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April 6, 2023
Late Morning/Afternoon/Evening Update:
We called for you all to ban assault weapons, and you respond with an assault on democracy. -- Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones, shortly before Republicans expelled him from the state House ~~~
~~~ ** Dakin Andone, et al., of CNN: "The Tennessee House of Representatives has voted to expel Justin Jones a week after he joined two other Democrats in a protest on the House floor as demonstrators at the Capitol called for gun reform following a mass shooting at a Nashville school. The vote was 72-25. Expulsion from the Tennessee House requires a two-thirds majority. Two other lawmakers, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson, also face possible votes on their removal from office Thursday."~~~
~~~ Update: "A vote to expel Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson from Tennessee's Republican-controlled House of Representatives has failed, a week after she and two other Democrats led a gun reform protest on the House floor.... The vote over rules violations for Johnson was 65-30.... Johnson, who is White, was asked why there was a difference in the outcome for her and Jones, who is Black-Filipino. 'I will answer your question. It might have to do with the color of our skin,' she said." ~~~
~~~ AP Update. "In an extraordinary act of political retaliation, Tennessee Republicans on Thursday expelled two Democratic lawmakers from the state Legislature for their role in a protest that called for more gun control in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting in Nashville. The banishment of Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson was a move the chamber has used only a handful times since the Civil War. Most state legislatures possess the power to expel members, but it is generally reserved as a punishment for lawmakers accused of serious misconduct, not used as a weapon against political opponents. The GOP supermajority in the House declined by a single vote to expel a third Democrat, Rep. Gloria Johnson.... Thousands of people flocked to the Capitol on Thursday to support the Democrats, cheering and chanting outside the House chamber so loudly that the noise drowned out the proceedings." ~~~
~~~ As Nicolle Wallace of MSMBC said moments after the first vote, "This is what the slide to autocracy looks like." Marie: I'd like to think those pink porcine GOP bullies will pay at the polls for unilaterally expelling a young Black representative whose "crime" was protesting for the rights of children to be safe from terrorists with assault weapons. Oh, and thanks, you fat fucks, for making a star of Justin Jones, someone I never would have heard of if you-all hadn't merrily skipped down the fascist brick road.
This morning, CNN has been sporadically airing the protest in the Tennessee state house as Republicans prepare to oust three Democrat members. CNN also is covering the protests in France ~~~
~~~ France. John Leicester & Oleg Cetinic of the AP: "Protesters disrupted vehicle traffic at Paris’ main airport and police fired clouds of tear gas in other French cities as people marched in a new round of strikes and nationwide demonstrations Thursday seeking to get President Emmanuel Macron to scrap pension reforms that have ignited a monthslong firestorm of public anger. Talks between trade union leaders and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne broke up Wednesday without a breakthrough, setting the stage for protesters' return to the streets. However, the number of strikers has fallen, particularly in the transport sector, since the beginning of the movement in January. On Thursday, the Paris Metro was operating a near-normal service, in stark contrast to previous days of action, a sign that some in the movement are beginning to slow. Less than 8% of teachers are on strike, according to the Education Ministry."
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Karoun Demirjian & Chris Buckley of the New York Times: "Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday became the most senior elected official to meet with a Taiwanese president on U.S. soil since Washington established diplomatic relations with Beijing, at a meeting orchestrated to signal solidarity with the island amid rising tensions with China. The gathering at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is in some ways a backtrack by Mr. McCarthy, who promised during the midterm elections that if he were elected speaker, he would travel to Taiwan to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen in a show of defiance to China. Mr. McCarthy's predecessor, Nancy Pelosi of California, did so last year, when she was the House speaker. Instead, Mr. McCarthy and Ms. Tsai opted for a meeting in the United States that was considered the less-risky option to Washington and Taipei. Leaders in both capitals are trying to balance a desire to shore up Taiwan's ties with the United States, its far most powerful partner, against an interest in avoiding steps that might prompt aggressive military encroachments from Beijing." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "The Justice Department has reached a $144.5 million settlement with the families of 26 people killed in a 2017 mass shooting at a church in Texas after an acrimonious legal battle in which the government claimed it was not liable for its failure to update the national firearms background check system. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has signed off on the deal, which lawyers in the Justice Department's civil division negotiated with lawyers representing the families of victims and survivors who had gathered for Sunday worship at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, outside San Antonio. The settlement is among the largest of its kind.... In February 2022, Judge Xavier Rodriguez of the Federal District Court in San Antonio found that Air Force officials had failed to submit crucial records that would have prevented the suspect in the Sutherland Springs shooting from obtaining from a licensed gun dealer the semiautomatic rifle that he used in the attack." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
More Bad News for Trump. Maggie Haberman & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Former Vice President Mike Pence will not appeal a federal judge's ruling forcing him to testify in front of a grand jury investigating ... Donald J. Trump's efforts to thwart the transfer of power after the 2020 election, an aide said Wednesday.... It is unclear whether lawyers for Mr. Trump, who lost a parallel effort to limit Mr. Pence's testimony, will ... appeal the judge's ruling. In a statement, Mr. Pence's adviser, Devin O'Malley, noted that Mr. Pence had 'prevailed' on his attempts to argue that his testimony should be limited because as the president of the Senate on Jan. 6, 2021, he was protected from legal scrutiny by the executive branch -- including the Justice Department -- under the Constitution's 'speech or debate' clause.... Still, Judge James E. Boasberg, who heard the 'speech or debate' arguments last month at a closed-door hearing in Federal District Court in Washington, said in his ruling that Mr. Pence would still have to testify about any potentially illegal acts committed by Mr. Trump on Jan. 6 or on the days leading up to it." Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "Tuesday's turnout ... [for Donald Trump in Manhattan] felt more desultory than menacing, despite some threatening rhetoric.... You could walk a block away and be unaware that anything was happening. Maybe this is to be expected: Many of the people who might have led mob violence have been either indicted or convicted for their involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection. And certainly, there remains an acute danger from Trump fanatics acting alone. The way the Trump camp has targeted the daughter of the judge overseeing the Trump case has been particularly unconscionable. Arguing that the daughter's political work constituted a conflict for her father, people including [Rep. Marjorie Taylor] Greene, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump shared a story featuring her photograph on social media, and Trump went after her in his post-arraignment speech, likely putting her safety at risk." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Jonathan Deinst, et al., of NBC News:"In the 24 hours since ... Donald Trump's arraignment, the presiding judge and his family have received multiple threats, two sources familiar with the matter said. One official said 'dozens' of threats have recently been directed at Judge Juan Merchan and his chambers but did not give an exact time frame for them. The other source said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and other top officials in his office continue to receive threats. The threats have been in the form of calls, emails and letters.... Trump and his allies have publicly criticized Merchan and his family, including his adult daughter. Ahead of his court appearance Tuesday, Trump blasted Merchan on his Truth Social account as a 'highly partisan judge' and said the judge and his family are 'Trump haters.' In the post, Trump said, 'HIS DAUGHTER WORKED FOR "KAMALA" & NOW THE BIDEN-HARRIS CAMPAIGN.'" Merchan's daughter is the president of a company that did contract work for Harris in 2020. "There's no available evidence to suggest that ... she 'now' works for a Biden political operation." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Despite Judge Merchan's admonitions to Trump's attorneys to restrain their client from using inflammatory language, only hours later Trump attacked both Merchan and Bragg in his post-arraignment speech Tuesday evening.
Miss Margie Does NOT 
New York. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "... Marjorie Taylor Greene risked stoking the wrath of New Yorkers for a second time this week, calling their city 'disgusting', 'filthy', 'repulsive' and a 'terrible place'.... Mehdi Hasan, the MSNBC host, said: 'No Democratic politician from the coasts could ever go visit a Republican-led city in the south and then go on a liberal media outlet and call it repulsive, smelly and disgusting'.... Greene's comments, Hasan said, were 'a reminder of the double standards, and asymmetry, in our politics and our media'."
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. "Down the Rabbit Hole. Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times in the New York Times Magazine: "Rupert Murdoch built an empire by giving viewers exactly what they wanted. But what they wanted -- election lies and insurrection -- put that empire (and the country) in peril." ~~~
~~~ Jane Timm of NBC News: "A Delaware judge said he's inclined to force Fox Corp. executives Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch to testify live in the defamation suit against Fox News and Fox Corp. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said Wednesday at a public hearing that lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems would need to issue trial subpoenas to force their testimony. 'I would not quash it, and I would compel them to come,' he said. 'It would be my discretion that they come.' Dominion's attorneys asked the court to compel live testimony from the Murdochs; former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who sits on the board of Fox Corp.; and Viet Dinh, a Fox Corp. executive, in a letter to the court Wednesday. All four can be compelled to testify, Davis said.... In a filing Tuesday, attorneys for Fox News agreed to let hosts Tucker Carlson, Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro and Sean Hannity testify live." The New York Times report is here.
Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "The liberal candidate [for Wisconsin state supreme court justice], Janet Protasiewicz, swept onto the bench by 11 percentage points, a staggering margin in an evenly divided battleground state that signaled just how much last summer's Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade has transformed American politics. The Wisconsin race centered squarely on abortion rights and political representation: Judge Protasiewicz all but promised voters that if they elected her, the court's new 4-to-3 liberal majority would reverse Wisconsin's 1849 abortion ban and overturn the state's famously gerrymandered, Republican-friendly legislative maps.... The outcome, combined with a surprise victory in Chicago's mayoral race by Brandon Johnson, an outspoken progressive, demonstrated that the country's largely unified political left is sustaining momentum since its unexpectedly strong showing in the midterm elections...."
** Joshua Kaplan, et al., of ProPublica: "For more than two decades, [Supreme Court Justice Clarence] Thomas has accepted luxury trips virtually every year from the Dallas businessman [Harlan Crow] without disclosing them, documents and interviews show. A public servant who has a salary of $285,000, he has vacationed on Crow's superyacht around the globe. He flies on Crow's Bombardier Global 5000 jet. He has gone with Crow to the Bohemian Grove, the exclusive California all-male retreat, and to Crow's sprawling ranch in East Texas. And Thomas typically spends about a week every summer at Crow's private resort in the Adirondacks. The extent and frequency of Crow's apparent gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court.... [Thomas's] failure to report the flights appears to violate a law passed after Watergate that requires justices, judges, members of Congress and federal officials to disclose most gifts, two ethics law experts said.... Through his largesse, Crow has gained a unique form of access, spending days in private with one of the most powerful people in the country. By accepting the trips, Thomas has broken long-standing norms for judges' conduct, ethics experts and four current or retired federal judges said." ~~~
~~~ The ProPublica report includes a photo [an ultra-realistic paining] of Thomas enjoying a Crow resort vacation with Crow and other confederates, including Leonard Leo. ~~~
~~~ David Smith of the Guardian: "Leonard Leo, a rightwing legal activist, has raked in more than $73m over six years from nonprofit groups that may be diverting money illegally to his businesses, according to a watchdog complaint seen by the Guardian.... The Campaign for Accountability, a nonprofit watchdog organisation based in Washington, has called for an investigation into seven nonprofit groups linked to Leo that it said may be misusing millions of dollars for the personal benefit of insiders -- a violation of their tax exempt status. On Wednesday, the watchdog filed an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) complaint dissecting six years of filings from the Leo-affiliated organisations and presenting an accounting of more than $73m paid to his for-profit businesses."
Lora Kelley of the New York Times: "Twitter on Tuesday evening added a label to National Public Radio's account on the social network, designating the broadcaster 'U.S. state-affiliated media.'... Twitter's guidelines define state-affiliated accounts as 'outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.' Other news media accounts with the label include RT of Russia and Xinhua of China.... John Lansing, the chief executive of NPR, said in a statement[,] 'NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable. It is unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way.... Isabel Lara, NPR's chief communications officer, said ... that, on average, less than 1 percent of NPR's annual operating budget comes in the form of grants from the government-funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies and departments." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Too bad I deactivated my Twitter account. Since I receive Social Security & Medicare, Musk could label me (and millions of others who do maintain Twitter accounts) as "U.S. state-supported tool."
Marie: I'm linking the following because I don't know whom to believe: ~~~
~~~ Dominick Mastrangelo of the Hill: "CNN host Don Lemon, one of the most recognizable personalities across the cable news business, has a history of making offensive remarks to and threatening female staffers who anger him, according to a new report. Variety published an extensive exposé this week on Lemon's conduct relating to women, alleging a pattern of abusive and threatening behavior by the former prime-time anchor, who currently hosts CNN's revamped morning program along with Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow.... In a ... statement to The Hill, a CNN spokesperson called Variety's reporting 'reckless.' 'The story, which is riddled with patently false anecdotes and no concrete evidence, is entirely based on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old anonymous gossip,' the spokesperson said."
Presidential Race 2024. A Democrat Not to Vote for. Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the political activist known most recently for his campaign to discredit coronavirus vaccines, filed paperwork on Wednesday to run for president as a Democrat, offering a potential long-shot challenge to President Biden." CNN's story is here.
Beyond the Beltway
Idaho. Alanna Vaglanos of the Huffington Post: "Idaho just became the first state to implement an interstate travel restriction on abortion care since the Supreme Court repealed federal protections last year. Gov. Brad Little (R) signed a law on Wednesday evening that bans minors from traveling out of state for abortions without parental consent. The law creates a new felony crime called 'abortion trafficking,' which the legislation defines as an 'adult who, with the intent to conceal an abortion from the parents or guardian of a pregnant, unemancipated minor, either procures an abortion ... or obtains an abortion-inducing drug' for the minor.... Little clarified in a letter to Idaho's House speaker that the law will not limit interstate travel for abortion for any adult." The law would apply to, for instance, a family member who is not the parent, driving a minor to the post office to pick up abortion medication.
Maryland. Michelle Boorstein & Frederick Kunkle of the Washington Post: "Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown (D) released a report Wednesday detailing decades of alleged sex abuse by clergy within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The investigation found that over 600 young people -- from preschoolers to young adults -- suffered sexual abuse and 'physical torture' by more than 150 clergy members from the mid-1940s to 2002. The attorney general's office had previewed some of its findings in a November court filing, but the report itself brought them to life in visceral and horrifying detail." An AP report is here.
North Carolina. Nick Corasaniti & Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "The startling defection of a longtime Democratic lawmaker upended the balance of power in North Carolina on Wednesday, giving Republicans narrow veto-proof supermajorities in both chambers of the battleground state's legislature. The Democratic lawmaker, State Representative Tricia Cotham, announced in a news conference on Wednesday morning that she was becoming a Republican, saying she had been bullied by her fellow Democrats and had grown alienated from the party on issues like school choice.... Her declaration infuriated fellow Democrats and sent shock waves through North Carolina." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Tennessee, Laboratory of Autocracy. Margaret Renkl in a New York Times op-ed: "Last Thursday, in the wake of the [Nashville school] shooting, peaceful protesters at the Tennessee State Capitol rallied for gun reform. Activists waved signs in the statehouse gallery, and Representatives Justin Jones, Gloria Johnson and Justin J. Pearson, all Democrats, led them in chants from the House floor during breaks. Between bills, the lawmakers also approached the podium to speak.... 'Our mics were cut off throughout the week whenever we tried to bring up the issue of gun violence,' Mr. Jones told WKRN.... On Monday, statehouse Republicans stripped all three of their committee memberships and deactivated their ID badges.... [Thursday], the House will vote on whether to expel the three lawmakers for talking out of turn.... Democracy does not exist in a state where officials can be sent home for nothing more than voicing the opinions of voters who are pounding on the statehouse door, demanding to be heard." ~~~
~~~ Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Despite the absence of any criminal charges or investigation, Republicans argue that the expulsions are warranted because the protest flouted the rules of procedure and decorum, with the House speaker going so far as to invoke the violence of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.... In interviews on Wednesday, the three Democrats did not rule out the possibility of legal challenges. They will also retain the ability to run for their seats in special elections should they be expelled from the legislature.... The retribution has galvanized the hundreds of protesters already frustrated over the inaction on gun laws, with some of them arriving at the State Capitol with signs demanding 'justice for the Tennessee Three' this week.... A procedural vote hours later descended into chaos as the crowd chanted 'fascists' and a scuffle broke out between lawmakers on the floor. Mr. Jones, filming the proceedings on his phone, said another lawmaker pushed him and took his phone." ~~~
~~~ Marie: If this effort succeeds, democracy may come to abrupt halts in every state that has a Republican super-majorities in their legislatures. In theory, the same thing could happen in Congress, which also requires a two-thirds vote to expel a member. Just get rid of members who don't acquiesce quietly to the GOP agenda. And it may be legal; I'm not sure the judiciary would even attempt to intervene in a legislature's rules and actions. And looky here: ~~~
~~~ Wisconsin. Adam Edelman of NBC News: "Janet Protasiewicz may have just won a seat on the Wisconsin state Supreme Court, flipping the ideological balance of the court to the bench's liberal bloc for the first time in 15 years. But if a newly elected Republican state senator gets his way, that could all come crashing down. A [narrow] GOP win in another Wisconsin race this week -- the state Senate's 8th District -- gave Republicans a supermajority in the chamber. With that power, Republicans there will have the ability to pursue removal proceedings of certain elected officials if the Assembly votes to impeach them. In the closing days of his campaign, Republican Assemblyman Dan Knodl, who won that exurban state Senate district outside Milwaukee, said that he would consider impeaching Protasiewicz from her current position as a judge on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.... Under the Wisconsin Constitution, the state Assembly can impeach with a simple majority 'all civil officers of this state for corrupt conduct in office, or for crimes and misdemeanors.' The Wisconsin Supreme Court has previously ruled that those civil officers include the governor, lieutenant governor and judges."
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Thursday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Thursday is here: "French President Emmanuel Macron is meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing as European leaders try to shore up ties with China, a major trade partner for the continent, and to persuade Beijing to use its relationship with Moscow to help stop the conflict in Ukraine.... China has a 'major role to play in building peace,' Macron said Thursday ahead of the meeting.... Xi said that China, together with France, calls for 'restraint from all international partners' to avoid an escalation of the crisis in Ukraine. He made the comment at a joint news conference with Macron.... The Moscow City Court will hear an appeal from Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's defense on April 18, a court press service told Russian news agencies. The hearing is expected to be recorded but closed to the public.... Putin is hosting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a staunch Russian ally, in Moscow on Thursday...."
Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "Some 200 Russian journalists and activists have signed an open letter demanding the immediate release of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained by Moscow last week. Russia has, without evidence, accused Gershkovich of spying for the U.S. government.... Many of the signatories were independent journalists working for Russian news organizations based outside their homeland. The letter was published in outlets such as Mediazona, whose reporters are scattered outside Russia, and TV Rain, which broadcasts from the Netherlands. Their locations symbolize the collapse of press freedom since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine last year."
U.K. Camilla Gets a Promotion. Jennifer Hassan of the Washington Post: "Buckingham Palace has revealed the official invitation for the coronation of King Charles III, with one major title change for his wife, Camilla. Instead of 'Queen Consort,' the title she was given after Queen Elizabeth II's death, she is now simply 'Queen.' The ... invite for the event ... promotes 'the coronation of their majesties King Charles III & Queen Camilla.' The invitation will be sent to some 2,000 people, the BBC reported, adding that Camilla will be crowned alongside Charles.... When Charles and Camilla married in 2005, a royal agreement stipulated that Camilla would be known as 'princess consort' and not as 'queen consort' when Charles eventually ascended the throne. This agreement was largely due to the sensitivities around the pair's romance and widespread public anger surrounding their relationship.... [In 2022,] in a statement marking 70 years on the British throne, [Elizabeth II] said she wanted Camilla to be known as queen consort when Charles became king.... Upon Elizabeth's death in September 2022, Camilla became 'queen consort,' while her husband became King Charles III." ~~~
~~~ Marie: However galling the new title may be to Britons, it's no wonder Charles has decided to give his wife the title of "queen." The noun "consort" has such negative connotations that Merriam Webster's lists as its first meaning, "Associate: a criminal and his consorts."
News Lede
Washington Post: "Cash App creator Bob Lee was killed in a reported stabbing near downtown San Francisco, sparking an outpouring of grief within the tech community and beyond.... Lee, 43, worked at Google before serving as chief technology officer of Square, the company now known as Block, which developed the payment transfer app Cash App. He also invested in several tech companies including SpaceX, Clubhouse and Figma, according to his LinkedIn profile."
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