The Ledes

Friday, September 27, 2024

New York Times: “Maggie Smith, one of the finest British stage and screen actors of her generation, whose award-winning roles ranged from a freethinking Scottish schoolteacher in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' to the acid-tongued dowager countess on 'Downton Abbey,' died on Friday in London. She was 89.”

The Washington Post's live updates of developments related to Hurricane Helene are here: “Hurricane Helene left one person dead in Florida and two in Georgia as it sped north. One of the biggest storms on record to hit the Gulf Coast, Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend area on Thursday night as a Category 4 colossus with winds of up to 140 mph before weakening to Category 1. Catastrophic winds and torrential rain from the storm — which the National Hurricane Center forecast would eventually slow over the Tennessee Valley — were expected to continue Friday across the Southeast and southern Appalachians.” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here.

Mediaite: “Fox Weather’s Bob Van Dillen was reporting live on Fox & Friends about flooding in Atlanta from Hurricane Helene when he was interrupted by the screams of a woman trapped in her car. During the 7 a.m. hour, Van Dillen was filing a live report on the massive flooding in the area. Fox News viewers could clearly hear the urgent screams for help emerging from a car stuck on a flooded road in the background of the live shot. Van Dillen ... told Fox & Friends that 911 had been called and that the local Fire Department was on its way. But as he continued to file the report, the screams did not stop, so Van Dillen cut the live shot short.... Some 10 minutes later, Fox & Friends aired live footage of Van Dillen carrying the woman to safety, waking through chest-deep water while the flooding engulfed her car in the background[.]”

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The Ledes

Thursday, September 26, 2024

The New York Times:' live updates of Hurricane Helene developments today are here. “Hurricane Helene was barreling through the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday en route to Florida, where residents were bracing for extreme rain, destructive winds and deadly storm surge ahead of the storm’s expected landfall. The storm could intensify to a Category 4, if not higher, before making landfall late Thursday, and forecasters warned Helene’s anticipated large size could make its impacts felt across an extensive area. Areas as distant as Atlanta and the Appalachians are at risk for heavy rains.... Many forecast models show the storm making landfall late Thursday near Florida’s Big Bend Coast, a sparsely populated stretch....” ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post has forecasts for some cites in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina & Tennessee that are in or near the probable path of Helene. ~~~

     ~~~ This morning, an MSNBC weatherperson said Tallahassee (which is inland) would experience wind gusts of up to 120 m.p.h. and that the National Weather Service said expected 20-foot storm surges near the coast would be “unsurvivable.”

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

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

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

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

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

Click on photo to enlarge.

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

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

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

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

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

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Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Sunday
May282023

May 28, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Turkey. Bad News for Democracy. Suzan Fraser & Zeynep Bilginsoy of the AP: "Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won reelection Sunday, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade as the country reels from high inflation and the aftermath of an earthquake that leveled entire cities. A third term gives Erdogan an even stronger hand domestically and internationally, and the election results will have implications far beyond Ankara.... With more than 99% of ballot boxes opened, unofficial results from competing news agencies showed Erdogan with 52% of the vote, compared with 48% for his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The head of Turkey's electoral board confirmed the victory, saying that even after accounting for outstanding votes, the result was another term for Erdogan."

~~~~~~~~~~

** Jim Tankersley, et al., of the New York Times: "Top White House and Republican negotiators on Saturday reached a deal in principle to raise the debt limit for two years while cutting and capping some government spending over the same period, a breakthrough after a marathon set of crisis talks that has brought the nation within days of its first default in history, three people familiar with the agreement said. Congressional passage of the plan before June 5, when the Treasury is projected to exhaust its ability to pay its obligations, was not assured, particularly in the House.... But the compromise, which would effectively freeze federal spending that had been on track to grow, had the blessing of both President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, raising hopes that it could break the fiscal stalemate that has gripped Washington and the nation for weeks, threatening an economic crisis. The two spoke by phone on Saturday evening to resolve final sticking points." (Also linked yesterday.) An AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "... here are some takeaways [about the elements of the agreement] based on the information initially made available. The debt ceiling would be increased until 2025, after the next election.... Domestic spending would be capped, but not as much as Republicans wanted.... Defense, Social Security, Medicare and veterans' programs would be shielded.... Some recipients of government assistance would face new work requirements.... Major energy projects would be granted a streamlined review process." The AP's report is here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: Alan Rappeport of the New York Times blames Democrats for the debt ceiling crisis, and for once I think a both-sides MSM reporter is right: Last fall, "in an interview on her flight from New Delhi to Bali, Indonesia..., [Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen] urged Democrats to use their remaining time in control of Washington to lift the debt limit beyond the 2024 elections.... Democrats did not heed Ms. Yellen's advice." (Also linked yesterday.)

Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "The Biden administration announced Saturday that it had reached an agreement with 13 other countries in the Indo-Pacific region to coordinate supply chains, in an effort to lessen the countries' dependence on China for critical products and allow them to better weather crises like wars, pandemics and climate change. The supply chain agreement is the first result of the administration's trade initiative in the region, called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Negotiations are continuing for the other three pillars of the agreement, which focus on facilitating trade and improving conditions for workers, expanding the use of clean energy, and reforming tax structures and fighting corruption.... But prominent business groups expressed reservations about the Indo-Pacific deal, and on Friday, more than 30 of them sent a public letter to the administration saying the negotiations were leaving out traditional U.S. trade priorities that could help American exporters."

To the class of 2023 and to all the cadets here today: You stand on the broad shoulders of generations of Americans who have worn the uniform, including many barrier breakers and trailblazers. In fact, this year, you celebrate the 75th anniversary of the integration of women in the military, as well as the desegregation of our military. -- Vice President Kamala Harris, addressing West Point graduates yesterday ~~~

~~~ U.S. Army Enters 21st 20th Century. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday became the first woman to address a graduating class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and used the opportunity to extol the diversity of the American armed forces at a time of struggle over the military's identity. In an 18-minute speech, Ms. Harris noted that the nation's military had evolved in the last 75 years from an institution once dominated by white men to one more open to women and minority groups. While she did not mention the significance of her own historic appearance, her presence at the microphone on the field at West Point in New York spoke for itself." ~~~

Marie: So that's why this is so stupid: ~~~

~~~ Trip Gabriel, et al., of the New York Times: "... as [a number of reparations] commissions announce their recommendations, the political climate is far different from just three years ago. A widespread 'anti-woke' movement on the right has targeted programs aimed at social and racial justice, and the hard-cash figures being proposed as reparations are causing sticker shock. A California task force recently recommended more than $500 billion in reparations to Black residents. San Francisco is considering compensation of $100 billion. And Representative Cori Bush of Missouri said $14 trillion was the true national cost. Republicans have seized on the figures to argue that the left's pursuit of social justice has run amok. But for Democrats, the re-emergence of the long-dormant issue poses a deeper set of problems on the horizon." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: No matter who you are, no matter your race, your ethnicity, your religion, your sex, your sexual orientation, your economic status or your physical health, the odds are high that either you or your forebears have suffered discrimination for who you are or who they were in the Land of the Free. Oh, I know there are some tens of thousands of Americans whose family never suffered much discrimination, but they're a tiny minority, and they don't have enough money among them to pay the rest of us for how we and our families were cheated of our human rights. I also know that some groups have suffered much more than others. Most were not cast into slavery. But if you're a white person whose family has been here for a long time, you probably have a few indentured servants in your line and most of your female ancestors were chattel. The point is that, in general, somewhere in our personal histories, American life has not been fair to most of us. ~~~

     ~~~ Update: In today's Comments, Ken W. has a much better analysis than mine, asking, for instance, how reparations themselves can be doled out in a fair & equitable manner.

Presidential Race 2024. Marie: Ron DeSantis hasn't let a day go by since the disastrous rollout of his presidential campaign in which he doesn't say something stupid, outrageous and/or offensive to normal people. At this point, I'm planning to skip most of his remarks, but I'll probably highlight a few over the coming months.

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Jared Gans of the Hill: "Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) said her predecessor, Republican Doug Ducey, misappropriated $50 million that the federal government provided to the state through the American Rescue Plan. Hobbs said in a release Friday that Ducey made the grant to the state treasurer in the final hours of his administration to fund all-day kindergarten for student recipients of empowerment scholarship accounts, which allow for parents to use the money they would pay in taxes for education to send their student to the school that they choose. But the memo notes that the state only funds half-day kindergarten for students in public school.... 'Illegally giving $50 million to private schools while failing to properly invest in public education is just one egregious example of the previous administration's blatant disregard for public school students,' Hobbs said." Hobbs' statement implies she has been able to prevent the funds from being unlawfully distributed to parents of private-school students. (Also linked yesterday.)

New York. Alysia Santo of the Marshall Project, published by the New York Times: "Over a dozen years, New York State officials have documented the results of attacks by hundreds of prison guards on the people in their custody. But when the state corrections department has tried to use this evidence to fire guards, it has failed 90 percent of the time, an investigation by The Marshall Project has found. The review of prison disciplinary records dating to 2010 found more than 290 cases in which the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision tried to fire officers or supervisors it said physically abused prisoners or covered up mistreatment that ranged from group beatings to withholding food. The agency considered these employees a threat to the safety and security of prisons. Yet officers were ousted in just 28 cases." (Also linked yesterday.)

Ohio. Cleveland 19 News: "Cleveland 19 News received a bomb threat Friday afternoon against five Target stores in the area. The threat, received at 12:26 p.m. via email, centered around Target's LGBTQ+ merchandise. Immediately jumping to action, our staff made reports with each local police department as well as the Cleveland Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigations." ~~~

~~~ Utah. KUTV News Salt Lake City: "A Target in Layton[, Utah,] was evacuated after officials said they were informed of a bomb threat to multiple Utah locations.... Sgt. John Ottesen with Layton Police said bomb threats were made to Target stores in Layton, Salt Lake, Taylorsville and Provo. Officers began the investigation after two local new stations received emails alerting them about the threats. They said Target's Pride merchandise displays were referenced in the emails. The threat was three sentences long and came from a 'bogus email address,' according to Sgt. Ottesen."

** Texas. Hasta La Vista. Molly Hennessy-Fiske of the Washington Post: "The Texas House impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday over allegations of bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of public trust, a stunning rebuke of the conservative firebrand that at least temporarily forces him from office pending a state Senate trial that could lead to his permanent ouster.... Gov. Greg Abbott, a fellow Republican who has worked closely with the attorney general, will be able to appoint a temporary replacement.... Paxton has been a fierce defender of ... Donald Trump and a defiant opponent of the Biden administration, but his impeachment came at the hands of fellow Texas Republicans, who have long controlled all three branches of state government.... Of 146 House members present, 121 voted to impeach Paxton -- more than the majority required, including all but one Democrat and 60 Republicans -- 23 voted no (all Republicans), and two were present but did not vote.... Rep. Charlie Geren (R) ... noted that several colleagues had 'received telephone calls from Gen. Paxton personally threatening them with political consequences in their next election.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Zach Despart & Zach Barragan of the Texas Tribune: "Defying a last-minute appeal by ... Donald Trump, the Texas House voted overwhelmingly Saturday to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton," (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Coalition of the Corrupt. Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune: "Donald Trump made a late play Saturday to stop the Texas House's push to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, blasting it as 'ELECTION INTERFERENCE.' With less than half an hour until the House was set to consider Paxton's impeachment, Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to blast the effort.... He went on to make clear that he will politically target any Texas House Republican who lets the impeachment move forward.... On Saturday morning, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, added his voice to the opposition, calling the impeachment effort a 'travesty.'" MB: Gosh, Donald, it looks like the majority of Texas House Republicans aren't askeert of you.

~~~ The New York Times is liveblogging developments in Texas AG Ken Paxton's impeachment hearing. The Texas Tribune is airing the proceedings, as well as running a liveblog, here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond

Turkey. Louisa Loveluck of the Washington Post: "Turkish voters head to the polls Sunday for a landmark presidential runoff that will decide who leads the divided country through a critical period at home and on the international stage.... Sunday's runoff election is the first in Turkey's modern history and pits incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu after neither secured a majority in the first round, winning 49 percent and 45 percent of the vote, respectively. On the heels of a poorer-than-expected showing by Kilicdaroglu's alliance on May 14, most polls now predict a comfortable victory for Erdogan, who has led Turkey for two decades as prime minister, then president."

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Ukrainians fighting outside Bakhmut have reported seeing Russian mercenaries withdrawing from the eastern city.... There were no active battles in Bakhmut on Saturday, but Russian forces continued to shell the city's outskirts and the approach to it, according to Ukraine's deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar.... In fields seeded with mines, Ukraine farmers face deadly planting season: The Russian invasion has made Ukraine one of the most mined countries on the planet, officials there say...." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Sunday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

Andrés Martínez of the New York Times: "Russia fired the biggest wave of drones of the war on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, on Sunday, leaving at least one person dead.... Russia has intensified its focus on Kyiv in May, unleashing its biggest and most sustained attack there since at least March, with near-nightly volleys of missiles and drones. Sunday's attack, the 14th this month, appeared to be the first deadly one in May. Ukraine's air defenses destroyed more than 40 drones, the most fired at Kyiv in one night, the city's military administration said on Telegram."

Comments Off
Friday
May262023

May 27, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon/Evening Update:

** Jim Tankersley, et al., of the New York Times: "Top White House and Republican negotiators on Saturday reached a deal in principle to raise the debt limit for two years while cutting and capping some government spending over the same period, a breakthrough after a marathon set of crisis talks that has brought the nation within days of its first default in history, three people familiar with the agreement said. Congressional passage of the plan before June 5, when the Treasury is projected to exhaust its ability to pay its obligations, was not assured, particularly in the House.... But the compromise, which would effectively freeze federal spending that had been on track to grow, had the blessing of both President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, raising hopes that it could break the fiscal stalemate that has gripped Washington and the nation for weeks, threatening an economic crisis. The two spoke by phone on Saturday evening to resolve final sticking points."

Hasta La Vista. Molly Hennessy-Fiske of the Washington Post: "The Texas House impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday over allegations of bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of public trust, a stunning rebuke of the conservative firebrand that at least temporarily forces him from office pending a state Senate trial that could lead to his permanent ouster.... Gov. Greg Abbott, a fellow Republican who has worked closely with the attorney general, will be able to appoint a temporary replacement.... Paxton has been a fierce defender of ... Donald Trump and a defiant opponent of the Biden administration, but his impeachment came at the hands of fellow Texas Republicans, who have long controlled all three branches of state government.... Of 146 House members present, 121 voted to impeach Paxton -- more than the majority required, including all but one Democrat and 60 Republicans -- 23 voted no (all Republicans), and two were present but did not vote.... Rep. Charlie Geren (R) ... noted that several colleagues had 'received telephone calls from Gen. Paxton personally threatening them with political consequences in their next election.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Zach Despart & Zach Barragan of the Texas Tribune: "Defying a last-minute appeal by ... Donald Trump, the Texas House voted overwhelmingly Saturday to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, temporarily removing him from office over allegations of misconduct that included bribery and abuse of office." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times is liveblogging developments in Texas AG Ken Paxton's impeachment hearing. The Texas Tribune is airing the proceedings, as well as running a liveblog, here.

Marie: Alan Rappeport of the New York Times blames Democrats for the debt ceiling crisis, and for once I think a both-sides MSM reporter is right: Last fall, "in an interview on her flight from New Delhi to Bali, Indonesia..., [Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen] urged Democrats to use their remaining time in control of Washington to lift the debt limit beyond the 2024 elections.... Democrats did not heed Ms. Yellen's advice."

Arizona. Jared Gans of the Hill: "Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) said her predecessor, Republican Doug Ducey, misappropriated $50 million that the federal government provided to the state through the American Rescue Plan. Hobbs said in a release Friday that Ducey made the grant to the state treasurer in the final hours of his administration to fund all-day kindergarten for student recipients of empowerment scholarship accounts, which allow for parents to use the money they would pay in taxes for education to send their student to the school that they choose. But the memo notes that the state only funds half-day kindergarten for students in public school.... 'Illegally giving $50 million to private schools while failing to properly invest in public education is just one egregious example of the previous administration's blatant disregard for public school students,' Hobbs said." Hobbs' statement implies she has been able to prevent the funds from being unlawfully distributed to parents of private-school students.

New York. Alysia Santo of the Marshall Project, published by the New York Times: "Over a dozen years, New York State officials have documented the results of attacks by hundreds of prison guards on the people in their custody. But when the state corrections department has tried to use this evidence to fire guards, it has failed 90 percent of the time, an investigation by The Marshall Project has found. The review of prison disciplinary records dating to 2010 found more than 290 cases in which the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision tried to fire officers or supervisors it said physically abused prisoners or covered up mistreatment that ranged from group beatings to withholding food. The agency considered these employees a threat to the safety and security of prisons. Yet officers were ousted in just 28 cases."

~~~~~~~~~~

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said on Friday that the United States will run out of money to pay its bills on time by June 5, moving the goal post back slightly while maintaining the urgency for congressional leaders to reach a deal to raise or suspend the debt limit. The letter provided the most precise date yet for when the United States is expected to run out of cash. Ms. Yellen had previously said the United States could hit the so-called X-date -- the moment when it does not have enough money to pay all of its bills on time -- as soon as June 1." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) An AP story is here.

Lauren Sforza of the Hill: "Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) said he is 'very frustrated' over the state of debt ceiling talks and questioned why President Biden is continuing to negotiate with what the congressman called 'economic terrorists' in the Republican party. 'I called on the president to invoke the 14th Amendment and mint a coin and do not negotiate with hostage takers,' Bowman told CNN's Manu Raju on Thursday. 'I mean, we don't negotiate with terrorists globally. Why are we gonna negotiate with the economic terrorists here that are the Republican Party?'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jeff Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "Conservative lawmakers have begun mounting a campaign against the emerging deal on the debt ceiling between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), as objections from the right threaten to undermine an agreement even before its contents are publicly released. On Thursday and Friday, in response to reports about the details of the agreement, leading conservative lawmakers and budget experts raised strong objections, arguing McCarthy had failed to extract sufficient concessions from the Biden administration in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. McCarthy pushed back in remarks to reporters on Friday, saying the criticisms were being leveled by people unaware of the substance of the deal" MB: They're not "conservatives" they're radical right hostage-takers & as Bowman calls them "economic terrorists." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kara Voght of the Washington Post: “At a White House event, Angel Reese of Louisiana State University's championship NCAA team & Dr. Jill Biden hug and make up after Biden's gaff last month in which she suggested the mostly-white Iowa Hawkeyes, whom L.S.U. defeated in the final game, be invited to the White House, too. Politico's story is here.

Beobert Admits "Conservatives" Are Antisemites. She Should Know. Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Thursday released the country's first national strategy for combating antisemitism, a landmark lauded by Jewish and anti-hate groups as progress toward addressing the increasing instances of violence and bias toward Jewish people in the United States. But Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) saw the effort as an attack on those of her political persuasion. 'When they say stuff like this, they mean they want to go after conservatives,' she tweeted. 'Their tactics are straight out of the USSR's playbook.' Her comments quickly attracted criticism from detractors who accused her of conflating a straightforward campaign against antisemitism with an assault on the right -- and, by implication, equating conservatives with antisemites. 'So you agree? You think you're antisemitic?' Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) tweeted in a popular meme format from the teen comedy 'Mean Girls.'" A Huffington Post story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Historian Michael Beschloss said on MSNBC Friday that U.S. democracy has never in its history been under greater threat than it is now. Boebert's equating her own political allies with antisemitism is just more evidence that Beschloss is right. Donald Trump's Dinner with Nazis is another example. Anti-democratic, authoritarian movements start with scapegoating marginalized groups. Then there are these folks: ~~~

~~~ Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A self-styled militia leader and bar owner from Ohio and a former welder from Florida were sentenced to 8½ years and four years in prison Friday for joining Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes in disrupting Congress's confirmation of Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Army veterans Jessica Watkins and Kenneth Harrelson were acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted on other felony counts in November at trial with Rhodes and his on-the-ground leader, Kelly Meggs." The Guardian's report is here.

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A federal judge rejected a challenge to the government's ability to disarm defendants as part of their criminal sentences, one of the first decisions to uphold the constitutionality of a gun ban for people on probation for misdemeanors since a watershed Supreme Court decision last year set a new test to evaluate such limits. Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington issued the ruling temporarily barring gun possession by Daniel Shaw, a Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack defendant who pleaded guilty last November to one count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing. '[W]hile Shaw's role in the mob was minor, the fact of his participation in an insurrection whose aim was to impair the peaceful transfer of power suggests that a firearms restriction during his probationary period is appropriate,' Boasberg wrote on Thursday." (Also linked yesterday.)

Eleni Schirmer & Louise Seamster, in a New York Times op-ed, examine the case six GOP attorneys-general brought against the Biden administration, putting on hold President Biden's plan to forgive up to $20,000 in college loan debt for millions of Americans. "We found that the states' most fundamental justification for bringing the case -- that canceling student loans could leave a Missouri-based loan authority unable to meet its financial obligations to the state -- is false. [When Judge Jackson asked the AGs a fact question about the loan program's financial stability, the 'factual' answer was, 'It's very hard to believe.'] As our research shows, and the loan authority's own documents confirm, even with the new policy in place, its revenues from servicing loans will increase.... [Moreover, the states haven't showed they have standing. Nevertheless,] the confederate Supremes issued certiorari before judgment, meaning the suit did not first have to wend its way through lower courts." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you brought a civil case in which your only "proof" was that you didn't believe your opponent's assertions, obviously you'd be booted out of court before a proper hearing. But the authors say the confederate Supremes accepted these AGs' beliefs because of what's called the "'hierarchy of credibility': Those at the top of the social hierarchy don't have to prove their claims; they're just taken for granted." This seems to be the converse of charging decisions about suspected criminals: there's a "hierarchy of presumed innocence'; that is, the burden of proof against Donald Trump, for instance, is vastly greater than it would be for ordinary citizens. Michael Cohen went to jail for committing a crime the feds credibly assert Trump directed, but the DOJ has never charged Trump for committing the crime for which it incarcerated Cohen for several years. Similarly, lesser lights have been successfully prosecuted for stealing and retaining classified documents on far more flimsy evidence than what we already know the DOJ has on Trump. And, no, screaming "hoax" & "witch hunt" wouldn't help you.

Fodder for the Special Counsel. Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "... there is probably no figure beyond golf more publicly linked to LIV [Golf] than [Donald] Trump, who has repeatedly and enthusiastically cheered Saudi Arabia's thunderous, flashy entrance into sports. At its events, he often seems like an eager M.C. whose role is at once decidedly conspicuous and deeply mysterious -- neither the Trump Organization nor LIV have disclosed how much money the former president's company is making for the events -- as the league looks to make inroads in a hidebound sport.... He has remained steadfast in his loyalty even though a special counsel from the Justice Department, Jack Smith, has subpoenaed the Trump Organization for records related to LIV." ~~~

     ~~~ Digby, in Salon: "... for some reason one obvious case has gotten very little media attention and, as far as we know, very little attention from investigators: Trump's cozy financial relationship with the Saudi-sponsored Public Investment Fund, the desert kingdom's massive sovereign wealth fund. (Its assets are estimated at more than $620 billion.).... LIV Golf is a key part of the Saudi regime's program of 'sportswashing,' meaning as a nation's attempt to use massive investment in sports to cover up for its human rights abuses.... Let's hope that unlike Robert Mueller, who refused to exceed his mandate and look at Trump's finances, Jack Smith sees this for the blatant corruption it is. Otherwise, we're just accepting that it's perfectly OK for presidents and presidential candidates to do big favors for autocratic foreign governments in exchange for money."

Adam Reiss & Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "Prosecutors in New York have informed attorneys for Donald Trump that the evidence in their hush money case against the former president includes an audio recording of him and a witness, a court filing made public Friday shows.... The filing does not identify the witness or say when the recording was made or when Trump's lawyers were made aware of it." MB: Yeah, well, I think it goes something like this:

DONALD TRUMP: Michael, you pay Stormy $130,000 to shut her up so I win the election; then we'll hide it by you billing me the same amount in "legal fees."

MICHAEL COHEN: Okay, Boss.

Presidential Race 2024

The Essential Corruption of Ron DeSantolini. Nicholas Nehamas, et al., of the New York Times: "As Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida begins his presidential bid, officials in his administration have solicited donations from lobbyists and endorsements from lawmakers in the state, blurring the line between his taxpayer-funded office and his political campaign. The outreach by the governor's office ... would normally fall to Mr. DeSantis's campaign staff.... Mr. DeSantis has yet to sign Florida's $117 billion budget, over which he retains a line-item veto -- meaning he can, with the stroke of a pen, eliminate spending projects sought by lobbyists and legislators in Tallahassee, the capital, where he has exerted firm control over the Republican-controlled Legislature.... In addition to the efforts to secure support from lobbyists, the main super PAC backing Mr. DeSantis's bid announced last week that 99 of Florida's 113 Republican state legislators had endorsed Mr. DeSantis for president. Several lawmakers said privately that they feared he might veto their bills or spending projects if they did not support him." ~~~

     ~~~ "That's a nice little community center you've planned there, Jack. It would be a shame if it disappeared from the budget."

After the Fail. Charisma Madarang of Rolling Stone, republished by Yahoo! News: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a bill regarding spaceflight on Thursday just one day after he announced his presidential run in a glitch-filled interview with Elon Musk on Twitter Spaces. DeSantis signed into law CS/SB 1318 -- Spaceflight Entity Liability along with 27 other bills. The law exempts 'spaceflight entity from liability for injury to or death of a crew resulting from spaceflight activities under certain circumstances.' The measure also requires 'a spaceflight entity to have a crew sign a specified warning statement.' Florida is a known launching point for SpaceX aircrafts, and the new law could potentially shield Musk and other space flight companies from being sued for accidents that injure or kill crew members." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ The Buck Stops Elsewhere. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "... Ron DeSantis told Newsmax host Eric Bolling that he's 'not a big social media guy' and 'would rather watch' cable news 'than be on some app,' following his disastrous presidential campaign launch on Twitter this week. During an appearance on Newsmax's The Balance, Thursday, DeSantis said Twitter 'were very confident that they had the ability to get a lot of people' for the event.... 'I was just in a room in Florida, so I didn't really know necessarily what was going on.'" MB: I read somewhere this week that DeSantis spends hours reading the comments beside his Twitter "likes." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mason Bissada of the Wrap: "Appearing Thursday to promote his campaign, at one point DeSantis was on a tear about the travel advisory the NAACP issued for Florida that cited numerous DeSantis policies it says 'erase Black history' and 'restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.' And as he delivered a whataboutist spiel about gun violence in Baltimore, Maryland, the television video feed -- and only the video feed -- froze. The audio was unaffected, as was the newscrawl at the bottom of the screen. DeSantis continued to deliver talking points from his usual 'anti-woke' playbook, while host Eric Bolling's face remained frozen mid blink, and DeSantis' stuck with his mouth pursed in mid-pronunciation." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Peter Hoskins & Annabelle Liang of the BBC: "An engineering chief at Twitter says he is leaving the company a day after the launch of Ron DeSantis' US presidential campaign on the platform was hit with technical glitches. Foad Dabiri tweeted: "After almost four incredible years at Twitter, I decided to leave the nest yesterday.... Mr Dabiri did not specify why he had decided to leave Twitter or whether it was related to the problems with the DeSantis event on the platform." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ (Alleged!) Drug Addict Makes Classic On-air Freudian Slip. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Donald Trump Jr accidentally insulted his father on Thursday night, mixing up his words while trying to condemn Ron DeSantis.... 'Trump has the charisma of a mortician and the energy that makes Jeb Bush look like an Olympian,' Trump Jr said on his online show.... After a short pause, and without correcting himself, Trump Jr continued...."


Derrick Taylor of the New York Times: "A trove of documents released this week by the F.B.I. reveal details about an assassination threat against Queen Elizabeth II before a trip that she and her husband made to the United States in 1983, as well as other security concerns linked to the Irish Republican Army. The documents were published on the F.B.I.'s website after a request under the Freedom of Information Act." A San Francisco police officer learned of the plot (and presumably notified other authorities). "Though it is unclear if any arrests were made, the documents note that the monarch's visit was completed 'without incident.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I was unaware that "Naked Gun"'s Frank Drebin had saved Elizabeth while she was in California in the 1980s, but near the end of yesterday's Comments, Patrick brought me up to speed. Fortunately, we have film: ~~~

Beyond the Beltway

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "Across the country, we are seeing sharp new limits on the rights and privileges of Americans. And despite a national mythology that ties the threat of tyranny to the machinations of a distant, central government, the actual threat to American freedom is coming from the states.... Americans have a long history with various forms of sub-national authoritarianism: state and local tyrannies that sustained themselves through exclusion, violence and the political security provided by the federal structure of the American political system.... The history of American political life is the story of the struggle to unravel those sub-national units of oppression and establish a universal and inviolable grant of political and civil rights, backed by the force of the national government.... The [present-day conservative and reactionary] plan, as we have seen with abortion, is to unspool and untether those rights from the Constitution. It is to shrink and degrade the very notion of national citizenship and to leave us, once again, at the total mercy of the states." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Florida. Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: Ron "DeSantis is now defending a Florida school's decision to restrict access to [Amanda Gordon's] 'The Hill We Climb.'... DeSantis insisted the school district in question merely 'moved it from the elementary school library to the middle school library,' and ripped 'legacy media' for calling this a 'ban,' complaining of a 'poem hoax.' That's a shameless but revealing characterization of what happened.... This came in response to an objection from one parent. That parent's complaint ... was that the poem has indirect 'hate messages' and would 'cause confusion and indoctrinate students.' In reality, Gorman's poem calls for bridging our divides to enable our country to live up to its promise, declaring this an incomplete project. The idea that this represents hate and indoctrination is farcical.... This is happening all over Florida.... DeSantis's obvious relish of this moment shows he believes having an army of lone parents out there stirring up cultural controversies wherever possible can only help him in the 2024 GOP presidential primaries."

South Carolina. Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "A South Carolina judge on Friday moved to pause the state's six-week abortion ban until it can be reviewed by the state Supreme Court. Judge Clifton Newman of the South Carolina Circuit Court granted a temporary injunction Friday morning, barely 24 hours after Gov. Henry McMaster (R) signed the measure into law. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, along with a South Carolina clinic and two of its doctors, immediately filed a lawsuit Thursday to block the ban that took immediate effect with McMaster's signature. Friday's injunction means abortion access in South Carolina reverts back to being legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy." (Also linked yesterday.)

Texas. Jacey Fortin & David Goodman of the New York Times: "The Republican-dominated Texas House has scheduled a vote on the impeachment of the state's Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, for Saturday at 1 p.m. The vote was set to take place just two days after a bipartisan but Republican-led committee of representatives recommended that Mr. Paxton should be impeached for a range of abuses that may have been crimes.... The articles [of impeachment] charge Mr. Paxton with a litany of abuses including taking bribes, disregarding his official duty, obstructing justice in a separate securities fraud case pending against him, making false statements on official documents and reports, and abusing the public trust.... Mr. Paxton has been under criminal indictment for most of his tenure as the state's attorney general.... An impeachment would mean that Mr. Paxton would be temporarily removed from office pending a trial on the charges in the State Senate, where some of his closest allies, including his wife, would serve as jurors. The Senate proceedings could well be delayed until after the regular legislative session, which ends on Monday.... The ... timing remains highly uncertain." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The AP's report is here. A related Texas Tribune story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune: "For nearly a decade, Texas Republicans largely looked the other way as Attorney General Ken Paxton's legal problems piled up.... In revealing it had been secretly investigating Paxton since March -- and then recommending his impeachment on Thursday -- a Republican-led state House committee sought to hold Paxton accountable in a way the GOP has never come close to doing. It amounted to a political earthquake, and while it remains to be seen whether Paxton's ouster will be the outcome, it represents a stunning act of self-policing."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Saturday in Russia's ware on Ukraine is here. The Guardian's live updates for Saturday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

Marc Santora of the New York Times: "Explosions far behind the front lines shook Ukraine on Friday, as a Russian missile demolished part of a hospital complex and apparent Ukrainian strikes hit Russian-occupied cities, in their escalating, long-range aerial war. The attack on a medical center in the central city of Dnipro killed at least two people, left three more missing and injured at least 30, Ukrainian officials said. It destroyed a three-story building and damaged several others. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine posted to social media a video of a gutted building, its roof and upper walls missing, belching smoke into the sky, calling it 'another crime against humanity.'"

Robyn Dixon of the Washington Post: "As Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime cracks down on critics of the war and other political dissenters, citizens are policing one another in an echo of the darkest years of Joseph Stalin's repression, triggering investigations, criminal charges, prosecutions and dismissals from work. Private conversations in restaurants and rail cars are fair game for eavesdroppers, who call police to arrest 'traitors' and 'enemies.' Social media posts, and messages -- even in private chat groups -- become incriminating evidence that can lead to a knock on the door by agents of the Federal Security Service of FSB. The effect is chilling, with denunciations strongly encouraged by the state and news of arrests and prosecutions amplified by propagandist commentators on federal television stations and Telegram channels."

Israel/Palestine. Imogen Piper, et al., of the Washington Post: "This year, under the most right-wing government in Israeli history, a growing number of [Israeli military] incursions have been carried out [in the West Bank] during the day, in densely packed urban areas such as Jenin. As of May 15, 108 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including militants and civilians, had been killed by Israeli forces, according to the United Nations, more than double last year's toll from the same period. At least 19 were children...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Comments Off
Thursday
May252023

May 26, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said on Friday that the United States will run out of money to pay its bills on time by June 5, moving the goal post back slightly while maintaining the urgency for congressional leaders to reach a deal to raise or suspend the debt limit. The letter provided the most precise date yet for when the United States is expected to run out of cash. Ms. Yellen had previously said the United States could hit the so-called X-date -- the moment when it does not have enough money to pay all of its bills on time -- as soon as June 1."

South Carolina. Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "A South Carolina judge on Friday moved to pause the state's six-week abortion ban until it can be reviewed by the state Supreme Court. Judge Clifton Newman of the South Carolina Circuit Court granted a temporary injunction Friday morning, barely 24 hours after Gov. Henry McMaster (R) signed the measure into law. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, along with a South Carolina clinic and two of its doctors, immediately filed a lawsuit Thursday to block the ban that took immediate effect with McMaster’s signature. Friday's injunction means abortion access in South Carolina reverts back to being legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy."

Texas. Jacey Fortin & David Goodman of the New York Times: "The Republican-dominated Texas House has scheduled a vote on the impeachment of the state's Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, for Saturday at 1 p.m. The vote was set to take place just two days after a bipartisan but Republican-led committee of representatives recommended that Mr. Paxton should be impeached for a range of abuses that may have been crimes.... The articles [of impeachment] charge Mr. Paxton with a litany of abuses including taking bribes, disregarding his official duty, obstructing justice in a separate securities fraud case pending against him, making false statements on official documents and reports, and abusing the public trust.... Mr. Paxton has been under criminal indictment for most of his tenure as the state's attorney general.... An impeachment would mean that Mr. Paxton would be temporarily removed from office pending a trial on the charges in the State Senate, where some of his closest allies, including his wife, would serve as jurors. The Senate proceedings could well be delayed until after the regular legislative session, which ends on Monday.... The ... timing remains highly uncertain."

Lauren Sforza of the Hill: "Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) said he is 'very frustrated' over the state of debt ceiling talks and questioned why President Biden is continuing to negotiate with what the congressman called 'economic terrorists' in the Republican party. 'I called on the president to invoke the 14th Amendment and mint a coin and do not negotiate with hostage takers,' Bowman told CNN's Manu Raju on Thursday. 'I mean, we don't negotiate with terrorists globally. Why are we gonna negotiate with the economic terrorists here that are the Republican Party?'"

Jeff Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "Conservative lawmakers have begun mounting a campaign against the emerging deal on the debt ceiling between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), as objections from the right threaten to undermine an agreement even before its contents are publicly released. On Thursday and Friday, in response to reports about the details of the agreement, leading conservative lawmakers and budget experts raised strong objections, arguing McCarthy had failed to extract sufficient concessions from the Biden administration in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. McCarthy pushed back in remarks to reporters on Friday, saying the criticisms were being leveled by people unaware of the substance of the deal." MB: They're not "conservatives"; they're radical right hostage-takers & as Bowman calls them "economic terrorists."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A federal judge rejected a challenge to the government's ability to disarm defendants as part of their criminal sentences, one of the first decisions to uphold the constitutionality of a gun ban for people on probation for misdemeanors since a watershed Supreme Court decision last year set a new test to evaluate such limits. Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington issued the ruling temporarily barring gun possession by Daniel Shaw, a Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack defendant who pleaded guilty last November to one count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing. '[W]hile Shaw's role in the mob was minor, the fact of his participation in an insurrection whose aim was to impair the peaceful transfer of power suggests that a firearms restriction during his probationary period is appropriate,' Boasberg wrote on Thursday."

After the Fail. Charisma Madarang of Rolling Stone, republished by Yahoo! News: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a bill regarding spaceflight on Thursday just one day after he announced his presidential run in a glitch-filled interview with Elon Musk on Twitter Spaces. DeSantis signed into law CS/SB 1318 -- Spaceflight Entity Liability along with 27 other bills. The law exempts 'spaceflight entity from liability for injury to or death of a crew resulting from spaceflight activities under certain circumstances.' The measure also requires 'a spaceflight entity to have a crew sign a specified warning statement.' Florida is a known launching point for SpaceX aircrafts, and the new law could potentially shield Musk and other space flight companies from being sued for accidents that injure or kill crew members." ~~~

~~~ The Buck Stops Elsewhere. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "... Ron DeSantis told Newsmax host Eric Bolling that he's 'not a big social media guy' and 'would rather watch' cable news 'than be on some app,' following his disastrous presidential campaign launch on Twitter this week. During an appearance on Newsmax' The Balance, Thursday, DeSantis said Twitter 'were very confident that they had the ability to get a lot of people' for the event.... 'I was just in a room in Florida, so I didn't really know necessarily what was going on.'" MB: I read somewhere this week that DeSantis spends hours reading the comments beside his Twitter "likes." ~~~

     ~~~ Mason Bissada of the Wrap: "Appearing Thursday to promote his campaign, at one point DeSantis was on a tear about the travel advisory the NAACP issued for Florida that cited numerous DeSantis policies it says 'erase Black history' and 'restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.' And as he delivered a whataboutist spiel about gun violence in Baltimore, Maryland, the television video feed -- and only the video feed -- froze. The audio was unaffected, as was the newscrawl at the bottom of the screen. DeSantis continued to deliver talking points from his usual 'anti-woke' playbook, while host Eric Bolling's face remained frozen mid blink, and DeSantis' stuck with his mouth pursed in mid-pronunciation." ~~~

~~~ Peter Hoskins & Annabelle Liang of the BBC: "An engineering chief at Twitter says he is leaving the company a day after the launch of Ron DeSantis' US presidential campaign on the platform was hit with technical glitches. Foad Dabiri tweeted: "After almost four incredible years at Twitter, I decided to leave the nest yesterday.... Mr Dabiri did not specify why he had decided to leave Twitter or whether it was related to the problems with the DeSantis event on the platform." ~~~

~~~ (Alleged!) Drug Addict Makes Classic On-air Freudian Slip. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Donald Trump Jr accidentally insulted his father on Thursday night, mixing up his words while trying to condemn Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump's closest rival for the Republican presidential nomination. 'Trump has the charisma of a mortician and the energy that makes Jeb Bush look like an Olympian,' Trump Jr said on his online show.... After a short pause, and without correcting himself, Trump Jr continued...."

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "Across the country, we are seeing sharp new limits on the rights and privileges of Americans. And despite a national mythology that ties the threat of tyranny to the machinations of a distant, central government, the actual threat to American freedom is coming from the states.... Americans have a long history with various forms of sub-national authoritarianism: state and local tyrannies that sustained themselves through exclusion, violence and the political security provided by the federal structure of the American political system.... The history of American political life is the story of the struggle to unravel those sub-national units of oppression and establish a universal and inviolable grant of political and civil rights, backed by the force of the national government.... The [present-day conservative and reactionary] plan, as we have seen with abortion, is to unspool and untether those rights from the Constitution. It is to shrink and degrade the very notion of national citizenship and to leave us, once again, at the total mercy of the states."

Imogen Piper, et al., of the Washington Post: "This year, under the most right-wing government in Israeli history, a growing number of [Israeli military] incursions have been carried out [in the West Bank] during the day, in densely packed urban areas such as Jenin. As of May 15, 108 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including militants and civilians, had been killed by Israeli forces, according to the United Nations, more than double last year's toll from the same period. At least 19 were children...."

Derrick Taylor of the New York Times: "A trove of documents released this week by the F.B.I. reveal details about an assassination threat against Queen Elizabeth II before a trip that she and her husband made to the United States in 1983, as well as other security concerns linked to the Irish Republican Army. The documents were published on the F.B.I.'s website after a request under the Freedom of Information Act." A San Francisco police officer learned of the plot (and presumably notified other authorities). "Though it is unclear if any arrests were made, the documents note that the monarch's visit was completed 'without incident.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I was unaware that "Naked Gun"'s Frank Drebin had saved Elizabeth while she was in California in the 1980s, but in today's Comments, Patrick brought me up to speed. Fortunately, we have film: ~~~

~~~~~~~~~~

Hostage-Takers Win, Extract Minor Ransom from Biden. Jim Tankersley & Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Top White House officials and Republican lawmakers were closing in Thursday on a deal that would raise the debt limit for two years while capping federal spending on everything but the military and veterans for the same period. Officials were racing to cement an agreement in time to avert a federal default that is projected in just one week. The deal taking shape would allow Republicans to say that they were reducing some federal spending -- even as spending on the military and veterans' programs would continue to grow -- and allow Democrats to say they had spared most domestic programs from significant cuts. Negotiators from both sides were talking into the evening and beginning to draft legislative text, though some details remained in flux." A Guardian story is here.

Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "As disaster looms, it's important to keep in mind that Republicans are the villains here: They're the ones engaged in extortion.... There are at least three ways the administration could, in principle, bypass the debt ceiling.... The first possible strategy is simply to ignore the debt limit, declaring it unconstitutional.... I don't find the case against the constitutional option persuasive.... A second strategy would be to exploit a peculiar legal provision that allows the Treasury to mint platinum coins of any value it chooses.... A third option would be to issue perpetual bonds -- bonds that pay interest forever but no principal, and hence have no face value. Since the ceiling is defined in terms of the face value of U.S. debt, not its fluctuating market value, it's hard to see how the ceiling can apply. This isn't a radical idea -- it has a long history, especially in Britain, but has also been used in the United States.... The arguments against these options all boil down to political guesses."

Peter Baker & John Ismay of the New York Times: "President Biden called for a new era of innovation in the American military on Thursday as he formally unveiled his choice to steer the country's armed forces into an uncertain future hunting down terrorists, managing the growing competition with China and countering Russian aggression in Europe. Introducing Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. as his nominee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mr. Biden praised him as a 'proud, butt-kicking American airman' and 'top-notch strategist.' But he said that one of the qualities that most appealed to him was the general's vision and determination to continually think ahead, exemplified by the 'accelerate change or lose' doctrine that he followed as Air Force chief of staff." ~~~

Meagan Flynn of the Washington Post: "President Biden vetoed a GOP effort to block D.C's major police accountability legislation Thursday, noting the legislation contained 'common-sense' changes aimed at enhancing public trust. 'The Congress should respect the District of Columbia's right to pass measures that improve public safety and public trust,' the president said in a message to Congress accompanying his veto. 'I continue to call on the Congress to pass common-sense police reform legislation. Therefore, I am vetoing this resolution.' Biden's veto came on the third anniversary of the police killing of George Floyd, which sparked nationwide protests and reexamination of policing and use of force -- including in the District."

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "The White House on Thursday pledged to increase federal efforts to combat rising antisemitism with new initiatives aimed at improving public awareness in places such as schools and college campuses and offering more community training to encourage the reporting of hate crimes. In its national strategy to counter antisemitism, the White House also calls on social media companies to more aggressively prevent the spread of hate speech and anti-Jewish content online. It asks Congress to hold accountable those platforms that do not provide transparency on how such content is disseminated. The plan lays out dozens of commitments from the Biden administration to help protect Jewish communities, while calling on Congress and local governments to follow suit." The AP's report is here.

Bob Menendez, in Trouble Again. Tracey Tully & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors and the F.B.I. are investigating whether Senator Robert Menendez or his wife received unreported gifts of a luxury car and an apartment in Washington from a halal meat company that is also the focus of a criminal inquiry, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. The investigation into Mr. Menendez, a Democrat who is the senior senator from New Jersey, is linked to a government search of the meat company's offices and the home of its president, according to a lawyer who met with prosecutors." Denials all around, of course. An NBC News story is here.

What This Country Needs Is More Straight White Male Judges. Talyler Mitchell of the Huffington Post: "Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) has apparently found fault with President Joe Biden's choice to appoint a diverse range of judges to the overwhelmingly white and male federal bench. On the House floor on Thursday, Grothman said Biden had appointed just five 'white guys' out of 97 judicial appointments in his first two years in office, citing an unnamed study.... 'So [it's] almost impossible for white guys [that are] not gay apparently to get appointed here,' he continued. According to a January report by The 19th, the federal judiciary consists of about 800 active judges -- 46% were white men, 23% were white women, 16% were men of color and 14% were women of color.... In March, he called the appointments 'a little bit scary' and raised the possibility that the president was 'actively discriminating against white heterosexual men.'"

** Scenes from a Heist. Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "Two of Donald Trump's employees moved boxes of papers the day before FBI agents and a prosecutor visited the former president's Florida home to retrieve classified documents in response to a subpoena -- timing that investigators have come to view as suspicious and an indication of possible obstruction, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump and his aides also allegedly carried out a 'dress rehearsal' for moving sensitive papers even before his office received the May 2022 subpoena, according to the people familiar with the matter.... Prosecutors in addition have gathered evidence indicating that Trump at times kept classified documents in his office in a place where they were visible and sometimes showed them to others, these people said. Taken together, the new details of the classified-documents investigation suggest a greater breadth and specificity to the instances of possible obstruction found by the FBI and Justice Department than has been previously reported." Read on. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times flesh out some of the particulars of the WashPo story linked above.

You, sir, present an ongoing threat and a peril to this country, to the Republic and the very fabric of our democracy. -- Judge Amit Mehta, to Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes during sentencing hearing ~~~

~~~ ** Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, was sentenced on Thursday to 18 years in prison for his conviction on seditious conspiracy charges for the role he played in helping to mobilize the pro-Trump attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The sentence, handed down in Federal District Court in Washington, was the most severe penalty so far in the more than 1,000 criminal cases stemming from the Capitol attack -- and the first to be increased for fitting the legal definition of terrorism. It was also the first to have been given to any of the 10 members of the Oath Keepers and another far-right group, the Proud Boys, who were convicted of sedition in connection with the events of Jan. 6." Read on. Rhodes remains an unrepentant danger to society. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Hannah Rabinowitz & Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "A second Oath Keepers member, Kelly Meggs, the leader of the Florida contingent of the group, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The sentences are the first handed down in over a decade for seditious conspiracy." (Also linked yesterday.)

** Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to police water pollution, ruling that the Clean Water Act does not allow the agency to regulate discharges into some wetlands near bodies of water. The court held that law covers only wetlands 'with a continuous surface connection' to those waters, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote for five justices. The decision was nominally unanimous, with all the justices agreeing that the homeowners who brought the case should not have been subject to the agency's oversight. But there was sharp disagreement about the majority's reasoning. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, joined by the three liberal justices in a concurring opinion, said the decision would harm the E.P.A.'s ability to combat pollution." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Richard Lazarus in a Washington Post op-ed: "Congress was not at all shy about the geographi reach of the [1972] Clean Water Act. The statute targeted discharges into 'navigable waters,' but Congress also expressly defined that to include all 'waters of the United States.' Since the mid-1970s, the courts have uniformly agreed that Congress intended with that expansive definition to extend the law's protections far beyond traditional navigable waters.... Relying on a dictionary definition of 'waters' and ignoring the Clean Water Act's purpose, the court's conservative majority has adopted a radically truncated view of the reach of the law's restriction on water pollution." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The obvious fix for Sam & the Gang's ruling is for Congress to amend the Clean Water Act to specifically name the types of waters (i.e., wetlands & seasonal waterways) the EPA should regulate. Let's just ask My Kevin & Miss Margie to draft some legislation (ha ha ha).

Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "Stephen K. Bannon ... is scheduled to stand trial in May of next year for what prosecutors say was his role in defrauding Americans who paid money toward the construction of a southern border wall, a judge said Thursday. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, said that while the May 27, 2024 trial was later than he had anticipated -- he had originally considered a November date -- he was satisfied with the schedule proposed by Mr. Bannon's lawyers as long as prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney's office were satisfied. A prosecutor, Daniel Passeser, said that he was." (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race 2024. Matt Dixon & Jonathan Allen of NBC News: "Officials who work for Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration -- not his campaign -- have been sending text messages to Florida lobbyists soliciting political contributions for DeSantis' presidential bid, a breach of traditional norms that has raised ethical and legal questions and left many here in the state capital shocked. NBC News reviewed text messages from four DeSantis administration officials, including those directly in the governor's office and with leadership positions in state agencies. They requested the recipient of the message contribute to the governor's campaign through a specific link that appeared to track who is giving as part of a 'bundle' program.... DeSantis [can use] his line-item veto pen to slash funding for projects that the same lobbyists whom they are asking for political cash have a professional stake in. Most of the lobbyists said they felt pressure to give to the governor's campaign." ~~~

~~~ DeSantolini Reflects the Lawlessness of the GOP. Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post:"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that, if elected president, he would consider pardoning some of those convicted on charges related to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.... Twice in the interview, DeSantis avoided directly answering questions on whether he'd pardon Trump but left open the possibility.... DeSantis said he would use his pardon powers 'at the front end' of his administration, noting that 'a lot of people wait until the end of the administration to issue pardons.'" ~~~

~~~ Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "Even if [DeSantis' campaign] Twitter rollout had worked smoothly -- which it definitely did not — it would have been a debacle.... Behind these unforced errors lie deeper failures of political judgment by DeSantis, ones that speak to a blinkered and -- for all his cultural populism -- elitist worldview.... [Elon] Musk, while perhaps a genius in some areas, is also often an arrogant screw-up whose projects break down in public. (See: the Tesla Cybertruck's supposedly shatterproof windows or the explosion of the SpaceX Starship.)... DeSantis's decision to make his tacit alliance with Musk such an integral part of his campaign identity suggests a submissive and receding quality.... [DeSantis] speaks the language not of normal people but of right-wing counter-elites, thinkers and activists who come out of the same rarefied milieus as the progressive intellectuals they despise.... When he's speaking to plutocrats on Twitter Spaces, he thinks he's speaking to the people." ~~~

~~~ Marie: There was something else that went wrong with DeSantolini's presidential announcement, and this was something about which he had a couple of weeks' notice -- yet still did nothing to adjust his plans. Sally Goldenberg & Meredith McGraw of Politico: "DeSantis' original plan had been for him to do his first post-announcement interview on Fox News with Tucker Carlson, according to two people familiar with his plans. When the Fox News host was fired, the governor kept his commitment to the network. He appeared with fill-in host Trey Gowdy in the 8 p.m. hour although the cable news channel has seen evening viewership plummet since Carlson's ouster." Good leaders know how to plan. Moreover, if their plans don't work out, they know how to pivot to Plan B or C or D. If DeSantolini had had Lincoln's job during the U.S. Civil War, we'd all be living in slave states and singing "Swanee Ribber." But then today's Ron DeSantolini would be good with that. (Also linked yesterday.)

Randy Rainbow "interviews" Ron DeSantis:

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Andrew Lapin of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency: "Months before a Miami-area mother persuaded a local school to restrict access to an Amanda Gorman poem, she was posting antisemitic memes on her Facebook page. Now, Daily Salinas is apologizing for one of those things -- and unrepentant about the other. 'I want to apologize to the Jewish community,' Salinas told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Wednesday. She was saying sorry for a Facebook post she shared in March offering a summary of 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,' a notorious antisemitic forgery written more than a century ago in Russia. 'I'm not what the post says,' Salinas said. 'I love the Jewish community.'... [Salinas' Facebook] account, which JTA reviewed, features a flood of political posts reflecting right-wing ideologies -- and the antisemitic Protocols." (Also linked yesterday.)

     ~~~ Marie: This struck me from the JTA story: "[Salinas] added that English is not her first language." She used her unfamiliarity with English as part of her excuse for not knowing about the Protocols. English is my first language, and I've taken a lot of English classes over the years. But I'm still baffled by a lot of poetry that critics tell us is brilliant. Do you suppose Salinas, who admits to having trouble with English, and member of that Miami Lakes school board, just might not "get" Gorman's poem? (Children, on the other hand, have open, receptive minds, and they are as likely as I or more likely than I to interpret the poem in positive ways. But I suppose that's what worries all the wingers: that their own children might grow up to be decent, caring human beings.)

Indiana. This Is Insane. Kim Bellware & Daniel Rosenzweig-Ziff of the Washington Post: "Indiana's medical licensing board decided late Thursday night to discipline a doctor who made headlines last year for performing an abortion for a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim. The board gave the doctor a letter of reprimand and ordered her to pay a $3,000 fine for violating ethical standards and state laws by discussing the case with a reporter. Indiana's Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita for nearly a year pursued punishment for Caitlin Bernard, an OB/GYN and an assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine who performed the abortion in June 2022, less than a week after Roe v. Wade was struck down, enacting trigger laws." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's precisely why the vindictive Rokita was angry about Dr. Bernard's statements AND why Dr. Bernard spoke up as she did: "She explained how, as a doctor, she felt she had 'an obligation' to ensure Hoosiers understood how abortion bans were affecting people across the country -- and could eventually affect them." Rokita wants to strut around pretending he's a paragon of virtue, and Bernard -- in warning the public -- exposed his cruelty. Bernard threatened Rokita's power over girls and women, and he can't abide that.

Mississippi. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "An unarmed 11-year-old Black boy [-- Aderrien Murry --] in Mississippi was shot by a police officer after he called 911 to report a domestic disturbance to try to protect his mother, his family's attorney said.... The boy was given a cellphone by his mother and told to call the police during a domestic disturbance involving the father of another one of her children, [an attorney for the family] said. After the child called 911, an Indianola police officer who was identified by the attorney as Greg Capers 'had his gun blazing' upon arrival at the home at around 4 a.m., Moore said. When Nakala Murry, the boy's mother, told the officer that no one in the house was armed, the officer yelled out that anyone in the home should come out with their hands up, [the attorney] said. Even though Aderrien adhered to the officer's commands and had his hands up, Capers shot him in the chest...." An NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ New Jersey. Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "Charles Frederick Sharp III had called the police to his home in southwest New Jersey in the middle of the night to report trespassers in his backyard. One was carrying a gun, Mr. Sharp, who spent more than 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, told a 911 dispatcher. Within five seconds of arrival, a police officer had fired multiple shots, fatally wounding Mr. Sharp as he stood outside his home in Mantua, N.J., in September 2021, according to state officials and footage from body cameras worn by police officers. Mr. Sharp, 49, was still on the phone with the police when he was struck. On Wednesday, the state's attorney general announced that a grand jury voted this week to take the rare step of indicting the officer, Salvatore Oldrati, on manslaughter charges." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Can police departments across the U.S. please quit selecting officers for stupid? These cops seem to think that answering a 911 call gives them permission to immediately shoot the first person they see. What's the matter with them?

Texas. James Barragan, et al., of the Texas Tribune: "In an unprecedented move, a Texas House committee voted Thursday to recommend that Attorney General Ken Paxton be impeached and removed from office, citing a yearslong pattern of alleged misconduct and lawbreaking that investigators detailed one day earlier. During a specially called meeting Thursday afternoon, the House General Investigating Committee voted unanimously to refer articles of impeachment to the full chamber. The House will next decide whether to approve articles of impeachment against Paxton, which could remove the attorney general from office pending the outcome of a trial to be conducted by the Senate. If a majority of the 149-member House approves the articles before the regular legislative session ends Monday, senators would need to convene a special session to hear the case." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A New York Times story is here.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "At least one person was killed and 15 others injured Friday in a Russian rocket attack on a hospital in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement.... Ukraine's capital also faced a barrage of missile strikes early Friday -- the thirteenth such attack since the start of May -- regional officials said. No casualties or hits were recorded.... European nations led by Denmark and the Netherlands have agreed to form a coalition providing Ukraine with F-16 pilot training and maintenance, according to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.... The war could go on for 'decades,' said outspoken Kremlin supporter Dmitry Medvedev.... Japan announced new economic sanctions on Russia Friday." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Friday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

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