December 18, 2022

We are blessed this Sunday with a no-news day (so far). So plenty of time to get ready for some futbol.

But Tomorrow. Farnoush Amiri of the AP: "The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is considering recommending the Justice Department pursue an unprecedented criminal charge of insurrection and two other counts against ... Donald Trump. Besides insurrection, an uprising aiming to overthrow the government, the panel is also considering recommending prosecutors pursue charges for obstructing an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States, according to a person familiar with the matter who could not publicly discuss the private deliberations and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The committee's deliberations were continuing late Friday, and no decisions were formalized on which specific charges the committee would refer to the Justice Department. The panel is to meet publicly Monday afternoon when any recommendation will be made public." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The committee is scheduled to meet at 1:00 pm ET tomorrow. CNN & MSNBC will begin coverage at noon Monday. For those who cannot watch the hearing live, the committee usually provides a complete video, so I'll get up a link to that video when it becomes available.

AND Earlier Last Week:

Fake President* Makes, Breaks Promises. Real President Keeps Them. Josh Boak of the AP: "Donald Trump pledged to fix U.S. infrastructure as president. He vowed to take on China and bulk up American manufacturing. He said he would reduce the budget deficit and make the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes. Yet after two years as president, it's Joe Biden who is acting on those promises. He jokes that he's created an 'infrastructure decade' after Trump merely managed a near parody of 'infrastructure weeks.' His legislative victories are not winning him votes from Trump loyalists or boosting his overall approval ratings.... Gone are blanket tax cuts. No more unfettered faith in free trade with non-democracies. The Biden White House has committed more than $1.7 trillion to the belief that a mix of government aid, focused policies and bureaucratic expertise can deliver long-term growth that lifts up the middle class. This reverses the past administration's view that cutting regulations and taxes boosted investments by businesses that flowed downward to workers."

Fifty Years Ago. Michael Ruane of the Washington Post: Fifty years ago today, on December 18, 1972, "Joe Biden's first wife, Neilia, and baby daughter, Naomi Christina..., [were] killed in a car crash. His sons, Beau and Hunter, ages 3 and 2, >had been critically injured." The next day, [President] Richard Nixon, who had just been re-elected to the presidency, telephoned Biden, who had won his first term as U.S. Senator, to express his condolences. The article contains a transcript of the call. The audio is here:

Eric Lipton, et al., of the New York Times: "The prospect of growing military threats from both China and Russia is driving bipartisan support for a surge in Pentagon spending, setting up another potential boom for weapons makers that is likely to extend beyond the war in Ukraine. Congress is on track in the coming week to give final approval to a national military budget for the current fiscal year that is expected to reach approximately $858 billion -- or $45 billion above what President Biden had requested."

Unsafe at Any Altitude. AP: "The federal agency tasked with screening passengers before they get on planes says officers this year have stopped a record number of guns brought by passengers attempting to go through airport security checkpoints. The Transportation Security Administration said in a news release Friday that officers have stopped 6,301 firearms so far this year, and the agency is anticipating that number will rise to 6,600 by the end of the year. That's nearly a 10% increase over last year, which was already a record, the agency said. Nearly 90% of the weapons caught so far were loaded, the agency said. The agency considers a weapon to be loaded if the passenger has access to both the gun and the ammunition. In response, the agency said it is increasing the maximum civil penalty for firearms violations to $14,950. Passengers caught with a weapon also lose their TSA PreCheck status ... for at least five years, the agency said.... People caught with weapons in their carry-on bags can also face criminal charges depending on which state they live in, the agency said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I think it's fair to assume that at least a tiny fraction of these yahoos planned on using the guns during the flights.

Philip Kennicott, the Washington Post's art critic, slams Trump's trading cards: "Along with laughter ... was the pervasive sense that this newest scheme has distilled the essence of Trump to its purest form. It was 'on brand' in a way more telling and disturbing than previous efforts to cash in on a name once associated with the Oval Office.... The shorthand critique of this phenomenon is: 'My kid could do that.' And, indeed, your kid could probably make images of Trump as laughably awful as the ones that Trump is now attempting to sell, if your kid has even a passing familiarity with the tropes of pop culture and basic competence with photo-editing software." MB Note: This crap sold out in one day & reportedly netted about $4.5 MM.

Although Trump likened the NFTs to "baseball cards," a few days ago, Patrick enumerated ~~~

Things you can't do with DiJiT's "baseball cards":

-- sail them against the wall/step, two players at the same time, card closest to the wall wins, takes the other. Two leaners are ties, leave them and play with two new cards, winner take all.

-- flip them and call the bet before they land. Two players: two heads, two tails, my head (your tail), my tail (your head), winner take all

-- sail for distance, farthest card wins, takes the other card

-- clothespin clip to bike wheel downtube so tip of card is between spokes and makes clatter when you ride

-- build a house of cards

-- flip into a hat for distance, backing up after (n) throws, see who can get the most in

-- draw mustaches and glasses, horns, etc. on the players

And more. But put in a plastic sleeve? No.

But with DiJiT's cards, you can do none of those things. If he put them out in pasteboard stock, I'd pay a nickel, draw a mustache and google eyes on his faces, and clip him to my bike wheels.

In fairness to Trump, there's this: ~~~

~~~ Meredith McGraw of Politico: "Thursday night's Log Cabin Republicans' 'Spirit of Lincoln' gala in the main ballroom of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago beachfront club was a joyous celebration of gay rights and -- in a case of ironic timing -- the historic same-sex marriage law signed by President Joe Biden days earlier.... The main attraction, obviously, was Trump. He received a standing ovation after delivering an enthusiastic affirmation of gay rights not often heard in the GOP.... Trump did not mention the law in his speech.... Throughout the evening, speakers praised Trump for his embrace of the gay community.... Trump and his administration had a mixed record on LGBTQ issues. He's been criticized for driving a wedge between gay and transgender communities, and for promoting extreme religious liberty policies and executive orders they say allowed for discrimination against LGBTQ people that pushed the movement backwards."

Here's how stunningly stupid & egomanical Elon is: ~~~

~~~ Taylor Lorenz of the Washington Post (Dec. 17): "Earlier tonight, Elon Musk suspended my Twitter account [substack link]. I only had three tweets live on my account when it was banned. Two were promoting my social media profiles on other platforms (follow me on TikTok and IG @taylorlorenz!), and one was [a] tweet ... where I asked Musk for comment: 'Hi, Elon. @drewharwell and I sent you a couple emails about this. We've learned some information that we'd like to share & discuss with you. We're taking this very seriously and want to ensure this is pursued in the right way. Thanks'"

** "Not Another Column about Elon Musk." Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post: "In 'The Madness of King George,' there are several scenes where very learned doctors dedicate considerable time and effort to squinting at the contents of the king's chamber pot. Watching the movie, you think, 'Well, at least we are at a stage of civilization where we don't have to do that! We do not live in a world that hinges so completely on the condition of one or two powerful men that it is worth our while to spend hours every day examining their stools in minute detail and trying to draw conclusions from them.' But then Elon Musk buys Twitter, and -- I can think of no better analogy for what has ensued.... In addition to encouraging some of Twitter's worst voices, he is astoundingly boring.Here is a sample of his tweets: 'The woke mind virus is either defeated or nothing else matters.' 'Thanksgiving cuisine is such a delightful symphony of flavor!'"

AND this looks like a good bet for those of you with New Yorker subscriptions: https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/poll-most-people-want-to-know-elon-musks-location-so-they-can-avoid-him (copy & paste into your address bar). Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "The New York Police Department is investigating an alleged attack in Central Park this week in which a man in his mid-40s assaulted a 63-year-old man and spewed antisemitic comments before yelling out 'Kanye 2024,' a reference to rapper Ye's recent antisemitic rhetoric. The older man was walking in Central Park about 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday when the other man allegedly hit him from behind, according to police. When the older man fell to the ground, he broke his hand and chipped a tooth, authorities said." A Raw Story report is here. MB: I realize that what news media choose to cover may account for some of the reporting on antisemitic attacks, but it does seem that West, Trump, Musk & other "influencers" have normalized antisemitism among a large subset of Americans.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his appeal to Western leaders to provide Ukraine with a 'reliable air defense shield' after a barrage of Russian missile strikes. In his nightly address, Zelensky said that when Ukraine's skies are protected, 'the main form of Russian terror -- missile terror -- will become simply impossible.'... Russia's efforts to raise its troops' morale by assembling groups tasked with entertaining them are 'unlikely to substantively alleviate' soldiers' broader concerns about pay and the direction of the war, said Britain's Defense Ministry. The ministry said the two new 'front line creative brigades' announced by Russia's Defense Ministry last week and made up of opera singers, actors and circus performers are part of a 'Soviet-era concept of ideological political education.'" MB: That's odd. One would have thought that the droll fellows at the Russian Defense Ministry would be great at coming up with terrific entertainment. More dancing bears, please. ~~~

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

News Lede

CNN: "It took 90 minutes of regulation, 30 minutes of extra time and a penalty kick shootout to decide it -- but Argentina is the 2022 World Cup champion."

December 17, 2022

Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Friday delivered a series of emotional remarks that were centered on new benefits available to veterans who have been exposed to toxic chemicals, but also focused on his own personal experiences and channeled moral outrage that the country hasn't always lived up to its 'sacred obligation' of caring for its troops. The remarks were given at a National Guard facility named after his late son, whose death Biden has come to believe was a result of his military service near toxic burn pits in Kosovo and Iraq. The visit to the Major Joseph R. 'Beau' Biden III National Guard/Reserve Center in New Castle, Del., is part of more than 90 events that the Department of Veterans Affairs has been holding around the country to encourage veterans to utilize new benefits available to them as a result of a law Biden signed in August."

Mark Landler of the New York Times: "President Biden plans to appoint Joe Kennedy III, a former Democratic congressman from Massachusetts and a scion of the nation's most famous Irish American political family, as his special envoy to Northern Ireland, two people with knowledge of the White House's plans said on Friday. The White House's announcement, which could come as early as Monday, would fill a post that has been vacant since the departure of Mick Mulvaney, a former acting chief of staff to ... Donald J. Trump, in 2021. The White House is calculating that Mr. Kennedy, 42, a grandson of Robert F. Kennedy who was once viewed as the family's next political star, will bring a marquee name to the job of drumming up business for Northern Ireland, which has long struggled to shake off the legacy of sectarian violence known as the Troubles. But Mr. Kennedy will not have the broad mandate of some of his predecessors, one person said, limiting his focus to economic development and investment promotion rather than thornier political or trade issues." CNN's report is here.

Maria Sachetti & Arelis Hernández of the Washington Post: "A federal appeals court on Friday cleared the way for the Biden administration to end a covid-related policy that allows officials to expel migrants from U.S. borders, rejecting a push by Republican officials to keep enforcing the removals. The decision means the policy known as Title 42 started by the Trump administration, will end Dec. 21, unless the Supreme Court intervenes. The GOP officials had signaled in court records that they would appeal to the Supreme Court. The court ruling represents a victory for immigration advocates in their quest to fully reopen the borders to asylum seekers who have been expelled without a chance to plead their cases, and for the Biden administration, which agrees that the hard-line policy should end. But the Department of Homeland Security is straining to manage an influx of migrants that could balloon in the coming weeks and overwhelm the Border Patrol, as well as cities and towns that are hosting the newcomers."

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday instructed federal prosecutors to end sentencing disparities in cases involving the distribution of crack and powder cocaine after decades of law enforcement policy disproportionately treating crack offenders more punitively. Garland's move effectively seeks to eliminate the significant difference in the amount of powder cocaine relative to crack cocaine that is required to be in a suspect's possession to trigger mandatory minimum federal sentences if convicted. Critics of the longtime policy have said it is a relic of the Washington's misguided war-on-drugs era that targeted Black and Brown communities, resulted in overpopulated prisons and strained federal and local resources at the expense of more effective strategies." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

William Broad of the New York Times: "The Secretary of Energy on Friday nullified a 1954 decision to revoke the security clearance of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a top government scientist who led the making of the atomic bomb in World War II but fell under suspicion of being a Soviet spy at the height of the McCarthy era. In a statement, the Energy Secretary, Jennifer M. Granholm, said the decision of her predecessor agency, the Atomic Energy Commission, to bar Oppenheimer's clearance was the result of a 'flawed process' that violated its own regulations. As time has passed, she added, 'more evidence has come to light of the bias and unfairness of the process that Dr. Oppenheimer was subjected to while the evidence of his loyalty and love of country have only been further affirmed.'" The Hill's story is here.

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "A new office at the Pentagon is scrutinizing hundreds of reports of unidentified objects in air, sea, space and beyond, senior U.S. defense officials said Friday, and while it has discovered no signs of alien life, the search is set to expand. The issue has taken on increasing seriousness as a bipartisan group of lawmakers presses the Defense Department to investigate instances of unidentified phenomena and disclose publicly what they learn. Established in July, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office is evaluating recent reports and soon could evaluate accounts that date back decades, officials said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: They're looking in the wrong places. They should check out those lawmakers who empowered them. I'm not sure members of Congress are all of this Earth. ~~~

We're Christmas season. A talk of the majority right now who wants to put a small continuing resolution to bump all the members up two days before Christmas, to try to vote on a package they cannot read, written by two individuals who will not be here, on spending for the entire government.... And to walk through to pass the largest bill that we passed throughout the year in the last days before Christmas, where they won't even tell you what the baseline is now, the two people who will not be here are held accountable to their constituents, that they're going to determine this? -- Kevin McCarthy, saying some words on the House floor ~~~

~~~ Dana Milbank of the Washington Post is worried about Kevin McCarthy: "A group of House Republican moderates (yes, a few specimens still survive in the wild) met with Kevin McCarthy this week to help him right his listing bid for the speakership. In a show of support, they passed out pro-McCarthy lapel buttons: stars on a field of blue with a red band in the middle that proclaimed, simply, 'O.K.' The letters were meant to signify 'Only Kevin,' CNN's Melanie Zanona reported, as a rejoinder to the Never-McCarthy hard-liners on the right. But the message had an unfortunate double meaning that highlighted the doubts about the always-a-bridesmaid-never-a-bride candidate for speaker. McCarthy is just that: Okay. As in: not great. Not even above average. Just okay.... McCarthy has a knack for garbled messages.... Deep in his brain there seems to be a syntax scrambler...." Read on.

Kyle Cheney & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "The Jan. 6 select committee is preparing to vote on urging the Justice Department to pursue at least three criminal charges against ... Donald Trump, including insurrection. The report that the select panel is expected to consider on Monday afternoon, described to Politico by two people familiar with its contents, reflects some recommendations from a subcommittee that evaluated potential criminal referrals. Among the charges that subcommittee proposes for Trump: 18 U.S.C. 2383, insurrection; 18 U.S.C. 1512(c), obstruction of an official proceeding; and 18 U.S.C. 371, conspiracy to defraud the United States government. It's unclear whether the select committee's final report will recommend additional charges for Trump beyond the three described to Politico, or whether it will urge other criminal charges for other players in Trump's bid to subvert his 2020 loss. The document, according to the people familiar, includes an extensive justification for the recommended charges." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here.

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A House committee is expected to vote on Tuesday on whether to make public six years of ... Donald J. Trump's tax records, in what would be a significant act of transparency in the waning days of Democratic control of the House. The Ways and Means Committee gave notice on Friday that it would meet behind closed doors at 3 p.m. on Tuesday for what is expected to be a vote on whether to release some data from Mr. Trump's tax returns from 2015 to 2020, including the possibility of sharing the filings. The panel obtained the information from the Treasury Department last month. Such a vote, which Republicans are likely to oppose, would be the culmination of a nearly four-year battle stemming from Mr. Trump's decision to break with modern precedent and refuse to disclose his personal financial information as a presidential candidate and then as a sitting president. For now, lawmakers remain constrained by law about what they can say about the matter.... By law, the committee generally must keep that information confidential, but if the panel votes to report the information to the full House, it would become lawful to make it public, too." ~~~

     ~~~ Brian Faler of Politico: "House Democrats will likely unmask new details about ... Donald Trump's long-hidden taxes following a key meeting now set for next week.... [The Ways & Means Committee could vote to] release Trump's entire returns or perhaps something more limited, such as a summary."

Anjali Singhgi, et al., of the New York Times have created (a somewhat cumbersome-to-navigate, IMO) graphic demonstration of how close random guests came to classified documents Donald Trump & his aides had stored at Mar-a-Lardo. They stashed many docs in a not-very-secure closet. "Photos from some of these events show the arched doors [leading from a public outdoor patio surrounding the pool to the storage area] being partially or fully open, suggesting that guests may have had access to the storage area.... Federal agents seized documents, including ones labeled as 'Top Secret,' from a small room within the storage area, a space where cleaning supplies, beach chairs and umbrellas were also kept." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ The article also shows photos of many, many guests at fundraisers & such milling near the storage area. There are also photos of guests, some of them foreigners & some as sleazy as Kyle Rittenhouse & Lauren Boebert, standing around Trump's office where he stashed other classified documents. "The staircase leading to the office has no obvious permanent barriers. The Times found photos that show people roaming freely nearby." The office is right off a ballroom, which hosts various events packed with guests. "It is unclear what additional security separates ballroom guests from Mr. Trump's office." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Filthy Lucre. Cam Thompson of Coin Desk: "... Donald Trump's non-fungible token (NFT) digital trading card collection sold out early Friday, the day after its initial release. According to data from OpenSea, at time of writing [12/16 @11:22 am ET], the collection's trading volume is 900 ETH, or about $1.08 million. Its floor price is about 0.19 ETH, or about $230 -- more than double the original price of $99. Some tokens are selling for much higher prices. The one-of-ones, the rarest of the NFTs, which comprise 2.4% of the 45,000 unit collection (roughly 1,000), are selling for as much as 6 ETH at the time of writing. One of these rare trading cards, of the 45th president standing in front of the Statue of Liberty holding a torch, is currently listed at 20 ETH, or about $24,000." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Josh Taylor of the Guardian: "Despite being widely mocked online..., Donald Trump's collection of digital trading cards have sold out in less than a day, netting US$4.5m in sales."

Jacob Kornbluh of the Forward: "... Donald Trump didn't mention his dinner with two prominent antisemites figures last month in an address to a Jewish group Friday morning, his first public speech since the controversy ensued. But speaking at a weekend conference by Torah U'Mesorah, an Orthodox educational group from New York, at his National Doral club in Miami, Trump claimed to be 'the best ally' the Jewish people 'have ever had.'... Trump spent most of his 30-minute speech -- posted on YouTube -- citing a recent article by Rabbi Doy Fischer, detailing 'the things I have done for my Jewish friends and the Jewish people, and for Israel.' He earned the biggest round of applause when he mentioned his commutation of the jail sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, a kosher meat executive who was found guilty in 2009 of 86 counts of bank fraud and sentenced to 27 years in prison in December 2017. Rubashkin, whom Trump referred to as 'the rabbi from Iowa' even though he was not a rabbi, had become a cause célèbre in some parts of the Orthodox community."(Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kyle Cheney, et al., of Politico: "A federal judge revealed Friday that earlier this year she granted Justice Department investigators access to emails between three Trump-connected attorneys and Rep. Scott Perry as part of the federal investigation into election subversion efforts by the former president and others. At the request of DOJ, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell unsealed a June opinion in which she determined that 37 emails sent among Trump-era Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, his aide Ken Klukowski and conservative attorney John Eastman and Perry (R-Pa.) -- another top Donald Trump ally who chairs the House Freedom Caucus -- were not protected by attorney-client privilege.... Howell also unsealed a second opinion, issued in September, in which she determined that 331 documents from Clark -- whom Trump nearly installed as acting attorney general as part of his bid to seize a second term -- were similarly not protected by attorney-client privilege." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Among the documents were 331 drafts of [Jeffrey] Clark's autobiography outline, which he had saved in his Google account, according to a court filing.... Earlier this year, Clark declined to answer questions to several investigative teams, citing his Fifth Amendment rights, and had marked on his autobiography drafts that they were attorney work-product, implying he wanted them to remain confidential.... Six chapters were about the 2020 election, Howell's opinion added." MB: According to the Politico story linked above, "The outline included a description of a pivotal Jan. 3, 2021, meeting between Trump and senior DOJ officials where almost the entire top echelon of the department threatened to resign if the then-president put Clark in charge." MB: He wrote an autobiography subject to attorney-client privilege? Bizarre. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

"Patriotic" Insurrectionist. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A Tennessee man already facing charges of assaulting a police officer during the storming of the Capitol last year was charged on Friday with plotting to assassinate several of the federal agents who had investigated him and to attack the F.B.I.'s field office in Knoxville, Tenn. The plot by the man, Edward Kelley, 33, of Maryville, Tenn., was foiled this week by a witness who cooperated with the authorities and recorded him and a co-conspirator, Austin Carter, 26, of Knoxville, according to court papers filed in the case. Mr. Kelley and Mr. Carter were charged with conspiracy, retaliating against a federal official, interstate communication of a threat and solicitation to commit a crime of violence. Both men were denied bail at a hearing on Friday in Federal District Court in Knoxville, the Justice Department said." Read on.

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A self-described 'poster boy' for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot who led a mob pursuit of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman was sentenced Friday to five years in prison after a judge said he led events that could have caused mass bloodshed. Douglas Jensen, 43, of Des Moines became one of the most recognized riot participants in widely shared video showing him wearing a black QAnon 'Eagle' T-shirt and leading a crowd following Goodman up two flights of stairs inside the Capitol while searching for the evacuated Senate chamber.... U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly ... noted that Jensen traveled to Washington with others carrying military-style rifles, was one of the first 10 people who breached the Capitol and 'waved on' and encouraged others to join him." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Michael Brice-Saddler of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Senate late Thursday confirmed seven judges to D.C.'s local courts, a move that partly addresses a spate of judicial vacancies that District officials, in recent appeals directly to Congress and the White House, said was causing significant slowdowns in the city's justice system.... Because D.C. is not a state, Congress can decide what authorities D.C. can have, and in the case of its judicial system, it has almost none. The city must rely on the president to nominate judges to its local court system and the Senate to confirm them. But the Senate has routinely allowed the nominations to languish, at times using the judges as political bargaining chips...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Tania Ganguli of the New York Times: Brittney "Griner, an American basketball star, on Friday left the military base in San Antonio where she spent the eight days since her release from imprisonment in Russia. She said on Instagram that she planned to spend the holidays at home [in Phoenix, Arizona,] with her family and that she would play basketball for her Mercury when the W.N.B.A. season begins in May.

The Lord Taketh Away & the Lord Giveth Back. Yan Zhuang of the New York Times: "Elon Musk said Twitter was reinstating the accounts of several journalists whose accounts were suspended after he had accused them of violating the social media platform's rules on personal privacy. Mr. Musk reinstated most of the accounts, which had been deactivated on Thursday, after a majority of respondents in his informal Twitter survey voted that the suspensions should be lifted immediately.... By the early hours of Saturday, most of the accounts had been reinstated. But the @ElonJet account was still suspended, as was the account of Keith Olbermann, a former MSNBC and ESPN host, and that of Linette Lopez, a Business Insider columnist whose work covering Mr. Musk&'s businesses in recent years had included documenting alleged manufacturing issues at Tesla." The Guardian's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Elon Picks Up His Audio Toy & Goes Home. Matt Novak of Gizmodo: "Twitter Spaces, the audio feature that allows people to participate in group chats using the social media platform, has been disabled and it's not clear whether it will ever return. The move comes after Elon Musk joined a group chat hosted by BuzzFeed reporter Katie Notopoulos on Thursday night, where the Twitter CEO spoke incoherently about his new rules around what the billionaire called 'doxxing.'... Musk ... left [the conversation] because he was flustered by getting asked real questions, rather than the more typical Twitter Space conversation where far-right Twitter users tell him how great he is.... Musk has recently claimed that someone was stalking his 2-year-old son, even posting a video of someone he claimed had stopped his car, and has tried to suggest this was a direct result of the ElonJets account[, which used publicly-available information to track the locations of private jets]. But open-source intelligence researchers have located where the video was taken, noting it was nowhere near an airport and roughly a day later than any flight by Musk's private jet." ~~~

~~~ Marie: I checked my translations dictionary and found out "elon" is Afrikaans for "thin-skinned." (More obviously, "musk" is Afrikaans for "bloated stinkbomb."

"Noam Scheiber of the New York Times: "The union organizing Starbucks workers declared a strike at dozens of stores on Friday, the latest escalation in its campaign to secure a labor contract. The strike is intended to last for three days at many of the stores, according to Workers United, the union representing the workers. It follows a one-day strike at roughly 100 stores last month. Workers involved in the strike say they are protesting the company's slow pace of bargaining and its recent closing of unionized stores, including one near Broadway and Denny Way in Seattle. They also complain about understaffing and cuts to their hours." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Pandemic, Etc., Ctd.

Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times: "Updated booster shots have bolstered Americans' defenses against serious Covid, reducing the risk of hospitalization by roughly 50 percent compared with certain groups inoculated with the original vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in a pair of studies published on Friday. The research represents the agency's first look at how the reformulated boosters, tailored to protect against recent Omicron variants, are performing in the prevention of severe consequences of infection with the virus, including emergency department visits and hospitalizations."

Akilah Johnson of the Washington Post: "As the coronavirus pandemic approaches its third full winter, two studies reveal an uncomfortable truth: The toxicity of partisan politics is fueling an overall increase in mortality rates for working-age Americans. In one study, researchers concluded that people living in more-conservative parts of the United States disproportionately bore the burden of illness and death linked to covid-19. The other, which looked at health outcomes more broadly, found that the more conservative a state's policies, the shorter the lives of working-age people. The reasons are many, but, increasingly, it is state -- and not just federal -- policies that have begun to shape the economic, family, environmental and behavioral circumstances that affect people's well-being. Some states have expanded their social safety nets, raising minimum wages and offering earned income tax credits while using excise taxes to discourage behaviors -- such as smoking -- that have deleterious health consequences. Other states have moved in the opposite direction." See Akhilleus's comment below.

Amy Walker of the New York Times: "R.S.V., or respiratory syncytial virus, has made so many young children ill this fall that weekly pediatric hospitalizations for R.S.V. are the highest recorded. Influenza, which normally peaks in February, has driven up hospitalization rates to the highest level for this time of year in more than a decade, surpassing hospitalizations from Covid-19. And while Covid illness is lower than it was the last two Decembers, it, too, is climbing. Public health officials have been warning for weeks that a 'tripledemic' of Covid-19, flu and R.S.V. would strain an already weary health care system. Hospitalizations from the three viruses have been rising together. Nationally, R.S.V. appears to have peaked, and flu is peaking in a few parts of the country, but infections from the two viruses are expected to plateau at high levels."

Beyond the Beltway

Georgia. All the Best People. Wayne Ford of the Athens Banner-Herald: “A longtime businessman in Barrow County who was elected unopposed in November to the state House Representative in District 116 was arrested Thursday after authorities said he burglarized a residence at a Winder retirement complex where he works. Daniel E. Rampey, 67, of Statham was arrested at Magnolia Estates of Winder Assisted Living Center, where his political website shows he has managed its operation for the past 38 years. Rampey, a Republican, was scheduled to take office on Jan. 9, 2023. In the Republican Primary, he defeated Marcus Ray by receiving nearly 83% of the vote.... 'We had a couple of instances of him on video taking the items and today we had one as well. We actually filmed him going into the residence and taking the items,' Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said. The stolen drugs involved prescription narcotics, Smith said."

Illinois. Mitch Smith & Julie Bosman of the New York Times: "Prosecutors in suburban Chicago charged the father of a man accused of killing seven people at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., with felonies on Friday, claiming that he acted recklessly when he signed onto his son's application for a gun ownership permit. The seven counts of reckless conduct filed against the father, Robert Crimo Jr., mark at least the second time in recent years that a parent of an accused mass killer has faced charges for their actions leading up to the attack, and it could signal increased willingness by prosecutors to seek punishment for family members who may have ignored warning signs or provided access to weapons." A CBS News/AP story is here.

North Carolina. Eugene Scott, et al., of the Washington Post: "The North Carolina Supreme Court on Friday struck down a state voter identification law, ruling that Republican lawmakers acted unconstitutionally to minimize Democratic voters' power with a law that intentionally discriminated against Black voters.... Senate Bill 824 required every voter to present one of a few specific forms of photo identification, a measure the justices ruled was passed in part to discriminate against Black voters.... The state Supreme Court also upheld a lower court's earlier ruling that congressional districts drawn by state legislators "fell short of constitutional standards." The decision also overturned a lower court's decision to approve state Senate districts that also were drawn by state lawmakers."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefings of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Water supplies returned to residents of Ukraine's capital on Saturday and the metro system resumed, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, and the city began to recover from a barrage of Russian missile strikes Friday, pummeling critical infrastructure. A third of people in Kyiv remain without energy and emergency power shutdowns were scheduled, he added. Damaged cities -- including Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava and Dnipro -- reported power outages after the strikes.... A protective shield is being installed over spent nuclear waste at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, a Russian-installed official, Vladimir Rogov, said Saturday on Telegram. The 'protective dome' will stop the hazardous waste from being targeted by drones or missile strikes, he said.... CIA assesses that Russia is unlikely to enter 'a real negotiation' to end the war, said director William J. Burns.... The CIA sees the tempo of fighting in Ukraine slowing amid the onset of winter, Burns told PBS.

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

Michael Schwirtz, et al., of the New York Times on why Putin is losing the war against Ukraine: "Putin associates said he spiraled into self-aggrandizement and anti-Western zeal, leading him to make the fateful decision to invade Ukraine in near total isolation, without consulting experts who saw the war as pure folly.... The Russian military, despite Western assumptions about its prowess, was severely compromised, gutted by years of theft.... Once the invasion began, Russia squandered its dominance over Ukraine through a parade of blunders.... Stretched thin by its grand ambitions, Russia seized more territory than it could defend, leaving thousands of square miles in the hands of skeleton crews of underfed, undertrained and poorly equipped fighters.... Mr. Putin divided his war into fiefs, leaving no one powerful enough to challenge him.... [The military were inflexible & lacked agility to respond timely to changing situations.... The Wagner group] became one of Mr. Putin's shadow armies in Ukraine, often acting as a rival to the Russian military." A very long piece with many specifics.

Peru. Mitra Taj of the New York Times: "The death toll in protests that have convulsed Peru rose above 20 on Friday, with tensions centered in the highland city of Ayacucho, where eight people were killed in clashes between anti-government demonstrators and military officers. The demonstrations and ensuing violence have hampered efforts by the new president, Dina Boluarte, to establish control over the country, with two ministers in her government resigning on Friday and protesters in the streets chanting 'Dina! Murderer!' Despite authorizing the military to help restore order this week, Ms. Boluarte has struggled to contain the violent protests sparked by the abrupt downfall of her democratically elected predecessor, Pedro Castillo, who tried to illegally seize control of Congress and the courts last week. The protests have shuttered regional airports, choked off roads across large swaths of the country, and resulted in curfews being imposed on several provinces."

U.K. Adam Taylor of the Washington Post: "A prominent British royal aide who resigned from her role at Buckingham Palace after asking a Black British charity director where she was 'really from' has met with the activist to apologize and pledged to learn from the incident, according to a joint announcement released on Friday. Lady Susan Hussey, 83, who was a long-standing lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II and godmother to royal heir Prince William, met with Ngozi Fulani, a British activist and chief executive of domestic abuse charity Sistah Space, on Friday at Buckingham Palace, where she apologized. Hussey 'pledged to deepen her awareness of the sensitivities involved and is grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the issues in this area,' according to the statement, which noted that Fulani had 'unfairly received the most appalling torrent of abuse on social media and elsewhere.' Fulani accepted the apology and said 'that no malice was intended.'" MB: Fulani is one gracious woman.

December 16, 2022

Afternoon Update:

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday instructed federal prosecutors to end sentencing disparities in cases involving the distribution of crack and powder cocaine after decades of law enforcement policy disproportionately treating crack offenders more punitively. Garland's move effectively seeks to eliminate the significant difference in the amount of powder cocaine relative to crack cocaine that is required to be in a suspect's possession to trigger mandatory minimum federal sentences if convicted. Critics of the longtime policy have said it is a relic of the Washington's misguided war-on-drugs era that targeted Black and Brown communities, resulted in overpopulated prisons and strained federal and local resources at the expense of more effective strategies."

Kyle Cheney & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "The Jan. 6 select committee is preparing to vote on urging the Justice Department to pursue at least three criminal charges against ... Donald Trump, including insurrection. The report that the select panel is expected to consider on Monday afternoon, described to Politico by two people familiar with its contents, reflects some recommendations from a subcommittee that evaluated potential criminal referrals. Among the charges that subcommittee proposes for Trump: 18 U.S.C. 2383, insurrection; 18 U.S.C. 1512(c), obstruction of an official proceeding; and 18 U.S.C. 371, conspiracy to defraud the United States government. It's unclear whether the select committee's final report will recommend additional charges for Trump beyond the three described to Politico, or whether it will urge other criminal charges for other players in Trump's bid to subvert his 2020 loss. The document, according to the people familiar, includes an extensive justification for the recommended charges."

Kyle Cheney, et al., of Politico: "A federal judge revealed Friday that earlier this year she granted Justice Department investigators access to emails between three Trump-connected attorneys and Rep. Scott Perry as part of the federal investigation into election subversion efforts by the former president and others. At the request of DOJ, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell unsealed a June opinion in which she determined that 37 emails sent among Trump-era Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, his aide Ken Klukowski and conservative attorney John Eastman and Perry (R-Pa.) -- another top Donald Trump ally who chairs the House Freedom Caucus -- were not protected by attorney-client privilege.... Howell also unsealed a second opinion, issued in September, in which she determined that 331 documents from Clark -- whom Trump nearly installed as acting attorney general as part of his bid to seize a second term -- were similarly not protected by attorney-client privilege." ~~~

     ~~~ Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Among the documents were 331 drafts of [Jeffrey] Clark's autobiography outline, which he had saved in his Google account, according to a court filing.... Earlier this year, Clark declined to answer questions to several investigative teams, citing his Fifth Amendment rights, and had marked on his autobiography drafts that they were attorney work-product, implying he wanted them to remain confidential.... Six chapters were about the 2020 election, Howell's opinion added." MB: According to the Politico story linked above, "The outline included a description of a pivotal Jan. 3, 2021, meeting between Trump and senior DOJ officials where almost the entire top echelon of the department threatened to resign if the then-president put Clark in charge." This is all pretty bizarre.

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A self-described 'poster boy' for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot who led a mob pursuit of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman was sentenced Friday to five years in prison after a judge said he led events that could have caused mass bloodshed. Douglas Jensen, 43, of Des Moines became one of the most recognized riot participants in widely shared video showing him wearing a black QAnon 'Eagle' T-shirt and leading a crowd following Goodman up two flights of stairs inside the Capitol while searching for the evacuated Senate chamber.... U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly ... noted that Jensen traveled to Washington with others carrying military-style rifles, was one of the first 10 people who breached the Capitol and 'waved on' and encouraged others to join him."

Michael Brice-Saddler of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Senate late Thursday confirmed seven judges to D.C.'s local courts, a move that partly addresses a spate of judicial vacancies that District officials, in recent appeals directly to Congress and the White House, said was causing significant slowdowns in the city's justice system.... Because D.C. is not a state, Congress can decide what authorities D.C. can have, and in the case of its judicial system, it has almost none. The city must rely on the president to nominate judges to its local court system and the Senate to confirm them. But the Senate has routinely allowed the nominations to languish, at times using the judges as political bargaining chips...."

Noam Scheiber of the New York Times: "The union organizing Starbucks workers declared a strike at dozens of stores on Friday, the latest escalation in its campaign to secure a labor contract. The strike is intended to last for three days at many of the stores, according to Workers United, the union representing the workers. It follows a one-day strike at roughly 100 stores last month. Workers involved in the strike say they are protesting the company's slow pace of bargaining and its recent closing of unionized stores, including one near Broadway and Denny Way in Seattle. They also complain about understaffing and cuts to their hours."

Filthy Lucre. Cam Thompson of Coin Desk: "... Donald Trump's non-fungible token (NFT) digital trading card collection sold out early Friday, the day after its initial release. According to data from OpenSea, at time of writing [12/16 @11:22 am ET], the collection's trading volume is 900 ETH, or about $1.08 million. Its floor price is about 0.19 ETH, or about $230 -- more than double the original price of $99. Some tokens are selling for much higher prices. The one-of-ones, the rarest of the NFTs, which comprise 2.4% of the 45,000 unit collection (roughly 1,000), are selling for as much as 6 ETH at the time of writing. One of these rare trading cards, of the 45th president standing in front of the Statue of Liberty holding a torch, is currently listed at 20 ETH, or about $24,000."

Jacob Kornbluh of the Forward: "... Donald Trump didn't mention his dinner with two prominent antisemites figures last month in an address to a Jewish group Friday morning, his first public speech since the controversy ensued. But speaking at a weekend conference by Torah U'Mesorah, an Orthodox educational group from New York, at his National Doral club in Miami, Trump claimed to be 'the best ally' the Jewish people 'have ever had.'... Trump spent most of his 30-minute speech -- posted on YouTube -- citing a recent article by Rabbi Doy Fischer, detailing 'the things I have done for my Jewish friends and the Jewish people, and for Israel.' He earned the biggest round of applause when he mentioned his commutation of the jail sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, a kosher meat executive who was found guilty in 2009 of 86 counts of bank fraud and sentenced to 27 years in prison in December 2017. Rubashkin, whom Trump referred to as 'the rabbi from Iowa' even though he was not a rabbi, had become a cause célèbre in some parts of the Orthodox community."

Anjali Singhgi, et al., of the New York Times have created (a somewhat cumbersome-to-navigate, IMO) graphic demonstration of how close random guests came to classified documents Donald Trump & his aides had stored at Mar-a-Lardo. They stashed many docs in a not-very-secure closet. "Photos from some of these events show the arched doors [leading from a public outdoor patio surrounding the pool to the storage area] being partially or fully open, suggesting that guests may have had access to the storage area.... Federal agents seized documents, including ones labeled as 'Top Secret,' from a small room within the storage area, a space where cleaning supplies, beach chairs and umbrellas were also kept." ~~~

     ~~~ The article also shows photos of many, many guests at fundraisers & such milling near the storage area. There are also photos of guests, some of them foreigners & some as sleazy as Kyle Rittenhouse & Lauren Boebert, standing around Trump's office where he stashed other classified documents. "The staircase leading to the office has no obvious permanent barriers. The Times found photos that show people roaming freely nearby." The office is right off a ballroom, which hosts various events packed with guests. "It is unclear what additional security separates ballroom guests from Mr. Trump's office."

~~~~~~~~~~

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The Senate on Thursday gave final approval to an $858 billion military policy bill that would rescind the Pentagon's mandate that troops receive the coronavirus vaccine, defying President Biden's objections and sending to his desk a bill that paved the way for a massive increase in spending on the military. The vote was 83 to 11, an overwhelmingly bipartisan margin that reflected support in both parties for boosting the Pentagon's budget by $45 billion over Mr. Biden's request, as lawmakers in both parties argued that the protracted war in Ukraine and an emboldened China had changed the nation's security posture. With Republicans set to take control of the House in January, it essentially locked in the kind of large boost to the military budget that Mr. Biden and many Democrats had sought to avoid while they had unified control of government. Negotiated by Democrats and Republicans in both chambers, the legislation would grant a 4.6 percent raise to military personnel, and provide $800 million in new security aid to Ukraine and billions to Taiwan. It includes changes sought by lawmakers to the military's policy for handling sexual assault cases, a major victory that its proponents had labored for years to secure." The Guardian's report is here. ~~~

~~~ Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "The House on Thursday passed a bill that would allow Puerto Ricans to decide their future governing status, a long-sought goal on the island territory. The vote was 233-to-191, with 16 Republicans breaking ranks and joining Democrats in backing the measure. The legislation would authorize a vote in Puerto Rico to chose whether to become a state, an independent nation, or a country 'in free association with the United States.' The island has been a territory since 1898, and residents there were granted citizenship in 1917. The White House signaled its strong support for the bill earlier Thursday, but the measure is unlikely to make it through the Senate, where 60 votes would be required for it to advance, by the end of the year. And prospects for passage in the House next year, with Republicans in control, are significantly diminished." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In case it's slipped your mind that the Great American Grifter was once the Worst U.S. President* Ever: when I was looking for a "free" story about the House vote on Puerto Rico, I came upon a 2018 AP story with this headline: Donald Trump: "Absolute no" on statehood for Puerto Rico."

Another Plan to Save "Dreamers" (Etc.) Fails. Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News: "Negotiations in the Senate to forge a bipartisan compromise on U.S. immigration and border policy failed to gain enough traction to pass before the end of this session of Congress, dooming yet another effort to reform a system that has not been updated in decades, congressional officials familiar with the matter told CBS News. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, an independent who until last week was a Democrat, and GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina had been discussing a potential deal that would have included the legalization of a subset of the millions of unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S., as well as certain measures aimed at reducing illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border. But Sinema and Tillis did not strike a deal that would have been able to secure the necessary 60 votes in the evenly divided Senate during the lame-duck session...."

Shane Harris of the Washington Post: "Beginning in late January 2020, U.S. intelligence agencies reported to senior Trump administration officials that the coronavirus spreading in China threatened to become a pandemic and spark a global health crisis. But then-President Trump's public statements over the next two months 'did not reflect the increasingly stark warnings coursing through intelligence channels,' including the president's daily brief, available to Trump and senior members of his administration, according to a report issued Thursday by the House Intelligence Committee.... [The report,] written by the Democrats..., broadly praises the work of intelligence analysts for providing early warning about the virus for policymakers. But the report also faulted the intelligence community for not being better prepared to provide comprehensive early warning based on exclusive intelligence." Politico's report, by Erin Banco, puts the onus of failure on the intelligence community. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The trouble is, as long as at least some parts of the government apparatus are not accommodating a crisis, there is little individual Americans can do about it. Had you called your office on Feb. 1, 2020, and said you'd be working from home on account of the pandemic, your boss would have fired you, And if you couldn't pay the rent, you & the kiddies would have been out on the street on a cold winter's night. An early public warning from an obscure intelligence unit, even if it received a bit of press attention, would have done nothing to avert the coming pandemic, what with Trump & Co. pretending a catastrophic health crisis wasn't in the offing.

Michael Levelson & Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "The federal government on Thursday released a fresh trove of documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a turning point in American history and the subject of persistent conspiracy theories, despite the official government conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, shot him to death. Historians and researchers said they were just beginning to comb through the 13,173 documents containing newly released information, hoping they might shed further light on one of the most closely scrutinized murders in recent history and on the government's actions before and after it. The documents included records relating to Oswald's trip to Mexico City several weeks before Kennedy's assassination in 1963; Oswald's trip to Finland in 1959, the year he defected to the Soviet Union; and images of his Cuban visa application. Some of the documents -- including one about Operation Mongoose, a covert government campaign to rid Cuba of Fidel Castro -- included redactions. Many of the documents had been released previously but now have fewer redactions or none at all, researchers said."; An NBC News story is here.

Kevin Collier of NBC News: "A former Twitter employee found guilty of spying on users on behalf of the Saudi royal family has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Ahmad Abouammo, a dual U.S.-Lebanese citizen who helped oversee media partnerships for Twitter in the Middle East and North Africa, was part of a scheme to acquire the personal information of users, including phone numbers and birth dates, for a Saudi government agent. He was sentenced Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The Justice Department has said it believes that another former Twitter employee accused of accessing user accounts and a man accused of helping the Saudi government with the scheme have fled to Saudi Arabia to evade American authorities. The Saudi government severely penalizes anti-government expression on social media sites like Twitter."

Kris Rhim of the New York Times: "The N.C.A.A., which has struggled to govern the shifting landscape of college sports amid rapid changes involving endorsement deals, large media contracts and conference realignment, on Thursday named Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts as the organization's next president. Baker, a Republican, has been the governor of Massachusetts since 2015, with his second term ending in January. He will take over as president of the N.C.A.A. in March 2023. Baker will replace Mark Emmert, who will serve as a consultant to the N.C.A.A. until June 2023. Baker has some familiarity with college sports. He played basketball at Harvard, including eight games for the varsity team in the 1977-78 season. His wife, Lauren, was a gymnast at Northwestern, and their two sons played Division III football." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) An ESPN report is here.

Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post lists 2022's top Pinocchio prizes.

Rich Guys Behaving Badly

Michael Bender & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump's political opponents have long criticized him as something of a cartoon character. On Thursday, the former president made himself into one -- but with the aim of turning a profit. In his first significant public move since opening his 2024 presidential campaign last month, Mr. Trump announced an online store to sell $99 digital trading cards of himself as a superhero, an astronaut, an Old West sheriff and a series of other fantastical figures. He made his pitch in a brief, direct-to-camera video in which he audaciously declared that his four years in the White House were 'better than Lincoln, better than Washington.'... But Mr. Trump's campaign won't earn any money from the digital cards, which he describes as akin to baseball cards but are actually nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, that effectively allow a person to claim ownership of a digital file. Money from the digital cards will instead be pocketed by Mr. Trump under a licensing deal.... Mr. Trump's direct pitch for the trading cards underscored how secondary his campaign for president has seemed to his personal efforts over the last month." A related Guardian story is here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: I am really, really sad I had to be away all morning because -- oh nos! -- I missed Trump's Major Announcement! ~~~

Remember, Christmas is coming, and this makes a great Christmas gift. -- Donald Trump, in a video accompanying the Major Announcement ~~~

Pretty sure he meant "great Christmas grift." He's not that good at reading a teleprompter. -- Marie

     ~~~ Eileen Connelly of Yahoo! News: "The reveal Thursday morning came after Trump teased a 'major] announcement' on his Truth Social platform Wednesday. The post had fans and critics speculating that he was going to announce a running mate for his third campaign for president or perhaps even drop out as he sags in early polls." But no! "... Trump on Thursday revealed a new foray into NFT sales, sharing a website that offers a series of what he called 'digital trading cards' for $99 each. On a website called CollectTrumpCards.com, the 45th president is selling a series of artworks featuring likenesses of himself depicted as a superhero with laser eyes, an astronaut, a John Wayne-like cowboy and a golfer -- along with, of course, a dark-suited Trump surrounded by gold bars.... Trump's launch comes at a time when the NFT market has stagnated, with prices dropping 97% since the start of the year.(I really cannot stress enough how bad the Photoshopping is here.) (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Thanks to RAS & others for reminding me what a loser I am for not being right on top of Trump's exciting Major Announcement. I was surprised this Major Announcement wasn't the banner headline on the NYT. Maybe the Times reporters extended their one-day strike just to fix Trump.

Joe Mocks TFG:

I had some MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS the last couple of weeks, too…

✔️ Inflation’s easing
✔️ I just signed the Respect for Marriage Act
✔️ We brought Brittney Griner home
✔️ Gas prices are lower than a year ago
✔️ 10,000 new high-paying jobs in Arizona

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 15, 2022

     ~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post expends a whole post mocking Trump's latest enterprise: "(I really cannot stress enough how bad the Photoshopping is here.)" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: All in all, you have to concede that it's better for a disgraced, twice-impeached former president* to go back to being a cheesy carnival huckster than to being a racist, misogynist Nazi who hangs out with fellow Nazis. So the NFT grift is, in its way, a step up for this pathetic guy.

I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means. -- Elon Musk, April 2022 ~~~

~~~ Elon Escalates His "Absolute Free Speech" Rampage. Mike Isaac & Kate Conger of the New York Times: "Twitter suspended the accounts of roughly half a dozen prominent journalists on Thursday, the latest change by the social media service under ... Elon Musk. The accounts suspended included Ryan Mac of The New York Times; Drew Harwell of The Washington Post; Aaron Rupar, an independent journalist; Donie O'Sullivan of CNN; Matt Binder of Mashable; Tony Webster, an independent journalist; Micah Lee of The Intercept; and the political journalist Keith Olbermann. It was unclear what the suspensions had in common; each user's Twitter page included a message that said it suspended accounts that 'violate the Twitter rules.' The moves came a day after Twitter suspended more than 25 accounts that tracked the planes of government agencies, billionaires and high-profile individuals, including that of Mr. Musk.... Many of the accounts were operated by Jack Sweeney, a 20-year-old college student.... After his suspension from Twitter, Mr. Sweeney turned to Mastodon, an alternative social network. After Mastodon used Twitter to promote Mr. Sweeney's new account on Thursday, Twitter suspended Mastodon's account. As some journalists shared the news of Mastodon's suspension, their own accounts were suspended." ~~~

     ~~~ Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "... Elon Musk accused the reporters of posting 'basically assassination coordinates' for him and his family.... Musk suggested on Twitter, without evidence, that the journalists had revealed private information about his family, known as doxxing.... 'It's impossible to square Twitter's free speech aspirations with the purging of critical journalists' accounts,' American Civil Liberties Union executive director Anthony D. Romero said in a statement.... [Thursday night, Musk] took a Twitter poll on when he should reinstate the accounts -- but restarted it after a plurality of respondents said he should do so immediately." Musk joined a Twitter chat with some journalists late Thursday but bailed out as the reporters confronted him with, well, facts. A Guardian report is here.

Beyond the Beltway

Ed Pilkington of the Guardian: "... in America [2022] was the year of the botched execution. In its annual review of US capital punishment, the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) reveals the astonishing statistic that 35% of the 20 execution attempts carried out this year were visibly problematic. Several were agonisingly drawn out as officials tried to secure a vein through which to inject lethal drugs, leading lawyers to describe the process as a form of torture. Others were carried out in violation of state protocols. Some went ahead even though there were defects in those protocols themselves." The New York Times report is here.

Louisiana. Rick Rojas & McKenna Oxenden of the New York Times: "More than three years after Ronald Greene died in the custody of the Louisiana State Police, five law enforcement officers were charged on Thursday in connection with the violent encounter captured on video, in which Mr. Greene, a Black man, was put in a chokehold and punched repeatedly by officers as he cried out for help. The charges -- which include a single count of negligent homicide for one of the five officers -- came from an indictment handed up by a state grand jury in Louisiana.... The charges are the first to emerge in a case that has mobilized activists and drawn widespread scrutiny of the state police, as an initial description of Mr. Greene resisting arrest after a high-speed chase was unraveled by body-camera footage." CNN's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A horror story from beginning to end. The charges described don't sound nearly severe enough, IMO. My favorite sentence in the report: "Colonel Davis said on Thursday that the case had already spurred 'fundamental improvements to our operations, training and administration' inside the state police." What? What? They're going to add a graf or two in some manual that says, "Don't bludgeon detainees to death" and "Don't repeatedly Tase detainees at close range"?

Massachusetts. But Can She Outmaneuver the Supremes? Stephanie Saul & Vimal Patel of the New York Times: "Harvard University announced on Thursday that its new president would be Claudine Gay, the dean of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She will be the first Black leader of Harvard, and the second woman to hold the position.... Dr. Gay will take office in July 2023, just as the university faces a pivotal Supreme Court decision that may force it to revise its longstanding admissions processes, which have been criticized for considering factors that favor white and wealthy candidates while also using affirmative action to bolster enrollment by Black and Hispanic students. As a proponent of increased diversity in hiring, as well as an expert o minority representation and political participation in government, Dr. Gay may be ideally suited to the task, supporters said." The Harvard Gazette's release is here.

Michigan. Eliza Fawcett of the New York Times: "Three men convicted of aiding a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan in 2020 were sentenced on Thursday to lengthy sentences that could put them in prison for at least seven years. The three men, Paul Bellar, 24, Joseph Morrison, 28, and Pete Musico, 45, were convicted in October of aiding a plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer, a Democrat, as part of a right-wing backlash over her role in the state's Covid restrictions. The men, all Michigan residents, were found guilty of providing material support for terrorist acts and illegal gang membership, as well as felony firearms charges. The trial was one in a series of cases that grew out of a sprawling domestic terrorism investigation into the kidnapping plot. Federal prosecutors have delivered mixed results, with some convictions and other acquittals. As a whole, the cases have been seen as underscoring the rising threat of political violence in America." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The AP's report is here.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here. The Guardian's live updates are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

Greg Miller, et al., of the Washington Post: The 200th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade combat unit was "... considered one of Russia's most formidable ... until it sent its best fighters and weapons to Ukraine this year and was effectively destroyed.... The brigade's collapse in part reflects the difficulty of its assignment in the war and the valiant performance of Ukraine's military. But a closer examination of the 200th shows that its fate was also shaped by many of the same forces that derailed Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion plans -- endemic corruption, strategic miscalculations and a Kremlin failure to grasp the true capabilities of its own military or those of its adversary. After months of ceding territory and losing thousands of troops, Putin is now trying to salvage his grandiose aims with an entire force that resembles the 200th: badly depleted, significantly demoralized, and backfilled with inexperienced conscripts."