June 6, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Alan Feuer & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the Proud Boys, and four other members of the far-right group were indicted on Monday for seditious conspiracy in connection with the storming of the Capitol last January, the most serious criminal charges to be brought in the Justice Department's sprawling investigation of the assault. The sedition charges against Mr. Tarrio and his co-defendants -- Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola -- came in an amended indictment that was unsealed in Federal District Court in Washington. The men had already been charged in an earlier indictment filed in March with conspiring to obstruct the certification of the 2020 presidential election, which took place during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.... A charge of seditious conspiracy requires prosecutors to prove that force was used either to overthrow the government or to interfere with the execution of federal law." NPR's report is here.

Ready for Prime Time: Mike Allen of Axios: "The House's Jan. 6 committee has turned to a renowned former network news executive to hone a mountain of explosive material into a captivating multimedia presentation for a prime-time hearing Thursday. James Goldston -- former president of ABC News, and a master documentary storyteller who ran 'Good Morning America' and 'Nightline' -- has joined the committee as an unannounced adviser, Axios has learned.... I'm told Goldston is busily producing Thursday's 8 p.m. ET hearing as if it were a blockbuster investigative special."

Emily Brooks of the Hill: "Right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos is working as an unpaid intern in the congressional office of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).... Yiannopoulos, who formerly worked at Breitbart, rose to prominence in the mid-2010s for his incendiary stances on feminism, Islam and other hot-button issues but fell out of public conversation after intense backlash. He was disinvited from the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2017 after a video circulated in which Yiannopoulos appeared to defend pedophilia. He was banned from Twitter in 2016 and from Facebook in 2019. Australia banned Yiannopoulos from entering the country in 2019 following comments he made about the Christchurch mass shooting at a New Zealand mosque. Last year, he announced that he is 'ex-gay.'" Yiannopoulos is a Brit, not an American citizen. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This could be a good thing. In December 2020, Yiannopoulos reportedly said he would devote "the rest of my life to the destruction of the Republican Party."

John Kruzel of the Hill: "The Supreme Court on Monday turned away an appeal by a St. Louis couple whose law licenses were sanctioned after they pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters near their home in the summer of 2020.... The couple -- Mark and Patricia McCloskey -- brandishing an assault-style rifle and pistol became a potent symbol of America's culture war, drawing widespread condemnation, as well as praise from President Trump and Republican lawmakers.... The court's denial of the McCloskeys' petition for appeal Monday came in an unsigned order without noted comment or dissent. The move leaves intact the disciplinary sanctions against the McCloskeys, which includes the possible indefinite suspension of their law licenses if they commit any violations over a one-year probationary period that began last February." MB: Trump liked them so much, he gave them a speaking spot, via video, at the 2020 Republican convention.

Oliver Darcy of CNN: "The Washington Post has suspended reporter David Weigel for one month without pay for retweeting a sexist joke, two people familiar with the matter told CNN on Monday.... Weigel apologized publicly last week for the retweet, saying he 'did not mean to cause any harm.'... Weigel's retweet was spotlighted publicly by his colleague, Felicia Sonmez, who recently had a discrimination lawsuit against the paper dismissed, a decision her attorney has said she plans to appeal. Sonmez sarcastically wrote on Twitter on Friday that it is 'fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed.' She attached a screen grab showing Weigel's retweet, which was of a tweet from YouTuber Cam Harless, who joked, 'Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it's polar or sexual.'" MB: Uh, not even funny. Did the Post suspend Weigel because his retweet was "inappropriate" or because the suspension would make them look better if Sonmez appeals the decision in her lawsuit? Newsrooms, in my experience, are hotbeds of sexism.

Arizona. Julian Mark of the Washington Post: "Sean Bickings pleaded for help as he struggled to stay afloat in a reservoir in Tempe, Ariz., late last month. But Tempe police officers watched without intervening as Bickings went underwater and did not come back up, according to city officials and a transcript of body-camera footage. 'I'm going to drown. I'm going to drown,' said Bickings, 34, according to a transcript of video from the May 28 incident released by city officials. 'Okay, I'm not jumping in after you,' an officer, identified as Officer 1 in the transcript, said moments later, after directing Bickings to grab onto a bridge.... Now, three Tempe police officers have been put on 'non-disciplinary paid administrative leave' as the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Scottsdale Police Department investigate the officers' response at the city of Tempe's request, city officials said."

U.K. Jill Lawless of the AP: "British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a no-confidence vote on Monday, securing enough support from his Conservative Party to remain in office despite a rebellion that leaves him a weakened leader with an uncertain future. Known for his ability to shrug off scandals, the charismatic leader has struggled to turn the page on revelations that he and his staff repeatedly held boozy parties that flouted the COVID-19 restrictions they imposed on others. Support among his fellow Conservative lawmakers has weakened as some see the leader, renowned for his ability to connect with voters, increasingly as a liability rather than an asset in elections. Johnson won the backing of 211 out of 359 Conservative lawmakers, more than the simple majority needed to remain in power, but still a significant rebellion of 148 MPs. With no clear front-runner to succeed him, most political observers had predicted he would defeat the challenge."

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Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Key senators said Sunday there is growing momentum to forge a bipartisan congressional response to recent mass shootings that could toughen federal gun laws for the first time in a generation. But a deal is not yet in hand, they warned, and the delicate talks are expected to continue for several more days as negotiators seek to garner enough Republican support to get a compromise bill through the Senate. Should an agreement come together, it is certain to fall well short of the parameters that President Biden laid out in a White House address on Thursday, when he called for renewing the federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004, as well as significantly expanding federal background checks for gun buyers and removing the firearms industry's immunity from lawsuits." MB: Yes, because one must treat Republicans "delicately." A related CNN story is here.

Ivana Saric of Axios: "... at least seven [mass shootings] have occurred over the weekend, resulting in the deaths of 11 people and injuries to 54 others." Saric runs down the incidents.

Arizona. Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "One of ... Donald Trump's hand-picked candidates is blaming mass shootings on Black people.... Blake Masters, a tech-bro and protégé to PayPal founder Peter Thiel, is taking a different turn to fix mass shootings. It's 'Black people, frankly,' the senate hopeful explained. He thinks that mass shootings are happening more frequently due to gang violence, which he associates with Black people. He told the Jeff Oravits Show that 'we do have a gun violence problem in this country, and it's gang violence.... It's people in Chicago, St. Louis shooting each other. Very often, you know, Black people, frankly,' Masters explained. 'And the Democrats don't want to do anything about that.'"

CBS News: Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) told CBS News' Robert Costa that the impetus for the Jan. 6 insurrection remains "a continuing threat." "'You know, we are not in a situation where former President Trump has expressed any sense of remorse about what happened,' Cheney said. 'We are in fact in a situation where he continues to use even more extreme language, frankly, than the language that caused the attack. And so, people must pay attention. People must watch, and they must understand how easily our democratic system can unravel if we don't defend it.'" She said the insurrection was part of a conspiracy: "It is extremely broad. It's extremely well-organized. It's really chilling."

** Along Came Trump. Bob Woodward & Carl Berstein in the Washington Post's Outlook: "As reporters, we had studied Nixon and written about him for nearly half a century, during which we believed with great conviction that never again would America have a president who would trample the national interest and undermine democracy through the audacious pursuit of personal and political self-interest. And then along came Trump.... In a deception that exceeded even Nixon's imagination, Trump and a group of lawyers, loyalists and White House aides devised a strategy to bombard the country with false assertions that the 2020 election was rigged and that Trump had really won. They zeroed in on the Jan. 6 session as the opportunity to overturn the election's result. Leading up to that crucial date, Trump's lawyers circulated memos with manufactured claims of voter fraud.... By legal definition [Trump's actions] is clearly sedition -- conduct, speech or organizing that incites people to rebel against the governing authority of the state. Thus, Trump became the first seditious president in our history." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

So Unfa-a-a-air! Taiyler Mitchell of Business Insider, via Yahoo! News: "Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, of Texas, said Friday that the Peter Navarro indictment points to 'a two-tiered justice system.' 'If you're a Republican, you can't even lie to Congress or lie to an FBI agent or they're coming after you,' Gohmert said during a Newsmax appearance.... 'They're gonna bury you. They're gonna put you in the DC jail and terrorize you and torture you,' the Texas official went on." Thanks to Patrick for the link. MB: I'm pretty much anti-torture, but if it's gotta happen, it couldn't happen to a more deserving person that Navarro. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Russia's bid to capture the key eastern city of Sievierodonetsk is faltering against a fierce Ukrainian counteroffensive that has reclaimed significant sections of the city.... Ukraine now controls 'large' parts of the city, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War reported.... If Sievierodonetsk falls, Russia and its local separatist allies would then capture all of Luhansk, one of two provinces in the industrial Donbas region. The other province, Donetsk, is already largely under Russian control.... Vladimir V. Putin maintained a confrontational stance on Sunday, issuing a thinly veiled threat that Russia would 'strike targets we haven't hit before' if the West were to continue supplying Ukraine with longer-range missiles." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "Britain said on Monday it will send Ukraine multiple-launch rocket systems that can strike targets up to 50 miles away, despite a threat from ... Vladimir Putin that Moscow would attack unspecified new targets if Ukraine was given longer-range weapons. The United States said last week it will send Ukraine rocket systems with a slightly shorter range than the systems to be sent by Britain.... Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops on the front lines in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, including in Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk, where officials accused Russia of shelling a humanitarian aid facility.... Rockets struck Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, for the first time in a month on Sunday. Russia claimed its missiles destroyed tanks and other armored vehicles sent to Ukraine by Eastern European allies, while Ukraine said the target was a railway repair facility. Ukraine's national soccer team lost an emotional game on Sunday, ending its World Cup dream after a dramatic war-delayed run that saw the country and its diaspora rally in support of the squad." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Monday are here.

Declan Walsh & Valerie Hopkins of the New York Times: "Russia has bombed, blockaded and plundered the grain production capacity of Ukraine, which accounts for one-tenth of global wheat exports, resulting in dire forecasts of increased hunger and of spiking food prices around the world. Now, the United States has warned that the Kremlin is trying to profit from that plunder by selling stolen wheat to drought-stricken countries in Africa, some facing possible famine. In mid-May, the United States sent an alert to 14 countries, mostly in Africa, that Russian cargo vessels were leaving ports near Ukraine laden with what a State Department cable described as 'stolen Ukrainian grain.' The cable identified by name three Russian cargo vessels it said were suspected of transporting it."

Jules Darmann of Politico: "Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to Serbia Monday has been canceled, Russia's state-run Interfaxpress agency reported Sunday, after neighboring countries reportedly closed their airspace to his plane. Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro had all banned Lavrov's plane from their airspace, Serbian newspaper Danas reported.... The three countries banned Russian flights from their airspace as the results of sanctions against Moscow, which has waged war on Ukraine."

Koreas, U.S. Kim Tong-Hyung of the AP: "The U.S. and South Korean militaries launched eight ballistic missiles into the sea Monday in a show of force matching a North Korean missile display a day earlier that extended a provocative streak in weapons demonstrations. The allies' live-fire exercise involved eight Army Tactical Missile System missiles -- one American and seven South Korean -- that were fired into South Korea's eastern waters across 10 minutes following notifications for air and maritime safety, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and U.S. Forces Korea."

Nigeria. Chinedu Asadu of the AP: "Gunmen opened fire on worshippers and detonated explosives at a Catholic church in southwestern Nigeria on Sunday, leaving dozens feared dead, state lawmakers said. The attackers targeted the St. Francis Catholic Church in Ondo state just as the worshippers gathered on Pentecost Sunday, legislator Ogunmolasuyi Oluwole said. Among the dead were many children, he said. The presiding priest was abducted as well, said Adelegbe Timileyin, who represents the Owo area in Nigeria's lower legislative chamber."

** U.K. The Party's Over. New York Times: "Conservative lawmakers dealt Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain a potentially lethal blow to his leadership on Monday when they triggered a no-confidence vote that could force him from power a little more than two years after his landslide election victory. The move, announced by Graham Brady, who heads a committee of Conservative lawmakers, followed several months of crisis and comes amid claims that Mr. Johnson misled Parliament about lockdown-breaking parties held at Downing Street at the height of a coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this year Mr. Johnson became the first serving prime minister to be fined by the police for breaking the law for attending a gathering to celebrate his birthday. And last month a report by the senior civil servant, Sue Gray, painted a lurid picture of lawbreaking parties in Downing Street where staff members drank into the early hours, damaged property and on occasion fought with each other." This is a liveblog. ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's story is here. The Guardian's liveblog is here.

U.K. Karla Adam of the Washington Post: "Queen Elizabeth II delighted crowds on Sunday with a surprise appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, closing out the celebrations on the final day of her jubilee. Wearing a bright green outfit, the queen smiled and waved at the crowds below. She stepped out alongside Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Prince William and his wife Kate, and their children George, Charlotte and Louis.... The queen was last seen in public on Thursday, the first day of celebrations during her record-breaking platinum jubilee.... The queen's Sunday appearance wasn't scheduled.... She still managed to be the star of a concert at the palace on Saturday night, where she featured in a filmed sketch with Paddington Bear." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ At long last, we find out why Queen Elizabeth carries a purse wherever she goes: ~~~

June 5, 2022

Afternoon Update:

** Along Came Trump. Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein in the Washington Post's Outlook: "As reporters, we had studied Nixon and written about him for nearly half a century, during which we believed with great conviction that never again would America have a president who would trample the national interest and undermine democracy through the audacious pursuit of personal and political self-interest. And then along came Trump.... In a deception that exceeded even Nixon's imagination, Trump and a group of lawyers, loyalists and White House aides devised a strategy to bombard the country with false assertions that the 2020 election was rigged and that Trump had really won. They zeroed in on the Jan. 6 session as the opportunity to overturn the election's result. Leading up to that crucial date, Trump's lawyers circulated memos with manufactured claims of voter fraud.... By legal definition [Trump's actions] is clearly sedition -- conduct, speech or organizing that incites people to rebel against the governing authority of the state. Thus, Trump became the first seditious president in our history."

So Unfa-a-a-air! Taiyler Mitchell of Business Insider, via Yahoo! News: "Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, of Texas, said Friday that the Peter Navarro indictment points to 'a two-tiered justice system.' 'If you're a Republican, you can't even lie to Congress or lie to an FBI agent or they're coming after you,' Gohmert said during a Newsmax appearance.... 'They're gonna bury you. They're gonna put you in the DC jail and terrorize you and torture you,' the Texas official went on." Thanks to Patrick for the link. MB: I'm pretty much anti-torture, but if it's gotta happen, it couldn't happen to a more deserving person that Navarro. If I go to D.C., I'll definitely carry my Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Democrat card, which should save me from terror & torture, should the FBI throw me in jail.

U.K. Karla Adam of the Washington Post: "Queen Elizabeth II delighted crowds on Sunday with a surprise appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, closing out the celebrations on the final day of her jubilee. Wearing a bright green outfit, the queen smiled and waved at the crowds below. She stepped out alongside Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Prince William and his wife Kate, and their children George, Charlotte and Louis.... The queen was last seen in public on Thursday, the first day of celebrations during her record-breaking platinum jubilee.... The queen's Sunday appearance wasn't scheduled.... She still managed to be the star of a concert at the palace on Saturday night, where she featured in a filmed sketch with Paddington Bear."

At long last, we find out why Queen Elizabeth carries a purse wherever she goes: ~~~

~~~~~~~~~~

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden was briefly evacuated Saturday from his beach home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., after a small private plane accidentally flew into restricted airspace, according to White House and Secret Service officials.... A White House official told reporters that Mr. Biden and the first lady were briefly evacuated and then returned to their residence.... Steve Kopek, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said that the plane entered restricted airspace shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday. 'The aircraft was immediately escorted out of the restricted airspace,' Mr. Kopek said in a statement. He did not provide more details, but several people in the area tweeted that they saw two military jets flying overhead around the same time." Politico's report is here.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. -- President Dwight Eisenhower, January 17, 1961

Ike Warned Us This Would Happen. Joyce Lee, et al., of the Washington Post: "As global attention focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, the Saudi-led coalition carried out more than 150 airstrikes on civilian targets in Yemen, including homes, hospitals and communication towers, according to the Yemen Data Project. It was the latest uptick in bombing during a grinding, and often overlooked, civil war that has upended the lives of Yemeni civilians for the better part of a decade and spawned one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises.... The devastating air campaign alone ... has killed nearly 15,000 people, according to conservative estimates.... Indiscriminate bombings have become a hallmark of the Yemen war.... New analysis by The Washington Post and Security Force Monitor at Columbia Law School's Human Rights Institute (SFM) provides the most complete picture yet of the depth and breadth of U.S. support for the Saudi-led air campaign, revealing that a substantial portion of the air raids were carried out by jets developed, maintained and sold by U.S. companies, and by pilots who were trained by the U.S. military." ~~~

     (~~~ Here's the text of Eisenhower's final speech as POTUS.)

Saving Pogo. Hamza Shaban of the Washington Post: "The Army Corps of Engineers is blocking a proposed strip mine for titanium set outside the fragile Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, reversing an earlier decision, after the project drew opposition from environmental groups and political leaders. Environmentalists and federal agencies had previously cited the harm that the mine would inflict on the wetlands. But after the Trump administration rolled back various regulations, millions of acres of wetlands were no longer subject to federal environmental oversight. Those rules, however, were thrown out by a federal judge last year, affording renewed protections to streams, marshes and wetlands. The Army Corps, a unit of the military, said in a memo Friday that the previous decision allowing the project to move ahead was no longer valid because the corps had failed to properly consult with tribal stakeholders."

Must-See TeeVee. Jacqueline Alemany, et al., of the Washington Post: "Almost a year after the formation of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, lawmakers are set to take their case public. On Thursday night, Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) and Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) will launch a series of televised hearings featuring a combination of live witnesses, pretaped interviews with figures that include Trump family members and previously unseen video footage." ~~~

~~~ Sarah Fortinsky of CNN: "Democratic Rep. David Cicilline said Saturday 'disturbing' new evidence would be presented at the upcoming January 6 committee hearings, stressing the significance of this upcoming process.... The select committee formally announced Thursday its first public hearing will take place on June 9 at 8 p.m. ET.... The first January 6 hearing will be a broad overview of the panel's 10-month investigation and set the stage for subsequent hearings, which are expected to cover certain topics or themes, sources previously told CNN."

Philip Bump of the Washington Post (June 3) has quite a good outline of the tense interactions of Trump & Pence over the June 6 certification. Bump bases his account on reporting from various "insider" journalists.

Quoctrung Bui, et al., of the New York Times: "If the key gun control proposals now being considered in Congress had been law since 1999, four gunmen younger than 21 would have been blocked from legally buying the rifles they used in mass shootings. At least four other assailants would have been subject to a required background check, instead of slipping through a loophole. Ten might have been unable to steal their weapons because of efforts to require or encourage safer gun storage. And 20 might not have been allowed to legally purchase the large-capacity magazines that they used to upgrade their guns, helping them kill, on average, 16 people each. Taken together, those four measures might have changed the course of at least 35 mass shootings -- a third of such episodes in the United States since the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado, a New York Times analysis has found. Those 35 shootings killed a combined 446 people.... But in a nation awash with guns, the majority of mass killings might have been unaffected -- either because assailants obtained their guns illegally or because they were older adults using weapons that wouldn't have been subject to any proposed restrictions. Another proposed measure, a ban on the sale of military-style semiautomatic guns known as assault weapons, could in theory have had greater impact." The article breaks out the incidents. ~~~

~~~ Eleanor Klibanoff of the Texas Tribune: "Major Republican donors, including some that have contributed to Gov. Greg Abbott's campaigns, joined other conservative Texans in signing an open letter supporting congressional action to increase gun restrictions in response to the mass shooting in Uvalde that left 19 children and two teachers dead last week. The letter, which is expected to run as a full-page ad in the Dallas Morning News on Sunday, endorses the creation of red flag laws, expanding background checks and raising the age to purchase a gun to 21. More than 250 self-declared gun enthusiasts signed it."

Vimal Patel of the New York Times: "Abbott Nutrition, the company that fueled a national shortage of baby formula when it shut down a leading production plant in February because of contamination concerns, said on Saturday that the site has restarted producing EleCare and other formulas. The restarting of the plant in Sturgis, Mich., which was the result of an agreement with the federal Food and Drug Administration, renewed hope that the formula shortage that has sent stressed parents scrambling would ease." The AP's report is here.

Beyond the Beltway

California. Alex Traub of the New York Times: "A former Air Force sergeant who participated online in an extremist anti-government movement was sentenced on Friday to 41 years in prison for murdering a federal security officer and injuring another outside a courthouse in Oakland, Calif., according to court documents. Steven Carrillo, who was on active duty at the time of the attack but has since been discharged from the military, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder of a government employee and attempted murder of a government employee. The murder took place on the night of May 29, 2020, during an intense period of protests focused on the killing of George Floyd, and that was by design, according to court documents. Mr. Carrillo aimed to heighten a period of civil unrest, with the ultimate goal of destroying the government, court documents said.... In the months leading up to the attack, according to court documents, Mr. Carrillo had espoused the extremist ideology found in internet forums known as the boogaloo movement, which calls for a second civil war and seeks the destruction of the government." A Law & Crime report is here.

New York. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "A 911 dispatcher has been fired after a Tops employee trapped inside the Buffalo supermarket during last month's mass shooting that killed 10 people said she was hung up on. The Erie County dispatcher was placed on administrative leave last month after Latisha Rogers, an assistant office manager at the Tops supermarket, told the Buffalo News and WGRZ that she called 911 and whispered to the dispatcher in hope of making the official aware of the mass shooting unfolding at the grocery store. But instead of assistance in a moment when she was 'scared for my life,' Rogers said the 911 dispatcher dismissed her in 'a very nasty tone.'... A county spokesman confirmed in a statement that a hearing took place Thursday, at which the dispatcher, whom the Buffalo News identified as Sheila E. Ayers, was terminated after eight years with Erie County's Central Police Services Department."

Wisconsin. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "A retired Wisconsin judge was shot and killed in his home on Friday in what the state attorney general [Josh Kaul (D)] described as a 'targeted act' against the judicial system by a man who also had several high-profile government officials as potential targets.... After nearly four hours of negotiations with the suspect, a tactical team entered the home where they found the 68-year-old man dead and zip-tied to a chair, according to WISN. While Kaul did not identify the victim, the Wisconsin Department of Justice confirmed in a Saturday news release that John 'Jack' Roemer, a retired circuit court judge in Juneau County, was killed in the attack. When police went to the basement, they found the suspect, Douglas K. Uhde, with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said. Uhde, 56, was transferred to a hospital and is believed to be in critical condition, Kaul said.... Zack Pohl, the deputy chief of staff for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), confirmed to The Washington Post that law enforcement notified the governor's office that Whitmer was on the Wisconsin suspect's list of potential targets.... Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) was also among those listed as potential targets for the Wisconsin suspect, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was also on a list found in the suspect's vehicle, WISN reported." ~~~

~~~ Aaron Keller of Law & Crime: "A Wisconsin man who killed a judge and then wounded himself Friday morning had been previously sentenced to serve nine years in prison by the same judge he attacked. That's according to statements by the Wisconsin Department of Justice and state court records. The case that connected alleged triggerman Douglas K. Uhde and Judge John Roemer was a burglary and weapons case which resulted in a legally awkward appeal, but Uhde's criminal history is much more complicated.... According to Wisconsin court records, Judge Roemer sentenced Uhde as part of a four-count case that commenced in August 2001 in Adams County. Uhde was charged in that matter with (1) burglary while armed with a dangerous weapon (a felony), (2) carrying a concealed weapon (a misdemeanor), (3) possessing a short-barreled shotgun or rifle (another felony), and (4) possessing a weapon as a previous felon (yet another felony). Roemer sentenced Uhde on Nov. 10, 2005." ~~~

~~~ In Case You Think Far-Right Conspiracy Theories Don't Matter. Jessica McBride of Heavy: "Douglas K. Uhde, the 56-year-old felon who is accused of murdering retired Wisconsin Judge John Roemer in his own home, urged people to vote for ... Donald Trump and advocated against gun confiscation on Facebook.... 'Make America great again, duct tape this lying b****'s mouth shut,' read a graphic Uhde shared in October 2016 that showed Hillary Clinton with duct tape over her mouth.... Uhde [posted] a now deleted YouTube video that warned of looming martial law and 'FEMA CAMPS.'... Other posts dealt with typical conservative foils like George Soros and expressed concern about gun confiscation."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "President Emmanuel Macron of France's assertion that Ukraine and its allies should refrain from humiliating Moscow to improve the possibility of a negotiated settlement touched off a fiery response from Kyiv. 'Calls to avoid humiliation of Russia can only humiliate France and every other country that would call for it,' Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said in a post on social media.... Ukraine and Russia exchanged the bodies of 320 soldiers in the Zaporizhizhia area. The operation took place on Thursday and followed a negotiated agreement to transfer the remains of soldiers on a one-to-one basis." ~~~

     ~~~ The Times' summary of Saturday's developments is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Sunday are here: "Ukraine and Russia are locked in an intense street-by-street fight for territory in the key eastern city of Severodonetsk and surrounding areas, as Kyiv's forces said they regained ground. While Moscow says Ukraine is suffering 'critical losses' and retreating, the Ukrainian counter-attacks are 'likely blunting the operational momentum Russian forces previously gained,' according to the latest assessment from Britain's Defense Ministry. Severodonetsk is one of the last cities standing in the way of Russia controlling the entire Luhansk region.... Kyiv and Moscow also traded barbs on Saturday over a fire that engulfed a towering wooden monastery in eastern Ukraine, with each side accusing the other of sparking the blaze.... Two districts in Kyiv were hit by missile strikes Sunday morning, leaving one person hospitalized, its mayor said.... Ukrainian investigators have exhumed more than 1,300 bodies of civilians in the Kyiv region as part of the nation's ongoing investigation into potential war crimes. The identities of more than 200 people found dead have not yet been determined." ~~~

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

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The United States prepared Saturday to launch a sprawling naval exercise in the Baltic Sea with Sweden, Finland and 13 NATO allies, a visible sign of an expanding partnership as Stockholm and Helsinki apply to join the military alliance following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Baltic Operations exercise involves more than 40 warships and has been held annually for decades, but will shift this year to include more involvement from Finland and Sweden, said Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He visited Stockholm on Saturday in a show of support for Sweden's membership bid, one day after a similar stop in Finland.... The new dynamic was evident as the 843-foot amphibious warship USS Kearsarge sat in a narrow waterway running through Stockholm while packed with attack helicopters and other aircraft and more than 2,000 U.S. Marines and sailors."

News Ledes

AP: "Tropical Storm Alex, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, formed Sunday morning in the Gulf of Mexico on a track to come ashore in southern Florida with heavy rains and gusty wind. National Hurricane Center forecasters said in a 5 a.m. advisory that Alex had sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph) and was located about 270 miles (435 kilometers) northeast of Fort Pierce, Florida. Parts of South Florida were experiencing road flooding from heavy rain and wind Saturday. Officials in Miami warned drivers about road conditions as many cars were stuck on flooded streets. 'This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation. Traveling during these conditions is not recommended. It's better to wait. Turn around, don't drown,' the city of Miami tweeted."

Saturday Night in America, Ctd. Washington Post: "Three people died and at least 11 others were injured in a shooting in Philadelphia late Saturday, authorities said. Shortly before midnight, police officers on patrol in a popular nightlife area heard gunfire and witnessed 'several active shooters' firing into a crowd, Inspector D.F. Pace of the Philadelphia Police Department said at a news conference early Sunday. An officer fired at one of the gunmen as he was shooting, but it was unclear whether the man was hit, Pace said. The man dropped his weapon and fled when he was fired upon, he said. The whereabouts of the shooters were not immediately known, he said." ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated: "Shootings overnight left six people dead in Philadelphia and Chattanooga, Tenn., continuing a spate of deadly gun attacks as Congress prepares to take up gun-control legislation.... [In Chattanooga,] three people were killed, two by gunshots and one after being struck by a vehicle.... The investigation was ongoing. 'Multiple shooters' were involved..., but police did not have anyone in custody."

Another Texas Massacre. Guardian: "Mark Collins had brought his four grandsons Waylon, Karson, Hudson and Bryson up to his ranch north-west of Houston on Thursday.... While Collins knew authorities had been looking in the general area for a convicted murderer with ties to a Mexican drug cartel who had broken free from a prison bus three weeks earlier, he may not have known that the fugitive had apparently burglarized a home next door to the ranch, according to family friend David Crain. And within hours of their arrival, Collins and his grandsons were dead at the hands of the escapee, 46-year-old Gonzalo Lopez, who stole guns, clothes and a truck from the ranch before police shot him dead more than 200 miles away.... Armed with an AR-15 rifle and a pistol that were apparently stolen from the Collins ranch, Lopez subsequently died in a shootout with police. No officers were wounded."

New York Times: "Ann Turner Cook, a retired schoolteacher..., died early Friday at her home in St. Petersburg, Fla., her family confirmed on Saturday. She was 95. Ms. Cook was the bona fide Gerber baby, the winner of a nationwide contest in 1928 that has since seen her portrait reproduced on billions of jars of baby food and other items sold round the world. In 1990, The New York Times described the sketch, by the artist Dorothy Hope Smith, as being 'among the world's most recognizable corporate logos.'"

June 4, 2022

Greg Cannella of CBS News: "President Biden on Friday responded to Elon Musk's recent doubts about the U.S. economy, saying he wished the Tesla CEO 'lots of luck on his trip to the moon.' According to Reuters, Musk said in an email to Tesla executives Thursday he has a 'super bad feeling' about the economy and he said in an email to employees Friday that he'll be cutting about 10% of workers."

Andrea Mitchell & Josh Lederman of NBC News: "President Joe Biden's planned visits to Saudi Arabia and Israel later this month have been postponed until July, several officials told NBC News on Friday. The White House is now planning a broader trip to the Middle East next month, sources said. 'We are working on a trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia for a GCC+3 Summit,' a senior administration official told NBC News. 'We are working to confirm dates. When we have something to announce, we will.'"

** It Couldn't Have Happened to a Bigger Jerk. Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Former Trump White House official Peter Navarro has been indicted on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress after refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the Justice Department announced Friday. Navarro, who was a trade adviser to Trump, also revealed he received a grand jury subpoena in a lawsuit he filed Tuesday against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the bipartisan House committee. Navarro, 72, is charged with one contempt count involving his refusal to appear for a deposition and another involving his refusal to produce documents to the committee, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Washington. The indictment was returned Thursday and unsealed Friday, and Navarro is to make his initial appearance this afternoon in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia." The Hill's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The DOJ's statement is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update: At 1:00 pm ET, MSNBC reports that Navarro "is in federal custody" & will appear in court t. MB: Perp walk, please. ~~~

     ~~~ Update 2: So, according to MSNBC, the reason the FBI decided to keep Navarro's indictment under seal Thursday and then to toss him in the slammer before his court appearance was that officials were concerned he was a flight risk & that he might destroy evidence. Sure enough, agents picked up Pete at the airport, & clapped him into cuffs & leg irons. Outstanding! MB: Lordy, I hope there is video. ~~~

We find the decision to reward Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino for their continued attack on the rule of law puzzling. Mr. Meadows and Mr. Scavino unquestionably have relevant knowledge about President Trump's role in the efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the events of Jan. 6. -- Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) & Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) ~~~

~~~ Alan Feuer & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "A federal grand jury on Friday indicted Peter Navarro, a White House adviser to ... Donald J. Trump, for failing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Capitol attack, even as the Justice Department declined to charge Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino Jr., two other top officials who have also refused to cooperate.... Prosecutors charged Mr. Navarro, 72, with what amounted to a misdemeanor process crime for having failed to appear for a deposition or provide documents to congressional investigators in response to a subpoena issued by the House committee on Feb. 9. The indictment includes two counts of criminal contempt of Congress that each carry a maximum sentence of a year in prison, as well as a fine of up to $100,000. The Justice Department has declined to take similar steps against Mr. Meadows, Mr. Trump's final chief of staff, and Mr. Scavino, the deputy chief of staff, according to people familiar with prosecutors' decision and a letter reviewed by The New York Times informing the top House counsel of it.... ~~~

~~~ "Mr. Navarro appeared in court on Friday afternoon, speaking on his own behalf and telling a federal magistrate judge that the congressional subpoena he was served with was 'illegal' and 'unenforceable.' At the court hearing, he cast himself as a victim of an unfair system run by Democrats bent on destroying him and Mr. Trump.... He also complained that although he lives close to F.B.I. headquarters, federal agents arrested him at the door of an airplane as he was on his way to Nashville.... A federal magistrate judge, Zia M. Faruqui, released him from custody with a standard set of conditions, mostly simple restrictions on Mr. Navarro's travel privileges...."

     ~~~ Marie: Addressing the press outside the courtroom after his court appearance, Navarro complained that the way the feds arrested him was so unfair because if they had just telephoned him and told him they wanted him to come in, he would have "gladly done what the government wanted." Ari Melber of MSNBC pointed out that claim was a bit ironic inasmuch as the indictments against Navarro are based wholly on his refusal "to do what the government wanted." Anyway, sad news about Meadows & Scavino. Inasmuch as they likely participated in crimes related to a conspiracy to overturn the election, it seems to me that any claims of executive privilege would be moot. My hope is that the reason Matthew Graves, the D.C. U.S. attorney, did not charge them for failing to answer subpoenas is that Meadows & Scavino are the subjects of ongoing investigations and eventually will be charged for more serious crimes than failing to comply with subpoenas. ~~~

     ~~~ A Politico story, by Josh Gerstein & others, about the DOJ's decision not to charge Meadows & Scavino, is here.

** Top Trump Aide Warned Secret Service of Danger to Pence. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The day before a mob of ... Donald J. Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff called Mr. Pence's lead Secret Service agent to his West Wing office. The chief of staff, Marc Short, had a message for the agent, Tim Giebels: The president was going to turn publicly against the vice president, and there could be a security risk to Mr. Pence because of it. The stark warning -- the only time Mr. Short flagged a security concern during his tenure as Mr. Pence's top aide -- was uncovered recently during research by this reporter for an upcoming book ... to be published in October." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) a CBS News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Robert Legare of CBS News: "Attorney Kenneth Chesebro sent an email to ... Rudy Giuliani on Dec. 13, 2020, with detailed plans that would put then-Vice President Mike Pence and Senate president pro tempore Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, in central roles in the Congress' joint session.... According to the email -- revealed via a recent court filing by the House Jan. 6 Committee in its legal fight against Trump attorney John Eastman -- Chesebro wanted Pence to recuse himself from his constitutional position as ... presiding officer ... and claim a 'conflict of interest' by way of being a candidate on the ballots in question.... Once recused, the email continued, Grassley or another senior Republican majority member would become the presiding officer of the joint session and begin the election certification. Citing the possibility of a set of alternate electors, the memo continues that the new presiding officer of the Senate [would refuse to certify Arizona's Electors].... The memo then lays out various scenarios based on possible rulings from the Supreme Court on Arizona's electors." ~~~

~~~ Chris Hayes of MSNBC weaves together threads of what is publicly know to produce the tapestry of a conspiracy: ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Later, during an interview of former Pence aide Olivia Troye, Hayes remarked that there were two ways to view Trump's part in the coup attempt: (a) that poor ole Trump was so obsessed & upset at losing the election that he just got swept up by various conspiracy theories & sort of accidentally and haplessly landed in the middle of a coup; or (b) that disposing of Pence -- either by hanging or by simply removing Pence to a place far, far away so he couldn't certify the election -- was a piece of Trump's conscious, quasi-organized plot to overturn the election results. Hayes said he was inclined to go with (b). ~~~

     ~~~ digby would seem to agree, at least in part, with Hayes' assessment: "I guess we know why Pence didn't want to get in the car with anyone but his own secret service detail on January 6th now[.]" She also has republished a chunk of Haberman's report for those who can't access the NYT original. ~~~

     ~~~ Betty Cracker of Balloon Juice agrees, too: "When the mob stormed the Capitol Building, Giebels hustled Pence to the loading dock, where he refused to get in the car. According to Haberman's article, aides say Pence wouldn't get in the car because 'it would let the rioters and others score a victory against a core democratic process.' Huh. I still think he was afraid they'd clap a chloroformed cloth over his face and dump him in the Potomac. The January 6 hearings are gonna be LIT."

Nicholas Wu & Kyle Cheney of the Politico: "Jan. 6 select committee leaders are furious that a onetime adviser to the panel, former Rep. Denver Riggleman, divulged private details about their work in what they say was an 'unauthorized' CNN interview. In an internal email obtained by Politico that was sent Wednesday night, shortly after the interview aired, staff director David Buckley told colleagues that Riggleman's appearance was 'in direct contravention to his employment agreement.'... The conflict centers on a rare breach for a committee that has, by most accounts, operated with little internal drama and dissension.... The former GOP congressman from Virginia said he was no longer employed by the panel and not bound by any agreement restricting his media appearances."

Whitney Wild of CNN: "The US Capitol Police on Friday charged a retired New York police officer with unlawful possession of high-capacity magazines and unregistered ammunition, according to the agency. Officers arrested Jerome Felipe of Michigan around 5 a.m. ET Friday, the agency said. Felipe had parked his 2017 Dodge Charger near the Capitol and allowed officers to search it, according to a USCP statement. Officers found a 'BB gun, two ballistic vests, several high capacity magazines, and other ammunition in the car,' the statement said. Felipe, 53, presented officers with a fake badge with the words 'Department of the INTERPOL' printed on it, and made a statement that he was a criminal investigator with the agency, USCP said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The acquittal of the defendant in the highest-profile case brought by special counsel John Durham intensified calls for him to wrap up his investigation into the origins of the FBI's probe into Donald Trump's Russia ties, but there are few signs that the Justice Department is pressuring Durham to pull the plug.... [The article cites complaints by Larry Tribe & George Conway.] Even some supporters of Durham's probe said [Michael] Sussmann's fast acquittal indicated that the long-time prosecutor misjudged the case.... However, the idea of [AG Merrick] Garland simply booting Durham seems far-fetched." ~~~

~~~ The Unmasking of Bill Barr. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "A jury deliberated for just six hours before ... acquitting former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, leaving the Barr-appointed special prosecutor John Durham with essentially nothing to show for his years-long attempt to find wrongdoing by the FBI and the Clinton campaign.... Hours ... [later], BuzzFeed published a previously secret Justice Department report, also ordered by [Bill] Barr, in which Barr's own DOJ concluded that the Obama administration didn't intend to expose the identity of ... Michael Flynn 'for political purposes or other inappropriate reasons.' It was further evidence that another favorite Trump claim enabled by Barr -- that Obama officials engaged in illegal 'unmasking' -- was bunk.... Barr's argument[, made on Fox 'News' after the jury verdict], that the innuendo Durham spread is 'far more important' than proving actual wrongdoing, unmasks Barr's perverted view of justice.... Barr, unmasked, now claims the federal jurors in Durham's failed case violated their oaths by following political biases."

I don't want to die, my teacher is dead, my teacher is dead, please send help, send help for my teacher, she is shot but still alive. -- 10-year-old Khloie Torres, 911 call, inside classroom, while police stood around in the hallway outside ~~~

~~~ ** Police Loiter While Teacher & Children Die. David Goodman, et al., of the New York Times: "A New York Times examination of the police response [to the Uvalde grade school massacre], based on dozens of interviews with law enforcement officials, children who survived, parents who were witnesses outside and experts on policing, found that breakdowns in communication and tactical decisions [link fixed] that were out of step with years of police preparations for school shootings may have contributed to additional deaths, and certainly delayed critical medical attention to the wounded. A tactical team led by Border Patrol officers ultimately ignored orders not to breach the classroom, interviews revealed, after a 10-year-old girl inside the classroom warned 911 dispatchers that one of the two teachers in the room was in urgent need of medical attention. The report that the incident commander [Pete Arredondo] at least initially had no police radio emerges as the latest important detail in what has been a shifting official account of the police response that has at times proved to be inaccurate on key points about the May 24 shooting. Officers who arrived at the scene, coming from at least 14 agencies, did not go into the classrooms as sporadic gunfire could be heard inside, nor after 911 calls began arriving from children inside." MB: This report will make you sick. Read it anyway.

Zach Despart of the Texas Tribune: "Everyone in town is waiting to hear from Pete Arredondo. As chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department, it was his call to wait more than an hour for backup instead of ordering officers on scene to immediately charge the shooter who killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.... Now, Arredondo is a man in hiding, as calls for answers and accountability grow louder each day. In the week since state police singled him out for blame, Arredondo has hardly been seen. Police officers stand guard outside his home. He has declined to explain his actions, telling a television crew that staked out his office he would not do so until after the victims' funerals. City officials, too, have assisted in the vanishing act. They canceled a previously scheduled public ceremony Tuesday and instead swore in Arredondo in secret for his latest role on the City Council. Even state police complained this week that Arredondo has remained elusive to them, accusing him of not cooperating with a Texas Department of Public Safety investigation into the shooting, a claim Arredondo refuted." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: While Arredondo's inaction as a police chief was infinitely more consequential than his inaction as a city councilman, that city council job is important, too. As a borough councilmember, I found out right away that the most time-consuming part of my job was what I would loosely call "constituent service." Listening to residents bitch -- oftentimes for good reason -- took up a good part of the time I was rendering constituent service. Where it was feasible, or remotely feasible, I tried to fix or otherwise address whatever the resident was complaining about; other times, where I had no way to effect a solution, I just listened. Pete, apparently, isn't doing even that.

Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) tells off Republican gunknobbers during a House committee meeting: ~~~

Michael Kaplan & Graham Kates of CBS News: "Two days after 19 children and two teachers were gunned down in a Texas elementary school on May 24, an investment banking firm sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton promising not to 'discriminate' against the firearms industry. The firm, Chicago-based Cabrera Capital Markets, LLC, is the most recent of dozens of banking institutions to make the declaration in the last year, in order to comply with legislation banning Texas state and local governments from working with firms that prohibit investments in firearms or ammunition manufacturers. The letters, more than 80 of which have been reviewed by CBS News, throw in stark relief the fraught political environment corporations face when called upon to respond to mass shootings."

What Happens When a Republican MOC Opposes Child Sacrifice? Nicholas Fandos & Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "In the wake of deadly mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, Representative Chris Jacobs of New York, a congressman serving his first full term in the House, stunned fellow Republicans by embracing a federal assault weapons ban and limits on high-capacity magazines.... It took only seven days for political forces to catch up with him. On Friday, facing intense backlash from party leaders, a potential primary from the state party chairman and a forceful dressing down from Donald Trump Jr., Mr. Jacobs announced that he would abandon his re-election campaign." CNN's report is here. MB: Now the GOP is just the Party of Sick Fucks. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Phil McCausland of NBC News: "Two state legislatures are considering measures that would permit teachers and other school staff to carry arms in the aftermath of the Texas elementary school shooting that killed 19 children last month, despite opposition from gun safety advocates, teachers' groups and school security experts. While the idea isn't new -- many Republican-controlled legislatures considered similar legislation after the 2018 Parkland, Florida, shooting -- it is a growing talking point as the country has witnessed a number of mass killings in the past few weeks. Two states, Ohio and Louisiana, are now considering either decreasing the requirements to arm school staff or permitting employees to carry a firearm after fulfilling the required training." (Also linked yesterday.)

It's Not the Guns; It's the Moms. Colbert King of the Washington Post: "Appearing on 'Fox News Sunday' this week, Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks (R) attributed mass shootings in the United States to a decline in moral values -- and he pointed to single-parent families as a major factor in the phenomenon. 'Those single-parent households,' Brooks asserted, 'end up resulting in children who are more likely to be on welfare; who are less likely to get the kind of grades you expect to get in school; who are more likely to be involved in drugs; and who are, unfortunately, are more likely to be involved in criminal conduct.' On a previous occasion, Brooks said the Texas massacre 'reflects poorly on liberal policies that encourage out-of-wedlock childbirth, divorce, single-parent households and amoral values that undermine respect for life.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you're concerned about "amoral" single mothers, Mo, you might want to start by reversing your view on women's reproductive rights. On the other hand, today's news, like most news days, is a veritable montage of miscreants, including you yourself, Mo, and it's unlikely all of them were reared by single mothers. Brooks: nope. Trump: nope. Navarro: yes, after age 10. Barr: nope. Kavanaugh: nope. And so forth.

Circle the Schools with a Strapped Army! Braley Dodson of WBTW Florence, S.C.: "Sen. Lindsey Graham wants military veterans to go through school security training to work in school districts, according to tweets Friday afternoon. 'We have hundreds of thousands of well-trained former military members who could bring a lot to the table in terms of school safety,' he tweeted. 'ROTC instructors with firearms training should be allowed to possess weapons to enhance school security.' He said he will be working to create a certification process for veterans to undergo the training.... 'It is time to mobilize our retired and former service members who are willing to help secure our schools,' Graham said. 'Our schools are soft targets. They contain our most valuable possession -- our children, the future of our country -- and must be protected.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: First of all, Lindsey, children are not "possessions." Second, I'm sorry you're so upset that Ted Cruz & others wingers who have made crazy suggestions -- arm teachers, eliminate all but one door to the school -- are getting all the attention. But coming up with yet another crazy suggestion, instead of addressing the real problem -- is not the way to go. I mean, think of the press you would get if you proposed an assault weapons ban & a buy-back program!

Brian Metzger of Insider, republished in Yahoo! News: "Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska gave a speech on Thursday evening that included heavy criticism of his own party, urging fellow Republicans to re-orient themselves away from the politics of grievance and towards a forward-thinking party in order to tackle global threats. 'The left wants a powerful, nameless but supposedly benevolent bureaucracy, the right wants a strongman daddy figure,' said Sasse in a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.... Much of Sasse's speech included criticisms of the Democratic Party -- which he says is 'increasingly drunk on elite leftism' and has 'little room for honest debate' -- as well as President Joe Biden's August withdrawal from Afghanistan. But the Nebraska Republican, a frequent critic of far-right figures like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz as well as ... Donald Trump, had a lot to say about the Republican Party as well. 'We Republicans? ... We can either continue to drift as a party that exists increasingly as a vehicle for the grievances of the angriest, oldest folks, or we could be a future-focused party of 2030.'" MB: And we know who Senator Sasse sees when he looks in the mirror: President Sasse.

Portion of a Rolling Stone article republished in LG&$: "When the Supreme Court's draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade leaked, Sen. Susan Collins said she was flabbergasted, deeply troubled, even shocked. After all, soon-to-be-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh had promised her in 2018 that Roe was a matter of settled law -- despite his deeply conservative track record on abortion. Turns out, Collins ... was deliberately manipulated by Trump administration officials -- and a future Supreme Court Justice -- who viewed her as an easy mark. Two former senior Trump White House officials tell Rolling Stone that the pro-choice Collins wasn't even considered a serious threat to the devoutly conservative Kavanaugh. Instead, the team predicted she'd need only a vague assurance that the nominee would uphold the half-century-old ruling defending abortion rights. And they were right." ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Lemieux demurs: "... [The] bullshit is not Collins, it's the marginal voter in Maine. Collins knew what she was doing and what she was getting; the kayfabe is for Clinton/Biden-Collins voters who needed to be reassured that Roe was safe. It worked!" More on Susan So Concerned linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges in connection with a secret lobbying campaign on behalf of Qatar to influence the Trump White House and Congress in 2017, after implicating a retired four-star American general in the effort. Richard G. Olson, a 34-year career Foreign Service officer who served as the Obama administration's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan from 2015 until 2016, admitted to lying in ethics paperwork and violating revolving door laws by lobbying for Qatar within a year of retiring from federal service. In pre-plea proceedings in federal court in Washington, Olson's defense counsel said he ... cooperated with federal prosecutors on the understanding that they were also investigating and pursuing criminal charges against retired four-star Marine general John G. Allen." In plea papers, Olson said he and Allen together met with various Qatari officials & U.S. congressmen.

What "Zulu Nine Alpha" Saw. Carol Rosenberg & Julian Barnes of the New York Times:"During Gina Haspel's confirmation hearing to become director of the C.I.A. in 2018, Senator Dianne Feinstein asked her if she had overseen the interrogations of a Saudi prisoner, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, which included the use of a waterboard. Ms. Haspel declined to answer, saying it was part of her classified career.... But testimony at a hearing last month in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, included a revelation about the former C.I.A. director's long and secretive career. James E. Mitchell, a psychologist who helped develop the agency's interrogation program, testified that the chief of [a U.S. black ops] base [in Thailand] at the time, whom he referred to as Z9A in accordance with court rules, watched while he and a teammate subjected Mr. Nashiri to 'enhanced interrogation' that included waterboarding at the black site. Z9A is the code name used in court for Ms. Haspel."

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "... if we look at the 157 years after the Civil War..., it's not obvious that democratization and majority rule actually threaten minority rights[, as political philosophers often presume]. You might even say it is the reverse. Far from the tyranny of an unrestrained majority, the period of Reconstruction saw the first real attempt at equality under the law in the South, as well as efforts to build a more egalitarian society, with respect for the social and political rights of ordinary people.... The immediate threat to minority rights ... [in the early 20th century] came from opponents of a more open and democratic society.... the much-vaunted countermajoritarian institutions of the American system either stymied efforts to protect them ... or helped politicians to exclude them.... [In the 1950s and '60s] it took the expansion of political rights and the triumph of majority rule over our countermajoritarian institutions -- and the Senate, in particular -- to [expand civil rights]. The enduring belief that majority rule and democratization threaten the rights of minorities runs headfirst into the simple reality that, in the United States at least, the fundamental liberties of all Americans grew stronger and more secure as political rights spread from a narrow minority to an outright majority...."

Beyond the Beltway

Pennsylvania Senate Race. Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "David McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, conceded the exceedingly close race for the Republican nomination for Senate in Pennsylvania on Friday to Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity television physician, with a statewide recount underway and no official race call. Dr. Oz had a lead of fewer than 1,000 votes, or .07 percent, before the county-by-county recount began last week. The unexpected early concession -- five days before the recount's full results were to be released -- was a recognition that Mr. McCormick had gained only handfuls of votes so far and faced an insurmountable hurdle in making up his deficit. His decision sets up one of the most pivotal contests of the midterms, a November election between Dr. Oz and the Democratic nominee, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. ... ~~~

~~~ “Suspense around the race for weeks deflected attention from Mr. Fetterman, who suffered a stroke May 13, days before the election, leading to a hospital stay and the implantation of a pacemaker and defibrillator in his heart. Mr. Fetterman's absence from the campaign trail ever since and his refusal until Friday to offer more than scant details of his condition raised questions about his ability to campaign in the general election.... Ramesh R. Chandra, [Fetterman's] cardiologist, said if Mr. Fetterman follows his instructions and takes his health seriously this time, 'he should be able to campaign and serve in the U.S. Senate without a problem.'" The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's a related New York Times story on John Fetterman's condition. An NBC News story is here.

Wisconsin. Kelli Arseneau, et al., of the Milwaukee Journal: "A 68-year-old man was shot and killed in a targeted attack in his home in New Lisbon early Friday. Sources told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the victim was retired Juneau County Judge John Roemer, who retired from the bench in 2017. Attorney General Josh Kaul said the assailant appeared to be targeting others as well. Sources told the Journal Sentinel that Gov. Tony Evers was among them, but Kaul declined to provide any names during a brief news conference.... A 56-year-old man found in the judge's house was transported to a hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.... The Juneau County Special Tactics and Response Team attempted to negotiate with the armed man and entered the house around 10:15 a.m., or nearly four hours after law enforcement was first contacted." ~~~

     ~~~ Mike Spalding of WTMJ Radio Milwaukee: "A source close to the investigation tells WTMJ's John Mercure the 56-year-old suspect was part of a militia and he had with him a hit list that included the names of several elected officials including Governor Tony Evers."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "[Jens] Stoltenberg, NATO's secretary general, said he had met with Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland in Washington on Friday, and discussed the country's application to the military alliance. He said he had also had a 'constructive phone call' with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey about Mr. Erdogan's concerns about Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Ukrainian troops have managed to push back Russian forces by 20 percent in Russia's fight for the city of Sievierodonetsk, the last major pocket of Ukrainian control in the eastern province of Luhansk, the regional military administrator said in a television interview. He had previously said that most of the industrial city had been taken over by the Russians." ~~~

     ~~~ A Hundred Days of War. Here's the New York Times' summary of Friday's developments. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Saturday are here: "Putin believes he can outlast the West and Ukraine in any standoff and intends to deploy economic weapons, such as the blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports, to pressure his opponents. The European Union has sanctioned Russian Col. Azatbek Asanbekovich, who it accuses of leading the massacre in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. Two Reuters journalists were injured and their driver killed after their vehicle came under attack on part of a road in Luhansk controlled by Russia."

Neil MacFarquhar & Alina Lobzina of the New York Times: "Three months ago..., Vladimir V. Putin signed into law draconian measures designed to silence war critics, putting even use of the word 'war' off-limits.... While the laws initially led to a few, highly publicized cases, it is now becoming clear that local prosecutors nationwide are applying them with particular zeal. At least 50 people face prison sentences of up to either 10 years or five years hard labor, or fines of as much as $77,000, for spreading 'false information' about the military. More than 2,000 people have been charged with lesser infractions, according to a human rights organization that tracks cases nationwide." MB Note to optimists: This could happen here. In fact, it has happened here, during the first Republican administration and during a Democratic administration. And we should never forget the internment of Japanese-Americans and 10,000+ people of German & Italian ancestry during World War II. These people didn't have to say or do a thing to have their fundamental human rights abridged.