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) tells Politico reporter Olivia Beavers that it's his 'understanding' that Greene is no longer a member of the caucus after it took a secret vote on her expulsion last month. Beavers says that Harris also 'called it "an appropriate action,"' and cited her debt deal vote, support of [Kevin] McCarthy, and criticism of other HFC [Republicans." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Politico has a full story up now, by Jordain Carney. It seems one reason for Miss Georgia's disqualification is that she lost the Shouting & Name-Calling Contest to Miss Colorado.

Adriana Licon & Eric Tucker of the AP: "Donald Trump's valet, Walt Nauta, made a brief court appearance Thursday as he entered a not guilty plea to charges that he helped the former president hide classified documents from federal authorities. He also hired a new Florida-based lawyer to represent him as the case moves forward. Nauta was charged alongside Trump in June in a 38-count indictment alleging the mishandling of classified documents. His arraignment was to have happened twice before, but he had struggled to retain a lawyer licensed in Florida and one appearance was postponed because of his travel troubles. Ahead of his arraignment, Nauta hired Sasha Dadan, a criminal defense attorney and former public defender whose main law office is in Fort Pierce, where the judge who would be handling the trial is based, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the court appearance." The Washington Post's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Kaitlan Collins, et al., of CNN: "Special counsel Jack Smith's team has signaled a continued interest in a chaotic Oval Office meeting that took place in the final days of the Trump administration, during which the former president considered some of the most desperate proposals to keep him in power over objections from his White House counsel.... Some witnesses were asked about the meeting months ago, while several others have faced questions about it more recently, including Rudy Giuliani.... Prosecutors have specifically inquired about three outside Trump advisers who participated in the meeting: former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, one-time national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, sources said.... During the heated Oval Office meeting on December 18, 2020, outside advisers faced off with top West Wing attorneys over a plan to have the military seize voting machines in crucial states that Trump had lost. They also discussed naming Powell as special counsel to investigate supposed voter fraud, and Trump invoking martial law as part of his efforts to overturn the election. Shouting and insults ensued; the night ended with Trump tweeting that a coming gathering in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, to protest the election results 'will be wild.'"

Perry Stein & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Individual prosecutors involved in the classified documents case against ... Donald Trump are facing substantial harassment and threats online and elsewhere, according to extremism experts and a government official familiar with the matter. At the same time, two officials said, federal agencies have not observed a general increase in threats against law enforcement in the weeks since Trump was indicted in South Florida -- a sharp contrast from the surge of violent rhetoric in the days after FBI agents searched the former president's Florida property last August.... Far-right Trump supporters are posting the names of prosecutors and government workers online and yelling [at] them at demonstrations, threatening them and sometimes revealing details about their personal lives, the experts said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: When a former POTUS* writes that the lead prosecutor should be "put out to rest," what do you expect? I think the prosecutors should collect some of Trump's more incendiary messages targeting them, along with some of the public's threats inspired by such attacks, then send the collection to the judge as part of a motion to order Trump to STFU. Some of Trump's attacks are not just unbelievably bad taste; they're obviously dangerous. Nobody has a free-speech right to endanger others. ~~~

     ~~~ Yes, Trump Is Getting Worse. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "A week ago, a Jan. 6 defendant was arrested near Barack Obama's home in D.C. with what the government says was a machete, two guns and 400 rounds of ammunition.... The man showed up shortly after Donald Trump posted images of an article featuring what was claimed to be Obama's address, which the man promoted.... Trump's Truth Social post featuring the address remained live on Thursday morning.... And it's only the latest evidence of social media posts from the former president that have increasingly gone off the rails.... Even by his standards, the past week has been remarkable.... 'Does anybody really believe that the COCAINE found in the West Wing of the White House, very close to the Oval Office, is for the use of anyone other than Hunter & Joe Biden,' he posted. He followed this up with: 'Has Deranged Jack Smith, the crazy, Trump hating Special Prosecutor, been seen in the area of the COCAINE?' Trump added. 'He looks like a crackhead to me!' A day earlier, on the Fourth of July no less, Trump said Smith should be ... 'put out to rest.'... Also on the Fourth, Trump promoted an image of a flag saying 'F---BIDEN' -- uncensored -- in one of repeated recent posts featuring images of vulgar slogans."

Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "A federal judge ruled Thursday that Donald Trump can be deposed in the lawsuit ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok brought against the Justice Department for his wrongful termination after the Russia investigation. In the lawsuit, Strzok alleges Trump's political vendetta against him -- whom Trump criticized in tweets -- led to his wrongful termination, and that the Justice Department wrongfully released text messages he exchanged with former FBI lawyer Lisa Page. Page is also suing. Trump has denied wrongdoing. Judge Amy Berman Jackson agreed with the request to depose Trump."

Alasdair Pal of Reuters: "Australian Home Minister Clare O'Neil on Thursday called Donald Trump Jr. a 'big baby', after ... [he] cancelled a planned speaking tour. The younger Trump, who had been booked on a three-day tour of Australia that was scheduled to begin in Sydney on Sunday, cancelled the trip on Wednesday, with organisers suggesting the reason was visa issues.... But O'Neil, one of the highest-ranking ministers in the centre-left Labor government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, said Trump had been granted a visa, and poor ticket sales was the reason he called off his visit.... 'Donald Trump Jr has been given a visa to come to Australia. He didn't get cancelled. He's just a big baby, who isn't very popular.' Albanese also said the eldest son of former President Donald Trump had not been blocked from entering." (Also linked yesterday.)

"The Rich Are Crazier than You & Me.” Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a crank. His views are a mishmash of right-wing fantasies mixed with remnants of the progressive he once was.... Yet now that Ron DeSantis's campaign (slogan: 'woke woke immigrants woke woke') seems to be on the skids, Kennedy is suddenly getting support from some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley. Jack Dorsey, who founded Twitter, has endorsed him, while some other prominent tech figures have been holding fund-raisers on his behalf. Elon Musk, who is in the process of destroying what Dorsey built, hosted him for a Twitter spaces event.... What seems to attract some technology types to R.F.K. Jr. is his contrarianism.... Tech bros appear to be especially susceptible to brain-rotting contrarianism.... Add to this the fact that great wealth makes it all too easy to surround yourself with people who tell you what you want to hear, validating your belief in your own brilliance -- a sort of intellectual version of the emperor's new clothes. And to the extent that contrarian tech bros talk to anyone else, it's to one another." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is just one more argument for an extremely progressive income & wealth tax structure.

Pam Belluck of the New York Times: "The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday gave full approval to the Alzheimer's drug Leqembi, and Medicare said it would cover much of its high cost, laying the foundation for widespread use of a medication that can modestly slow cognitive decline in the early stages of the disease but also carries significant safety risks. The F.D.A.'s decision marks the first time in two decades that a drug for Alzheimer's has received full approval, meaning that the agency concluded there is solid evidence of potential benefit. But the agency also added a so-called black-box warning -- the most urgent level -- on the drug's label, stating that in rare cases the drug can cause 'serious and life-threatening events' and that there have been cases of brain bleeding, 'some of which have been fatal.'"

Kate Selig of the Washington Post: "In the latest evidence of the pervasiveness of 'forever chemicals,' a new study from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that these contaminants now taint nearly half of the nation's tap water. The federal study, one of the most extensive of its kind looking directly at water coming out of a tap, adds to a body of research showing that PFAS -- per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances -- chemicals are not only long-lasting but widespread in drinking supplies. PFAS refers to more than 12,000 chemicals that persist in the environment and can build up in the body."

Annie Palmer & Rohan Goswami of CNBC: "Just sixteen hours after launch, Instagram's text-based social network Threads has already surpassed 30 million signups, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said early Thursday.... As of Thursday, the app is available for download from Apple's App Store, and it's free to use.... Users are required to have an Instagram account in order to use Threads." (Also linked yesterday.)

Rohan Goswami of CNBC: "Twitter's lawyer wrote a letter to Facebook parent Meta on Wednesday, accusing the company of 'systematic' and 'unlawful misappropriation' of trade secrets following the launch of its Threads service. The letter from longtime Elon Musk attorney Alex Spiro alleged that Meta's new Twitter clone was built by former Twitter employees 'deliberately assigned' to develop a 'copycat' app.... 'No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee,' Andy Stone, Meta communications director, posted on Threads." ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "It seems worth noting here that non-compete clauses are generally illegal in California. And Elon is an excellent illustration of why this is good policy: 'In a tweet posted ... on Thursday, Musk wrote that "competition is fine, cheating is not."' I dunno, when you define 'cheating' as 'hiring employees that I fired because I claimed that they had no useful skills' I tend question the sincerity of your commitment to competition."

Timothy Puko of the Washington Post: "Some of the largest manufacturers of heavy trucks and engines in the country have agreed to accept a California plan to ban sales of new diesel big rigs by 2036 under a deal aimed in part at thwarting potential litigation and maintaining a single national standard for truck pollution rules."

Graffiti Vandal Surprised Colosseum Is So Old. Elisabetta Povoledo of the New York Times: "A man seen on video last month using his keys to etch his love for his girlfriend on a wall in the Colosseum in Rome has written a letter of apology, saying he had no idea the nearly 2,000-year-old monument was so ancient. 'I admit with deepest embarrassment that it was only after what regrettably happened that I learned of the monument;s antiquity,' the man -- identified by his lawyer as 31-year-old Ivan Danailov Dimitrov -- wrote in a letter dated July 4 and addressed to the Rome prosecutor's office, the mayor of Rome and 'the municipality of Rome.'... Mr. Dimitrov was eventually identified by Italian military police officers who crosschecked the two lovers' names with registered guests in Rome and found they had stayed in an Airbnb rental in the Cinecittà neighborhood. Roberto Martina, the police commander who oversaw the operation, said they tracked Mr. Dimitrov to England, where he and his girlfriend, who is not under investigation, live." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Dimitrov is hoping for clemency, but I think the best thing is to feed him to the lions. Tickets available. Suggested event-wear: togas.

Beyond the Beltway

Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: "Democratic leaders in California and Texas urged the Justice Department on Thursday to investigate a Florida program that has solicited asylum seekers in Texas and sent them with no apparent notice to Martha's Vineyard and Sacramento. In a letter that called the state-funded initiative an 'ongoing scheme' that appeared to be driven by Florida's Republican governor and based on deception, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California; the state's attorney general, Rob Bonta; and the sheriff of Bexar County in Texas, Javier Salazar, asked for an examination of the Florida program for possible violations of federal law."

Ohio, et al. Kate Zernike of the New York Times: "Ohio moved one step closer to becoming the next big test case in the nation's fight over abortion, after supporters of a measure that would ask voters to establish a right to abortion in the state's Constitution this week said they had filed more than enough signatures to put it on the ballot in November. Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights said on Wednesday that it had collected roughly 710,000 signatures across all of the state's 88 counties over the last 12 weeks. Under state law, the coalition needed 413,466 to qualify for the ballot. State election officials now have until July 25 to verify the signatures.... Republican leaders in the legislature have placed a measure on the primary ballot in August that would raise the threshold required to pass any ballot measure amending the state's Constitution to 60 percent, from a simple majority. They aimed that measure -- which would require 50 percent of voters to pass -- squarely at the abortion question.... Voters in six states, including conservative ones such as Kentucky and Kansas, voted to protect or establish a right to abortion in their constitutions in last year's elections, and abortion rights advocates in about 10 other states are considering similar plans."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Friday is here: "... Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are scheduled to meet in Istanbul for talks that will likely focus on Sweden's bid for NATO membership and a soon-to-expire grain deal that was brokered by Turkey and allows Ukraine to export agricultural products through the Black Sea.... Zelensky visited NATO member states Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, ahead of the bloc's summit next week.... Meanwhile, questions remain about the agreement under which the Wagner mercenary leader [Yevgeniy Prigozhin] at the helm of the failed rebellion against Russian defense officials avoided insurgency charges.... A St. Petersburg businessman ... confirmed Prigozhin's presence in the country and said money and weapons seized by Russian authorities had been returned to him, The Washington Post reported.... More than 120 nations have joined a convention banning cluster munitions, which release smaller submunitions that can remain unexploded and endanger civilians years after a conflict has ended. The United States, Ukraine and Russia -- which has allegedly used cluster munitions extensively in Ukraine -- are not parties to the convention. Human Rights Watch urged the U.S. to refrain from sending them, and for Russia and Ukraine to 'immediately stop' using cluster weapons.... The European Union has moved toward a deal to use half a billion euros (around $544 million) from its budget to ramp up its production of ammunition and missiles....

"The death count in Lviv has risen to 10 after Russian cruise missiles struck the western Ukrainian city early Thursday, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi wrote on social media. The attack -- which Sadovyi said was the largest on civilian infrastructure in Lviv since the war began -- also left at least 36 injured, damaged 35 houses, and hit the 'buffer zone' of the UNESCO World Heritage site, officials said.... Russia and Ukraine announced a prisoner exchange Thursday."

David Sanger & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "For more than six months, President Biden and his aides have been wrestling with one of the most vexing questions in the war in Ukraine: whether to risk letting Ukrainian forces run out of the artillery rounds they desperately need to fight Russia, or agree to ship them cluster munitions -- widely banned weapons known to cause grievous injury to civilians, especially children. On Thursday, Mr. Biden appeared on the verge of providing the cluster munitions to Ukraine, a step that would sharply separate him from many of his closest allies, who have signed an international treaty banning the use, stockpiling or transfer of such weapons. Several of Mr. Biden's top aides, including Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, recommended he make the move at a meeting of top national security officials last week, despite what they have described as their own deep reservations...." ~~~

     ** Karen DeYoung, et al., of the Washington Post tell a different story: "President Biden has approved the provision of U.S. cluster munitions for Ukraine, with drawdown of the weapons from Defense Department stocks due to be announced Friday. The move, which will bypass U.S. law prohibiting the production, use or transfer of cluster munitions with a failure rate of more than 1 percent, comes amid concerns about Kyiv's lagging counteroffensive against entrenched Russian troops and dwindling Western stocks of conventional artillery."

Robyn Dixon & Catherine Belton of the Washington Post: "Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin was in Russia on Thursday, according to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, raising further questions about the murky agreement under which Prigozhin avoided insurgency charges for a failed rebellion that posed a brazen challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin's authority.... On Thursday, 12 days after Prigozhin abruptly turned around columns of fighters that he had sent rolling toward Moscow, Lukashenko said the mercenary boss had been back in his home city of St. Petersburg and may have flown to Moscow on Thursday morning. Lukashenko said a final deal on the move by Prigozhin and his fighters to Belarus was still not settled.... In a sign of Prigozhin's potential vulnerability, pro-Kremlin media mounted an apparently coordinated campaign to discredit him and undermine his popularity, which had surged before his rebellion. They aired video and photos of his luxury home, showing bundles of cash, weapons, fake passports, and wigs used for disguises." The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Emily Rauhala & Natalia Abbakumova of the Washington Post: "Russia has withdrawn consent for Finland to operate its consulate in St. Petersburg and expelled nine Finnish diplomats, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday. The decision was announced just days before NATO heads of state and government gather in Vilnius, Lithuania, for the alliance&'s annual summit, which is to be followed by a visit to Finland by President Biden. Moscow's decision also comes about a month after Finland announced that it would expel nine Russian diplomats on suspicion of spying. Although the expulsion of diplomats -- nine for nine -- appears to be a tit-for-tat move, the closing of the Finnish Consulate in St. Petersburg, not far from the Russia-Finland border, suggests an escalation designed to get the attention of Helsinki -- and Washington."

News Lede

New York Times: "As fears of a recession persist but have yet to be realized, U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs in June, the Labor Department reported Friday. The unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, compared with 3.7 percent in May. It was the 30th consecutive month of gains in American payrolls, but the June figure represented a continued cooling of the labor market. The total was down from a revised 306,000 in May and was the lowest since the streak began." This is a liveblog.