The Ledes

Sunday, October 6, 2024

Weather Channel: “Tropical Storm Milton, which formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, is expected to become a hurricane late Sunday or early Monday. The storm is expected to pose a major hurricane threat to Florida by midweek, just over a week after Helene pushed through the region. The National Hurricane Center says that 'there is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and wind impacts for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning late Tuesday or Wednesday.'”

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Public Service Announcement

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Washington Post: “Comedy news outlet the Onion — reinvigorated by new ownership over this year — is bringing back its once-popular video parodies of cable news. But this time, there’s someone with real news anchor experience in the chair. When the first episodes appear online Monday, former WAMU and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson will be the face of the resurrected 'Onion News Network.' Playing an ONN anchor character named Dwight Richmond, Johnson says he’s bringing a real anchor’s sense of clarity — and self-importance — to the job. 'If ONN is anything, it’s a news organization that is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it has the confidence of a serial killer,' says Johnson, 44.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figured out how to watch ONN. If anybody knows, do tell. Thanks.

Washington Post: “First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Scientists suspected that gravity and the magnetic field alone could not fully explain the stream. There had to be another source creating this leaky faucet. It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field, a recent study found. The field is only about the strength of a watch battery — but it’s enough to thrust lighter ions from our atmosphere into space. It’s also generated unlike other electric fields on Earth. This newly discovered aspect of our planet provides clues about the evolution of our atmosphere, perhaps explaining why Earth is habitable. The electric field is 'an agent of chaos,' said Glyn Collinson, a NASA rocket scientist and lead author of the study. 'It undoes gravity.... Without it, Earth would be very different.'”

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

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

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

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

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

Click on photo to enlarge.

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

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

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

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Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Thursday
Sep232021

The Commentariat -- September 24, 2021

Edgar Sandoval, et al., of the New York Times: "Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported about 2,000 migrants in recent days on chartered flights to Haiti as the Biden administration tries to deter more people from rushing to the border. But the authorities have also permitted thousands more to travel to cities across America, where they may live for months or years as they await immigration hearings...." According to the WashPo story by Hudson& others linked below, each of those 2,000 refugees the U.S. dumped in Port au Prince were left to fend for themselves with nothing more than "a one-time $100 cash award, hygiene kits and the availability of on-site medical treatment if needed." ~~~

~~~ John Hudson, et al., of the Washington Post: "The U.S. special envoy for Haiti has quit his job in a blistering resignation letter.... 'Our policy approach to Haiti remains deeply flawed, and my recommendations have been ignored and dismissed,' Daniel Foote said in the letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. 'I will not be associated with the United States inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti, a country where American officials are confined to secure compounds because of the dangers posed by armed gangs in control of daily life,' he said. Foote was named special envoy in July just weeks after the assassination of Haiti's president plunged the country into political turmoil. In another reaction to the Haitian immigration crisis, the administration announced Thursday it was suspending all horse patrols in the migrant camp at Del Rio, Tex.... [The State Department has taken] issue with Foote's version of events." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ The AP's story is here. Foote's resignation letter is here, via Yamiche Alcindor of PBS. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

Moustafa Bayoumi in the Guardian: "At the same time that it condemns the actions of its own law enforcement agency, the Biden administration has refused media access to the camp at Del Rio, invoked a Trump-era order (the rarely used public health law known as Title 42) to expel asylum seekers without review, and forcibly deported hundreds of Haitians in Texas -- many of whom left the country more than a decade ago, after its 2010 earthquake -- back to a country that is not only reeling from a massive earthquake last August but also from a political earthquake, the assassination of its president, last July.... It's one thing for the Biden administration to condemn abuses conducted by its own government that recall the worst parts of our national history. But it's quite another to do so while maintaining the policies that enable those abuses. That's not just cynical. It's despicable."

Our Man in Vienna -- Recalled. John Hudson & Shane Harris of the Washington Post: "The CIA has removed its top officer in Vienna following criticism of his management, including what some considered an insufficient response to a growing number of mysterious health incidents at the U.S. Embassy there, according to current and former U.S. officials. The sidelining of the station chief in one of the largest and most prestigious CIA posts is expected to send a message that top agency leaders must take seriously any reports of 'Havana Syndrome,' the phenomenon named after the Cuban capital where U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers had first reported unusual and varied symptoms ... that started in 2016."

Tony Romm, et al., of the Washington Post: "The White House budget office will tell federal agencies on Thursday to begin preparations for the first shutdown of the U.S. government since the pandemic began, as lawmakers on Capitol Hill struggle to reach a funding agreement. Administration officials stress the request is in line with traditional procedures seven days ahead of a shutdown and not a commentary on the likelihood of a congressional deal." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday morning announced that the Senate, House and White House have reached a deal on a 'framework' to pay for the massive human infrastructure spending package they hope to pass this fall under budget reconciliation.... [An] aide explained it's an understanding between Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) about what revenue-raising proposals are on the table for the upcoming negotiations.... The menu of revenue-raisers ;will be used as the template for negotiations with moderates such Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on the reconciliation package and how to pay for it." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Alexander Bolton, et al., of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has signaled to colleagues in both chambers that she will not put the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package on the House floor for a vote until it's clear that it can also pass the 50-50 Senate.... Without a [Senate] deal in sight, there's no way the House will be ready to vote on the reconciliation package in time to move it next week along with the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package that passed the Senate on Aug. 10. That puts Pelosi in a tough spot, since she pledged last month to centrist House Democrats led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) that the House would vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill by Sept. 27." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The House on Thursday approved its version of the annual defense authorization bill, giving a hefty bipartisan endorsement to open an independent investigation of U.S. failures in Afghanistan, require women to register for the draft and overhaul how the military prosecutes sex assault. The 316-to-113 vote in favor of the $768 billion measure -- $740 billion of which authorizes spending for the Pentagon, military operations and personnel and $28 billion of which goes to the Energy Department -- represents a rare moment of unity in a Congress otherwise riven with partisan rancor over questions of budgeting. It also reflects Republicans' and Democrats' shared frustration with decisions that led to U.S. troops' chaotic exit from Afghanistan last month."

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved $1 billion in new funding for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, after a debate that exposed bitter divisions among Democrats over U.S. policy toward one of its closest allies. The vote was 420 to 9 to help Israel replace missile interceptors used during heavy fighting in a devastating rocket and missile war with the Palestinians in May, reflecting the widespread bipartisan support in Congress for Jerusalem that has persisted for decades. But the lopsided vote came only after days of acrimony between progressives who have accused Israel of human rights abuses and other lawmakers, including party leaders, who said they were appalled and astonished by their colleagues' refusal to fund a defense system to protect Israeli civilians."

Robert Kagan in the Washington Post: "The United States is heading into its greatest political and constitutional crisis since the Civil War, with a reasonable chance over the next three to four years of incidents of mass violence, a breakdown of federal authority, and the division of the country into warring red and blue enclaves.... Donald Trump will be the Republican candidate for president in 2024.... Trump and his Republican allies are actively preparing to ensure his victory by whatever means necessary.... Meanwhile, the amateurish 'stop the steal' efforts of 2020 have given way to an organized nationwide campaign to ensure that Trump and his supporters will have the control over state and local election officials that they lacked in 2020.... As has so often been the case in other countries where fascist leaders arise, their would-be opponents are paralyzed in confusion and amazement at this charismatic authoritarian. They have followed the standard model of appeasement, which always begins with underestimation." Kagan is a neoconservative.

Kyle Cheney & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "The select panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection is issuing subpoenas to four current and former top aides to ... Donald Trump, including his most recent chief of staff Mark Meadows. The committee issued its first subpoenas on Thursday to Meadows; former Pentagon official and longtime House Intelligence Committee aide Kash Patel; former top White House adviser Steve Bannon; and longtime Trump social media chief Dan Scavino.... The letters [accompanying the subpoenas] cite a mix of news reports and documents obtained by the committee to suggest that the aides have information relevant to their investigation. For example, in the letter to Steve Bannon ... the committee cited passages from 'Peril,' the new book by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, as a basis for seeking his testimony." The story links to each of the committee's letters to the Four Horse's Asses pf the Apocalypse. The New York Times story is here.

Tom Hamburger & Jacqueline Alemany of the Washington Post: "The White House is leaning toward releasing information to Congress about what Donald Trump and his aides were doing during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol despite the former president's objections.... Trump has said he will cite 'executive privilege' to block information requests from the House select committee investigating the events of that day.... But President Biden's White House plans to err on the side of disclosure given the gravity of the events of Jan. 6, according to two people familiar with discussions.... '... there's no such thing as a former president's executive privilege,' said Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.), a committee member who teaches constitutional law.... What Trump was doing while the attack was occurring and who he was speaking with are among the big, unanswered questions concerning the assault on the Capitol." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

      ~~~ digby has republished a chunk of the WashPo story. A CNN report is here.

Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "White House officials prioritized ... Donald Trump's attempt to challenge the election over the pandemic response last winter, according to emails obtained by the House select subcommittee probing the government's coronavirus response and shared with The Washington Post. Steven Hatfill, a virologist who advised White House trade director Peter Navarro and said he was intimately involved in the pandemic response, repeatedly described in the emails how 'election stuff' took precedence over coronavirus, even as the outbreak surged to more than 250,000 new coronavirus cases per day in January.... Hatfill further detailed his role in the White House's election challenges, including traveling to Arizona in the wake of that state's close election, passing along a 'Plan B for Trump Legal Fight' and sharing debunked rumors of Joe Biden's supposed family ties with a voting machine company.... The Democrat-led [subcommittee] on Thursday issued a subpoena to Hatfill.... ~~~

~~~ "In his emails, Hatfill repeatedly took aim at Anthony S. Fauci, the government's top infectious-disease expert, and then-FDA Commissioner Steven Hahn, whom he blamed for opposing the widespread use of anti-malarial drugs.... Hatfill, a virologist and former Army biodefense researcher, first attracted national interest after then-Attorney General John Ashcroft named him as a 'person of interest' in the 2001 anthrax attacks. Hatfill was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing and won a $5.85 million settlement from the Justice Department in 2008."

MEANWHILE, in Budapest. Vanessa Gera & Balazs Kaufmann of the AP: "Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that he is hopeful the new conservative majority on the Supreme Court created during his and ... Donald Trump's administration will soon overturn abortion rights in the United States. Pence spoke at a forum devoted to demographics and family values in Budapest, Hungary, where conservative leaders from central Europe expressed their anxieties about falling birthrates in the Western world and discussed ways to reverse the trend. 'We see a crisis that brings us here today, a crisis that strikes at the very heart of civilization itself. The erosion of the nuclear family marked by declining marriage rates, rising divorce, widespread abortion and plummeting birth rates,' Pence said." MB: "Conservative leaders"? How about "autocratic crackpots"? ~~~

     ~~~ digby: "They used to make pilgrimages to Iowa and New Hampshire. Now they go to Budapest[.]... But nobody can doubt [pence's] credentials when it comes to forced childbirth."

Shelley Ross, in a New York Times op-ed: "'Now that I think of it … I am ashamed,' read the subject line of a 2005 email [now-CNN host Chris] Cuomo wrote me, one hour after he sexually harassed me at a going-away party for an ABC colleague. At the time, I was the executive producer of an ABC entertainment special, but I was Mr. Cuomo's executive producer at 'Primetime Live' just before that. I was at the party with my husband.... When Mr. Cuomo entered the Upper West Side bar, he walked toward me and greeted me with a strong bear hug while lowering one hand to firmly grab and squeeze the cheek of my buttock. 'I can do this now that you're no longer my boss,' he said to me with a kind of cocky arrogance. 'No you can't,' I said, pushing him off me at the chest while stepping back, revealing my husband, who had seen the entire episode at close range. We quickly left.... Was he ashamed of what he did, or was he embarrassed because my husband saw it? (He apologized first in his email to my 'very good and noble husband' and then to me for 'even putting you in such a position.')" ~~~

     ~~~ Patrick Healy of the New York Times opinion page: "Times Opinion has published many pieces in the #MeToo era about workplace conduct and harassment; Ross's essay is a pointed argument about how we should think about hard questions of accountability that lack easy answers."

Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "A federal arrest warrant has been issued for 23-year-old Brian Laundrie in connection with the case of his fiancee, Gabby Petito, who went missing during the couple's cross-country trip and was later found dead. A federal grand jury in Wyoming indicted Laundrie on Wednesday after determining he used 'one or more unauthorized devices' including a debit card and PIN numbers for two bank accounts, to fraudulently obtain more than $1,000, according to the court filing released Thursday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Denver branch. Federal investigators are still searching for Laundrie...." A Guardian story is here.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Friday are here.

** Apoorva Mandavilli & Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times: "The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday overruled a recommendation by an agency advisory panel that had refused to endorse booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine for frontline workers. It was a highly unusual move for the director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, but aligned C.D.C. policy with the Food and Drug Administration's endorsements over her own agency's advisers.... The White House could begin promoting and rolling out a plan for booster shots as soon as Friday. That would be in keeping with the administration's previously announced plan to offer the additional doses this week.... The C.D.C. director's endorsement of the advisory committee's recommendations is typically just a formality." It made no sense to me to recommend boosters for at-risk people like nursing-home residents, but not for their caregivers. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The reporters write, "Dr. Walensky's decision revealed the continuing divisions and confusion among federal regulators and outside advisers...." That's another misuse of the word "confusion." The sentence suggests the doctors & scientists are addle-brained nincompoops who don't know what they're doing. (Of course if they're Trump holdovers, that might be the case.) More than likely they are professionals who understand the data & their implications, but have different interpretations of what practical responses those data imply. These people are not "confused." Anyway, I think Walensky's decision is sensible and should reduce "confusion" among the public. It made no sense to me to recommend boosters for at-risk people like nursing-home residents, but not for their caregivers.

** Lauran Neergaard & Mike Stobbe of the AP: "The U.S. vaccination drive against COVID-19 stood on the verge of a major new phase as government advisers Thursday recommended booster doses of Pfizer's vaccine for millions of older or otherwise vulnerable Americans -- despite doubts the extra shots will do much to slow the pandemic. Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said boosters should be offered to people 65 and older, nursing home residents and those ages 50 to 64 who have risky underlying health problems. The extra dose would be given once they are at least six months past their last Pfizer shot. Deciding who else might get one was far tougher. While there is little evidence that younger people are in danger of waning immunity, the panel offered the option of a booster for those 18 to 49 who have chronic health problems and want one. But the advisers refused to go further and open boosters to otherwise healthy front-line health care workers who aren't at risk of severe illness but want to avoid even a mild infection.... The CDC advisers expressed concern over the millions more Americans who received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson shots early in the vaccine rollout. The government still hasn't considered boosters for those brands and has no data on whether it's safe or effective to mix-and-match and give those people a Pfizer shot." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Apoorva Mandavilli & Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times: "An influential scientific panel on Thursday opened a new front in the campaign against the coronavirus, recommending booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine for a wide range of Americans, including tens of millions of older people. But the experts declined to endorse additional doses for health care workers, teachers and others who might have higher exposure on the job. The decisions were made by the C.D.C. panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, in a series of votes, during which scientists agonized over their choices. The recommendations revealed deep divisions among federal regulators and outside advisers about how to contain the virus nearly two years into the pandemic. Just a day earlier, the Food and Drug Administration authorized booster shots for certain frontline workers. But the C.D.C.'s advisers disagreed that the doses were needed by so many healthy people."

Beyond the Beltway

** Arizona. Fraudit Finds Biden Won. Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "A Republican-commissioned review of nearly 2.1 million ballots cast last year in Arizona confirmed the accuracy of the official results and President Biden's win in Maricopa County, according to a draft report prepared by private contractors who conducted the recount. The draft was obtained by The Washington Post late Thursday night in advance of a planned public release of a final version on Friday. The ultimate findings will cap a costly and drawn-out recount launched by the GOP-led Arizona Senate that had been championed by ... Donald Trump and kept alive false claims that fraud tainted the election in the state's most populous county. The process was pilloried by election experts who warned that the methods used by the firm hired to run the review were sloppy and biased. After nearly six months and almost $6 million -- most of it given by groups that cast doubt on the election results -- the draft report shows that the review concluded that 45,469 more ballots were cast for Biden in Maricopa County than for Trump, widening Biden's margin by 360 more votes than certified results." Emphasis added. A CBS News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is so not the result I expected. But it may help explain Trump's demand of Texas officials -- story linked below.

Pennsylvania. Marc Levy of the AP: "Pennsylvania's attorney general sued Thursday to block a Republican-approved subpoena to state election officials in what Republicans call a 'forensic investigation' of last year's presidential election, spurred on by ... Donald Trump's baseless claims that he was cheated out of victory. The lawsuit from state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, is the second thus far targeting a subpoena approved last week by the Republican-controlled Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee.... Shapiro's office broadly asked the court to block the subpoena because, it said, it serves no legitimate legislative purpose and stems from Trump's efforts to undermine trust in the results of the 2020 presidential election.... The 76-page lawsuit ... [argues that] granting the subpoena's request for voter information -- including names, dates of birth, driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers &-- would violate a person's constitutional privacy protections, particularly because the subpoena isn't based on proof of wrongdoing. It also would expose voters to the risk of publicly disclosing their personal information, thus violating the constitutional right to vote, it said."

Texas. Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "The Texas secretary of state&'s office announced late Thursday it will audit the results of the 2020 election in the state's four largest counties, hours after ... Donald Trump called on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to conduct one. The office released a statement Thursday night that asserted the secretary of state has the authority under Texas law 'to conduct a full and comprehensive forensic audit of any election' and that it had 'already begun the process in Texas' two largest Democrat counties and two largest Republican counties -- Dallas, Harris, Tarrant, and Collin -- for the 2020 election.' 'We anticipate the Legislature will provide funds for this purpose,' the statement concluded. The statement was attributed to Sam Taylor, a spokesman for the office. The position of Texas secretary of state, who is appointed by the governor, is currently vacant. The move in Texas comes as the results of a GOP-backed audit in Arizona are set to be released Friday.... GOP lawmakers in Texas have been pushing legislation that would require an audit of the 2020 results in Texas's largest counties, most of which went for [President] Biden." The AP story is here.~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump won Texas' electoral vote, and officials found only a few isolated instances of suspected voter fraud. But the audit is not a wasteful exercise in has-been ass-kissing! The point here is that Democratic voters are corrupt & their votes are illegitimate. So even when a Republican wins a state handily, if you live in a precinct that votes majority-Democratic, those votes are fake: either the precinct workers are stuffing ballot boxes or jiggering vote totals or the guy standing next to you in the voter line was there for the third time AND had voted by mail in the name of his great-grandmother.

Iowa Senate Race. Grassley Forever! Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), the oldest Republican senator at age 88 and a major player in securing confirmation of dozens of conservative federal judges, announced Friday that he will seek another six-year term." Politico's story is here.

Way Beyond

Hong Kong/China. Vivian Wang & Joy Dong of the New York Times: “Welcome to elections in Hong Kong now: not so much exercises in democracy as the vigorous performance of it.... Hong Kong's elections have never been fully free, with rules that favored Beijing's allies even before this spring's overhaul. Even so, the opposition had long managed to win at least some influence on government policy, and polls had consistently shown that they had the majority of the public;s support.... [Last summer the Chinese Communist party made] election changes that allowed only government-approved 'patriots; to hold office. In addition, the general public will now be allowed to choose just 20 of 90 legislators. Most of the rest will be chosen by the electors picked last Sunday -- all but one aligned with the authorities." MB: Now, that is a Trump-style election. He and his friends must be taking notes.

News Lede

New York Times: "The death this month of Michael K. Williams, the Brooklyn actor most famous for his memorable portrayal of a gay stickup man in 'The Wire,' was caused by an accidental drug overdose involving fentanyl, New York City's medical examiner said on Friday. Mr. Williams, 54, was found dead in his apartment in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn on Sept. 6. The medical examiner said the official cause of death was 'acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine.'"

Comments Off
Thursday
Sep232021

The Commentariat -- September 23, 2021

Afternoon Update:

** Lauran Neergaard & Mike Stobbe of the AP: "The U.S. vaccination drive against COVID-19 stood on the verge of a major new phase as government advisers Thursday recommended booster doses of Pfizer's vaccine for millions of older or otherwise vulnerable Americans -- despite doubts the extra shots will do much to slow the pandemic. Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said boosters should be offered to people 65 and older, nursing home residents and those ages 50 to 64 who have risky underlying health problems. The extra dose would be given once they are at least six months past their last Pfizer shot. Deciding who else might get one was far tougher. While there is little evidence that younger people are in danger of waning immunity, the panel offered the option of a booster for those 18 to 49 who have chronic health problems and want one. But the advisers refused to go further and open boosters to otherwise healthy front-line health care workers who aren't at risk of severe illness but want to avoid even a mild infection.... The CDC advisers expressed concern over the millions more Americans who received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson shots early in the vaccine rollout. The government still hasn't considered boosters for those brands and has no data on whether it's safe or effective to mix-and-match and give those people a Pfizer shot."

John Hudson, et al., of the Washington Post: "The U.S. special envoy for Haiti has quit his job in a blistering resignation letter.... 'Our policy approach to Haiti remains deeply flawed, and my recommendations have been ignored and dismissed,' Daniel Foote said in the letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. 'I will not be associated with the United States inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti, a country where American officials are confined to secure compounds because of the dangers posed by armed gangs in control of daily life,' he said. Foote was named special envoy in July just weeks after the assassination of Haiti's president plunged the country into political turmoil. In another reaction to the Haitian immigration crisis, the administration announced Thursday it was suspending all horse patrols in the migrant camp at Del Rio, Tex.... [The State Department has taken] issue with Foote's version of events." ~~~

     ~~~ The AP's story is here. Foote's resignation letter is here, via Yamiche Alcindor of PBS.

Tony Romm, et al., of the Washington Post: "The White House budget office will tell federal agencies on Thursday to begin preparations for the first shutdown of the U.S. government since the pandemic began, as lawmakers on Capitol Hill struggle to reach a funding agreement. Administration officials stress the request is in line with traditional procedures seven days ahead of a shutdown and not a commentary on the likelihood of a congressional deal."

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday morning announced that the Senate, House and White House have reached a deal on a 'framework' to pay for the massive human infrastructure spending package they hope to pass this fall under budget reconciliation.... [An] aide explained it's an understanding between Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) about what revenue-raising proposals are on the table for the upcoming negotiations.... The menu of revenue-raisers will be used as the template for negotiations with moderates such Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on the reconciliation package and how to pay for it." ~~~

~~~ Alexander Bolton, et al., of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has signaled to colleagues in both chambers that she will not put the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package on the House floor for a vote until it's clear that it can also pass the 50-50 Senate.... Without a [Senate] deal in sight, there's no way the House will be ready to vote on the reconciliation package in time to move it next week along with the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package that passed the Senate on Aug. 10. That puts Pelosi in a tough spot, since she pledged last month to centrist House Democrats led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) that the House would vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill by Sept. 27."

Tom Hamburger & Jacqueline Alemany of the Washington Post: "The White House is leaning toward releasing information to Congress about what Donald Trump and his aides were doing during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol despite the former president's objections.... Trump has said he will cite 'executive privilege' to block information requests from the House select committee investigating the events of that day.... But President Biden's White House plans to err on the side of disclosure given the gravity of the events of Jan. 6, according to two people familiar with discussions.... '... there's no such thing as a former president's executive privilege,' said Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.), a committee member who teaches constitutional law.... What Trump was doing while the attack was occurring and who he was speaking with are among the big, unanswered questions concerning the assault on the Capitol."

~~~~~~~~~~

Jonathan Weisman, et al., of the New York Times: "President Biden huddled with congressional Democrats on Wednesday to try to break through a potentially devastating impasse over his multitrillion-dollar domestic agenda, toiling to bridge intraparty divisions over an ambitious social safety net bill and a major infrastructure measure as Congress raced to head off a fiscal calamity. Democrats on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue are nearing a make-or-break moment in their bid to push through huge new policies, as an escalating fight between the progressive and moderate wings -- and a multitude of other divisions within the party -- threatens to sink their chances of doing so while they retain control in Washington. At the same time, even the basic functions of Congress -- keeping the government from shutting down next week and from defaulting on its debt sometime next month -- are in peril as Republicans refuse to support legislation that would both fund the government and increase the statutory cap on federal borrowing." A Politico story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Of course intraparty crisis meetings like these would not be necessary if even a minority of Republicans thought it was a bad idea to renege on debt incurred during previous administrations. However, all Republicans in both houses oppose having the federal government meet its obligations. They do favor pushing the country -- and the world -- into an immediate recession & threatening about six million American jobs. That's really "owning the libs," isn't it?

Anne Gearan, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to meet in person next month when they spoke by phone Wednesday, French and U.S. officials said, as the two leaders seek to make peace after a secret arms deal led to an unprecedented diplomatic rupture between Washington and its oldest ally. A White House statement suggested regret over the way the episode unfolded. 'The two leaders agreed that the situation would [have] benefitted from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners,' the statement said. 'President Biden conveyed his ongoing commitment in that regard.'... The statement also said the ambassador to France would return to Washington next week. Macron had recalled Ambassador Philippe Etienne to Paris in the days after the announcement." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times: "... the aggressive effort to quickly clear a makeshift camp in Del Rio, Texas, of more than 15,000 Haitian migrants was part of a Biden administration response that included 'surging' agents to the overrun area using a public health immigration rule invoked by [President*] Trump to send many people home.... The deportations are a stark example of how Mr. Biden -- who declared on Feb. 2 that his goal was to 'undo the moral and national shame of the previous administration' -- is deploying some of the most aggressive approaches to immigration put in place by Mr. Trump over the past four years. Having failed in his attempts to build a more 'humane' set of immigration laws, Mr. Biden has reacted in a way that few of his supporters expected. In case after case, he has shown a willingness to use tough measures. Part of the dilemma Mr. Biden faces is that his efforts to use the power of his office to enact lasting immigration change have been blocked by federal judges skeptical of executive power and slowed by a bureaucracy purposely hobbled by the former president." ~~~

~~~ Elliot Spagat, et al., of the AP: "Many Haitian migrants camped in a small Texas border town are being released in the United States, two U.S. officials said, undercutting the Biden administration's public statements that the thousands in the camp faced immediate expulsion. Haitians have been freed on a 'very, very large scale' in recent days, according to one U.S. official who put the figure in the thousands. The official ... has direct knowledge of operations.... The Homeland Security Department has been busing Haitians from Del Rio to El Paso, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley along the Texas border, and this week added flights to Tucson, Arizona, the official said. They are processed by the Border Patrol at those locations." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Jacob Soboroff & Ken Dilanian of NBC News: "The Biden administration is advertising for a new contract to operate a migrant detention facility at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, with a requirement that some of the guards speak Spanish and Haitian Creole, according to government records. A little-known immigrant holding facility on the base has a capacity of 120 people, the records say, and it 'will have an estimated daily population of 20 people,' according to a solicitation for bids issued Friday by the Department of Homeland Security. According to the solicitation, formal bidding is expected to take place later this fall. 'The service provider shall be responsible to maintain on site the necessary equipment to erect temporary housing facilities for populations that exceed 120 and up to 400 migrants in a surge event,' the contract solicitation says." ~~~

~~~ Adolfo Flores of BuzzFeed News: "Mexican authorities carrying rifles and flashlights combed through [Ciudad Acuña]'s downtown early Wednesday, searching for the Haitians who were in hiding after being pushed to flee the US just days ago.... Returning to Mexico was a last resort for the Haitians after crossing the Rio Grande and setting up camp under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas. Food, water, and medicine were lacking. Border Patrol agents on horseback chased them. Children were getting sick. There was no avoiding COVID-19. President Joe Biden's administration started loading people onto planes and flying them back to Haiti, a place many of the immigrants haven't lived in for years."

Dino Grandoni of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration will finalize its first new climate rule Thursday, slashing the use of greenhouse gases warming the planet at a rate hundreds to thousands of times higher than carbon dioxide. The Environmental Protection Agency regulation, which establishes a program to cut the use and production of chemicals known as hydrofluorocarbons in the United States by 85 percent over the next 15 years, implements a law passed by Congress last year. There is broad bipartisan support for curbing these super-pollutants, which are short-lived and often used in refrigeration and air conditioning."

Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Two former GOP treasury secretaries held private discussions this month with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hoping to resolve an impasse over the debt limit that now threatens the global economy, according to four people aware of the conversations. The previously unreported talks involving the GOP economic grandees -- Henry Paulson, who served as treasury secretary under President Bush [II]; and Steven Mnuchin, treasury secretary under President Trump -- did not resolve the matter and the U.S. is now racing toward a massive fiscal cliff with no clear resolution at hand.... The backchanneling by Mnuchin and Paulson ... reflects the widespread alarm among economists and U.S. business interests about the consequences of an unprecedented default on the federal debt. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held benchmark interest rates near zero but indicated that rate hikes could be coming sooner than expected, and it significantly cut its economic outlook for this year. Along with those largely expected moves, officials on the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee indicated they will start pulling back on some of the stimulus the central bank has been providing during the financial crisis. There was no specific indication, though, as to when that might happen." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here.

Caitlin Emma, et al., of Politico: "The top House Democrat on Appropriations introduced a bill on Wednesday that would provide $1 billion for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, after the funding was abruptly pulled from a government funding package Tuesday. Democrats were forced to toss the money from a stopgap spending bill aimed at avoiding a government shutdown at the end of the month amid objections from progressives. The incident, which temporarily derailed a vote on the continuing resolution, illustrated the long-simmering internal tensions within the party over supporting Israel, a longtime U.S. ally in the Middle East.... Iron Dome, which is built by a joint venture of U.S. defense contractor Raytheon Technologies and Israeli firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, enjoys wide support on Capitol Hill.... But those funding efforts have faced progressive resistance in recent years, with more liberal members of the party demanding that U.S. military aid to Israel be conditions-based."

Joan Greve of the Guardian: "Bipartisan negotiations in the US Congress over a police reform bill that was prompted by the killing of George Floyd have collapsed. 'We did the best we could,' the Democratic congresswoman Karen Bass told reporters on Wednesday. The House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in March, and Bass and the Democratic senator Cory Booker have since been working with the Republican senator Tim Scott to try to reach a bipartisan agreement on a bill that could pass the Senate. But the talks dragged on for months with negotiators remaining at odds over a few crucial issues in the bill, and the lawmakers now appear to have thrown in the towel. Most notably, the bipartisan negotiating team could not reach an agreement on the Democratic proposal to reform qualified immunity, which shields police officers from civil liability for misconduct."

Thanks, Mainers! Chelsey Cox of USA Today: "A Democratic bill to protect abortion rights nationwide will not receive support from Republican abortion rights advocate, Sen. Susan Collins. The senator from Maine said Tuesday she opposes the bill to prohibit states from interfering in abortion based on fetal viability, The Los Angeles Times first reported. The measure is a direct response to the Texas 'fetal heartbeat' bill that took effect earlier this month after the Supreme Court declined to block its enforcement.... The bill would 'codify' Roe v. Wade.... But Collins said it would weaken the Religious Freedom Restoration Act...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Calling Collins an "abortion rights advocate" in a lede is journalistic malpractice. As David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement points out, "Senator Collins, who repeatedly claims to be pro-choice, is being criticized after years of supporting ... Donald Trump's judicial nominees at every level of the federal judiciary, including two of his three Supreme Court picks.... [AND] According to NBC News affiliate News Center Maine, Collins just endorsed former Maine Republican Governor Paul LePage for a third term.... LePage is a Trump acolyte known for making outrageous and vulgar remarks, is anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ, and pro-death penalty."

Marie: BTW, I heard two law experts, one on MSNBC -- Neal Katyal -- and one on CNN -- Jennifer Rodgers -- say that Donald Trump's lawsuit against Mary Trump and the New York Times lacked merit, & Donald stands little chance of prevailing. Rodgers said she was surprised to see such a sloppily drafted complaint, and she doesn't understand why Donald Trump would want to expose himself in depositions, especially in a suit he is so likely to lose. Update: and Joyce Vance (I think it was) said that the complaint -- which rests largely on a claim that Mary Trump violated a confidentiality agreement does not cite any part of the Trump family agreement that requires confidentiality; Vance said that this omission could be the basis for a successful request to dismiss the suit. Underlying story linked yesterday.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. "Missing White Woman Syndrome." Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "The intensity of the [media] coverage [of Gabrielle Petito's disappearance and death] has mirrored the interest of social media users, who have discussed and debated the case on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter.... As of Wednesday morning, the hashtag #gabbypetito had received more than 794 million views on TikTok. The demographic makeup of major news organizations is another factor in the emphasis on narratives of white women who go missing or are murdered, said Martin G. Reynolds ... of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.... The disappearances of people of color tend not to generate the same volume of media interest, despite their occurring at a higher rate.... Danielle Slakoff ... [o]f California State University, Sacramento..., said that white women were typically depicted as good people, while women of color were often characterized as risk-takers or somehow complicit in their own disappearances.... 'I don't think we can discount the profit motive and the fact that, historically, these types of stories have gotten tons of engagement, viewers and clicks,' Ms. Slakoff said." ~~~

~~~ Charles Blow of the New York Times: "The breathless coverage of the disappearance and apparent killing of Gabrielle Petito has played out in a virtual -- and sometimes literal -- split screen alongside images of mounted officers in Texas swinging long reins like whips while herding Haitian migrants. That startling contrast forces us once again to wrestle with a crucial question: What kinds of people, in what kinds of bodies, with what kinds of lineage do we value?... In 2004, at the Unity journalists of color convention in Washington, Gwen Ifill coined the phrase 'missing white woman syndrome,' joking that 'if there is a missing white woman you're going to cover that every day.'... It all becomes cyclical: Media raises the profile [of a white woman gone missing]; law enforcement engages because of that high profile; the public becomes invested; then the media continues its coverage because of the massive law enforcement response and widespread public interest. Just like that, we have all been manipulated into playing a part in the white damsel ideology, that young white women, often attractive, are the very epitome of innocence and virtue."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here: "Scientific advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will take up a thorny challenge on Thursday: Who qualifies for the new Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus booster and why?" The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Thursday are here: The CDC "is expected to issue a recommendation Thursday to clarify some of the vagueness within the FDA's decision -- including who falls under the category of people 'whose frequent institutional or occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2 puts them at high risk' of serious illness, and of people under 65 who are 'at high risk of severe COVID-19.'"

** Noah Weiland & Sharon LaFraniere of the New York Times: "... the Food and Drug Administration ... on Wednesday authorized people over 65 who had received Pfizer-BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine to get a booster shot at least six months after their second injection. The F.D.A. also authorized booster shots for adult Pfizer-BioNTech recipients who are at high risk of becoming severely ill with Covid-19 or are at risk of serious complications from the disease due to frequent exposure to the coronavirus at their jobs. The authorization sets up what is likely to be a staggered campaign to deliver the shots, starting with the most vulnerable Americans. It opens the way for possibly tens of millions of vaccinated people to receive boosters at pharmacies, health clinics, doctors' offices and elsewhere. Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting F.D.A. commissioner, said that the authorization would allow for booster doses 'in certain populations such as health care workers, teachers and day care staff, grocery workers and those in homeless shelters or prisons, among others.' Her statement suggested that agency leaders took a permissive view of the subgroups it deemed eligible for an extra injection.... The F.D.A. is expected to take up the question of boosters for [the millions of Americans who got Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines] in short order." ~~~

     ~~~ NPR's story is here and CNN's is here. Marie: Assuming that the Times story is correct, both the NPR & CNN stories are what I would call "confusing." Neither makes entirely clear that the Pfizer booster is recommended only for people who got two Pfizer shots months ago. Since experts frequently tell the media that shots can be "mixed" -- that is, that you can get one Moderna shot and one Pfizer shot, for instance -- reading the NPR & CNN stories would lead a reasonable person who got the Moderna vaccines last winter to think she could get the Pfizer booster now.

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: ""President Biden, declaring the coronavirus an 'all-hands-on-deck crisis,' set out ambitious goals on Wednesday for ending the pandemic and urged world leaders, drug companies, philanthropies and nonprofit groups to embrace a target of vaccinating 70 percent of the world by next year.But the course that Mr. Biden charted, at a virtual Covid-19 summit meeting that he convened on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, may be difficult to turn into reality.... The daylong meeting, the largest gathering of heads of state to address the pandemic, was a reflection of Mr. Biden's determination to re-establish the United States as a leader in global health after ... Donald J. Trump severed ties with the World Health Organization last year, at the outset of the coronavirus crisis." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Biden's goal is achievable only if most people around the world aren't as stupid as millions of Americans. Since February 2020, I have seldom "gone to town" during peak business hours, but yesterday, for the first time in months, I had business in Concord, New Hampshire, that had to be done during the day. As I drove past the local hospital, there stood a small group of protesters carrying signs urging motorists to honk for freedom from vaccines. The good news -- nobody honked within my hearing.

Nick Niedzwiadek of Politico: "President Joe Biden announced Wednesday the formation of a partnership between the United States and European Union to further the global Covid-19 vaccination effort. 'The United States is leading the world on vaccination donations. As we're doing that, we need other high-income countries to deliver on their own ambitious vaccine donations and pledges,' Biden said at a virtual meeting with leaders of the United Nations, World Health Organization and countries including the United Kingdom and Canada.... He also made official his administration's plan to purchase another 500 million vaccine doses to distribute to some of the world's poorest nations. News of the additional supply trickled out earlier this week, and will bring the United States' total commitment to 1.1 billion doses." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

OMG! There Are Covid Cooties in My Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "Michael Flynn, the former National Security Adviser to the Trump administration who has embraced the QAnon conspiracy theory and advocated the violent military overthrow of the United States, has a new conspiracy theory: the Deep State is going to vaccinate your salad dressing.... 'Somebody sent me a thing this morning where they're talking about putting the vaccine in salad dressing,' said Flynn [Wednesday]. 'Have you seen this? I mean it's -- and I'm thinking to myself, this is the Bizarro World, right?... These people are seriously thinking about how to impose their will on us in our society, and it has to stop.'"

Alaska. Zaz Hollander of the Alaska News: "Alaska is activating crisis standards of care for the entire state and bringing in contracted health workers as staff shortages and influx of COVID-19 patients make it difficult for hospitals to operate normally. Gov. Mike Dunleavy and top health officials announced the hospital support on Wednesday, the same day Alaska's new single-day cases hit another record as the highly infectious delta variant drives infections. A combination of short staffing and high numbers of COVID-19 patients is overwhelming medical facilities in Anchorage, Mat-Su and Fairbanks. Rural hospitals say they struggle to transfer patients to urban centers for higher care. At least one patient died recently when a bed in Anchorage wasn't available."

Beyond the Beltway

California. Noam Scheiber of the New York Times: "Gov. Gavin Newsom of California on Wednesday signed a bill that restricts warehouse employers from setting productivity quotas that prevent workers from taking breaks or following health and safety laws. The new law could alter Amazon's labor practices.... 'The hardworking warehouse employees who have helped sustain us during these unprecedented times should not have to risk injury or face punishment as a result of exploitative quotas that violate basic health and safety,' Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, said.... Two separate studies, including one by a group backed by labor unions, have shown that the rate at which Amazon workers suffer serious injuries was nearly double that of the rest of the warehousing industry last year.... But business groups strongly opposed the bill, arguing that it would lead to an explosion of litigation and hamper the distribution of goods."

Texas. Abbott's "Steel Wall." Adela Suliman of the Washington Post: "Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has sent a fleet of state-owned vehicles to line up for miles as a barricade along the border with Mexico, insisting the state was taking 'unprecedented steps,' as thousands of migrants still seek to cross into the United States." MB: The article does not make clear who -- if anyone -- is in the cars and what-all these people might be doing to dissuade immigrants from climbing over the parked vehicles. However, in a tweet embedded in the story, Abbott says, "Texas Dept of Public Safety troopers & Texas National Guard are stanching the flow of illegal migrants trying to cross into the Del Rio region." The Hill's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond

Ukraine. Ivan Nechepurenko & Michael Schwirtz of the New York Times: "A top adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine was shot at on Wednesday while being driven in his car outside Kyiv, in what the authorities said was an assassination attempt. The adviser, Serhiy Shefir, was not injured in the attack, but the driver of the car was wounded and hospitalized, Irina Venediktova, Ukraine's prosecutor general, said in a statement that included a picture of the driver's side of Mr. Shefir's black Audi riddled with bullets." (Also linked yesterday.)

Comments Off
Wednesday
Sep222021

The Commentariat -- September 22, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held benchmark interest rates near zero but indicated that rate hikes could be coming sooner than expected, and it significantly cut its economic outlook for this year. Along with those largely expected moves, officials on the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee indicated they will start pulling back on some of the stimulus the central bank has been providing during the financial crisis. There was no specific indication, though, as to when that might happen."

Nick Niedzwiadek of Politico: "President Joe Biden announced Wednesday the formation of a partnership between the United States and European Union to further the global Covid-19 vaccination effort. 'The United States is leading the world on vaccination donations. As we're doing that, we need other high-income countries to deliver on their own ambitious vaccine donations and pledges,' Biden said at a virtual meeting with leaders of the United Nations, World Health Organization and countries including the United Kingdom and Canada.... He also made official his administration's plan to purchase another 500 million vaccine doses to distribute to some of the world's poorest nations. News of the additional supply trickled out earlier this week, and will bring the United States' total commitment to 1.1 billion doses."

Heather Caygle & Sarah Ferris of Politico: "President Joe Biden ... will hold a series of meetings with key Democrats Wednesday, including [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as party leaders try to salvage their two-part domestic agenda -- a massive social safety net expansion and bipartisan infrastructure bill -- amid a fresh round of hostage-taking from centrist and progressive members.... Biden's attempt at a kumbaya moment could hardly come at a more critical time, with the narrowly divided House nearing an uncertain vote Monday on the Senate's infrastructure deal."

Anne Gearan, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to meet in person next month when they spoke by phone Wednesday, French and U.S. officials said, as the two leaders seek to make peace after a secret arms deal led to an unprecedented diplomatic rupture between Washington and its oldest ally. A White House statement suggested regret over the way the episode unfolded. 'The two leaders agreed that the situation would [have] benefitted from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners,' the statement said. 'President Biden conveyed his ongoing commitment in that regard.'... The statement also said the ambassador to France would return to Washington next week. Macron had recalled Ambassador Philippe Etienne to Paris in the days after the announcement."

Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Two former GOP treasury secretaries held private discussions this month with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hoping to resolve an impasse over the debt limit that now threatens the global economy, according to four people aware of the conversations. The previously unreported talks involving the GOP economic grandees -- Henry Paulson, who served as treasury secretary under President Bush [II]; and Steven Mnuchin, treasury secretary under President Trump -- did not resolve the matter and the U.S. is now racing toward a massive fiscal cliff with no clear resolution at hand.... The backchanneling by Mnuchin and Paulson -- who had previously worked together at Goldman Sachs -- reflects the widespread alarm among economists and U.S. business interests about the consequences of an unprecedented default on the federal debt.

Elliot Spagat, et al., of the AP: “Many Haitian migrants camped in a small Texas border town are being released in the United States, two U.S. officials said, undercutting the Biden administration's public statements that the thousands in the camp faced immediate expulsion. Haitians have been freed on a 'very, very large scale' in recent days, according to one U.S. official who put the figure in the thousands. The official ... has direct knowledge of operations.... The Homeland Security Department has been busing Haitians from Del Rio to El Paso, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley along the Texas border, and this week added flights to Tucson, Arizona, the official said. They are processed by the Border Patrol at those locations."

Texas. Abbott's "Steel Wall." Adela Suliman of the Washington Post: "Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has sent a fleet of state-owned vehicles to line up for miles as a barricade along the border with Mexico, insisting the state was taking 'unprecedented steps,' as thousands of migrants still seek to cross into the United States." MB: The article does not make clear who -- if anyone -- is in the cars and what-all these people might be doing to dissuade immigrants from climbing over the parked vehicles. However, in a tweet embedded in the story, Abbott says, "Texas Dept of Public Safety troopers & Texas National Guard are stanching the flow of illegal migrants trying to cross into the Del Rio region." The Hill's story is here.

Marie: BTW, I heard two law experts, one on MSNBC -- Neal Katyal -- and one on CNN -- Jennifer Rodgers -- say that Donald Trump's lawsuit against Mary Trump and the New York Times lacked merit, & Donald stands little chance of prevailing. Rodgers said she was surprised to see such a sloppily drafted complaint, and she doesn't understand why Donald Trump would want to expose himself in depositions, especially in a suit he is so likely to lose. Related story linked below.

Ukraine. Ivan Nechepurenko & Michael Schwirtz of the New York Times: "A top adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine was shot at on Wednesday while being driven in his car outside Kyiv, in what the authorities said was an assassination attempt. The adviser, Serhiy Shefir, was not injured in the attack, but the driver of the car was wounded and hospitalized, Irina Venediktova, Ukraine's prosecutor general, said in a statement that included a picture of the driver's side of Mr. Shefir's black Audi riddled with bullets."

~~~~~~~~~~

Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "President Biden defended the messy end to the of war in Afghanistan and made a case that the world can come together to confront global threats like climate change and the coronavirus in a Tuesday speech at the United Nations geared at easing allies' increasing qualms with American leadership. In his first address to the body as president, Biden also affirmed U.S. support for it and an alphabet soup of international partnerships and pledged support for poorer countries often disproportionately affected by climate change.... His measured address was notable mostly for its contrast to the boastful tone and sour reception that marked addresses by ... Donald Trump. Biden drew applause when he closed with a note that his speech was the first by a U.S. president in '20 years with the United States not at war.... Biden met with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison later Tuesday, less than a week after the surprise announcement that Australia would purchase U.S.-made nuclear submarines, a major military challenge to China in its Pacific neighborhood." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times story, by David Sanger, is here. The transcript of the speech, which appears to be as delivered, is here, via the White House. ~~~

~~~ Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: "President Biden announced plans Tuesday to double the funding the United States provides each year to help developing nations cope with the ravages of climate change and build greener economies. Speaking at the United Nations, Biden framed the move as part of a broader return to multilateralism, saying the world must work together to combat daunting challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic, trade disputes and a rapidly warming planet. Biden said he intends to work with Congress to boost the U.S. annual contribution to the problem to $11.4 billion, an amount he said is necessary 'to support the countries and people that will be hit the hardest and that have the fewest resources to help them adapt.'"

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Vice President Harris and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday both decried images of horse-mounted Border Patrol agents aggressively confronting Haitian immigrants in Texas and pledged a swift but thorough investigation into the matter.... Harris, in comments to CBS News, said she supports the investigation launched by Mayorkas into what she characterized as a 'horrible' episode and said she plans to talk to him directly about it later Tuesday.... 'I am going to let the investigation run its course, but the pictures that I observed troubled me profoundly,' Mayorkas said [during an appearance on CNN]." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Nick Niedzwiadek of Politico: "Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Congress on Tuesday that the Biden administration is aiming to relocate the thousands of migrants camped along the U.S. border in Del Rio, Texas by the month's end. 'Our goal is to do so within the next 10 days or nine days,' Mayorkas said in response to questioning from Sen. James Lankford (R-Ok.). Mayorkas told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee that officials 'expect to see dramatic results within the next 48 to 96' hours, at which point they'll have a better grasp of the remaining task. Mayorkas said that the administration is continuing to ramp up 'the frequency and number' of repatriation flights for the migrants, the bulk of whom hail from Haiti." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Eileen Sullivan & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "Images of Border Patrol agents on horses, pushing back Haitian migrants crossing the Rio Grande to try to reach U.S. soil, have prompted outrage among Democrats and called into question President Biden's decision to swiftly deport thousands who had been arriving en masse at a small Texas border town.... 'I urge President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas to immediately put a stop to these expulsions,' Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, said on Tuesday. 'We cannot continue these hateful and xenophobic Trump policies that disregard our refugee laws.'... Asked if Mr. Biden had seen the images, the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said: 'He believes that the footage and photos are horrific. They don't represent who we are as a country. And he was pleased to see the announcement of the investigation.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: No, Jen, this is who we are, and those CPB officers with whips/reins do legally represent the U.S. government. Admittedly, the Border Patrol has the least stringent employment standards among the agencies that employ law enforcement officers. Oh, and "A culture of racism within the Border Patrol has persisted throughout its history." And sexist. But these agents, however racist & ill-prepared to serve, still represent the United States.

Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "U.S. military officials have insisted since the last American troops withdrew from Afghanistan last month that they would be able to detect and attack Islamic State or Qaeda threats in the country from afar. But an errant drone strike that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, in Kabul on Aug. 29 calls into question the reliability of the intelligence that will be used to conduct the operations.... New details about the drone strike, which the Pentagon initially said was necessary to prevent an attack on American troops, show the limitations of such counterterrorism missions even when U.S. forces are on the ground." The American strike crew was tracking -- and hit -- the wrong white Toyota Corolla. "Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has ordered a review of the Central Command's inquiry into the drone strike to determine, among other issues, who should be held accountable and 'the degree to which strike authorities, procedures and processes need to be altered in the future.'"

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "The House on Tuesday approved legislation to keep the government funded through early December, lift the limit on federal borrowing through the end of 2022 and provide emergency money for Afghan refugees and natural disaster recovery, setting up a fiscal showdown as Republicans warn they will block the measure in the Senate. The bill is urgently needed to avert a government shutdown when funding lapses next week, and a first-ever debt default when the Treasury Department reaches the limit of its borrowing authority within weeks. But it has become ensnared in partisan politics, with Republicans refusing to allow a debt ceiling increase at a time when Democrats control Congress and the White House.... Even with crucial funding for their states on the line, no [House] Republicans voted for the legislation.... And the prospects for passage in the 50-50 Senate appeared dim, as Republicans vowed they would neither vote for the legislation nor allow it to advance in the chamber, where 60 votes are needed to move forward." An NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Earlier, That Same Day. Democrats Behaving Badly, Republicans Behaving Worse. Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Th U.S. government is careening toward an urgent financial crisis starting in 10 days, as a political standoff on Capitol Hill threatens to shutter the government during a pandemic, delay hurricane aid to millions of Americans and thrust Washington to the precipice of defaulting on its debt. The high-stakes feud stems from a fight to raise the U.S. government's borrowing limit, known as the debt ceiling. Democrats have tied the increase to a bill that funds federal operations into December, setting off a war with Republicans, who refuse to raise the cap out of opposition to President Biden's broader agenda -- even if it means grinding the country to a halt.... With the clock ticking, the House is set to take the first steps Tuesday to adopt a measure that could stave off the political and economic crisis. But the bill already has run into early political head winds, even among Democrats.... [Despite making changes to accommodate disagreements,] their proposal still has no chance in the Senate, where Republicans largely have pledged to vote against combining the debt ceiling with government spending into one bill. The stalemate threatens to leave Congress with little time to resolve a set of disputes...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Benjamin Siegel of ABC News: "House Democrats on Tuesday removed $1 billion in funding for Israel's Iron Dome air defense system from their stopgap government funding bill, after progressives threatened to tank the measure over the military support for Israel. While Democratic leaders committed to approving the funding by year's end in another must-pass bill, the holdup was the latest episode in an ongoing intraparty debate over support for Israel. Republicans quickly took to social media to accuse Democrats of undermining Israel's security. They also planned a procedural vote to highlight Democrats' divisions -- which was rejected -- even as they had planned to vote against the initial measure when it included Iron Dome funding." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: IOW, according to House Republicans, Democrats are terrible to nix Iron Dome funding that Republicans had already decided to nix. ~~~

~~~ Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "The United States could plunge into an immediate recession if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling and the country defaults on its payment obligations this fall, according to one analysis released Tuesday. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, found that a prolonged impasse over the debt ceiling would cost the U.S. economy up to 6 million jobs, wipe out as much as $15 trillion in household wealth, and send the unemployment rate surging to roughly 9 percent from around 5 percent.... Moody's 'best estimate' is that [the date the U.S. will default on its debt] is Oct. 20, although Treasury has not given a more precise day.... Failure to raise the debt limit would have catastrophic impacts on global financial markets.... Even resolving the matter before the debt ceiling is breached could hurt U.S. taxpayers and the American economy in the long term. The budget battles over the debt ceiling of 2011 and 2013 under the Obama administration ... [cost] the U.S. economy as much as $180 billion and 1.2 million jobs by 2015, according to Zandi and [Moody report co-author Bernard] Yaros."~~~

~~~ Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "... this new version of the GOP is at once so radical and so lacking in responsible leadership that it is plunging headlong and unified toward forcing default on the full faith and credit of the United States. Congressional Republicans are inviting economic calamity.... Though crazies threatened default [in the past], grown-ups in the GOP -- Bob Dole, [John] Boehner, an earlier incarnation of Mitch McConnell -- pulled them back from the abyss. Until now. The crazies are in charge.... The hypocrisy is stunning. McConnell has voted to increase or suspend the debt limit 32 times, including thrice under Trump, who added $7.8 trillion to the debt, The Post's Jeff Stein reported. About 97 percent of the current debt existed before Joe Biden's presidency."


Trump, et al., Were Lying and They Knew It. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Two weeks after the 2020 election, a team of lawyers closely allied with Donald J. Trump held a widely watched news conference at the Republican Party's headquarters in Washington. At the event, they laid out a bizarre conspiracy theory claiming that a voting machine company had worked with an election software firm, the financier George Soros and Venezuela to steal the presidential contest from Mr. Trump. But there was a problem for the Trump team, according to court documents released on Monday evening. By the time the news conference occurred on Nov. 19, Mr. Trump's campaign had already prepared an internal memo on many of the outlandish claims about the company, Dominion Voting Systems, and the separate software company, Smartmatic. The memo had determined that those allegations were untrue. The court papers, which were initially filed late last week as a motion in a defamation lawsuit brought against the campaign and others by a former Dominion employee, Eric Coomer, contain evidence that officials in the Trump campaign were aware early on that many of the claims against the companies were baseless.... The memo ... rebutted a series of allegations that [Trump attorney Sidney] Powell and others were making in public." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The Hill has a summary report here. ~~~

~~~ Blueprint for a Coup. Philip Bump of the Washington Post lays out how Trump, by memo and/or a mob, planned to grant himself a second term. You can read Trump attorney John Eastman's full election-theft memo here, which also is linked within the Gangel-Herb story linked below. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Matt Shuham of TPM: "Crucially, the memo was the culmination of months of work aimed at the Jan. 6 certification date, pulling together Trump's win-at-any-cost strategy with the then-President's willing accomplices in Congress. In the end, it represented the last known attempt Team Trump made at peacefully stealing a second term. After Pence rejected that effort, Trump's mob went after him and Congress.... [John] "Eastman was one of several speakers to address the D.C. rally Trump had beckoned -- the rally that turned into a mob.... 'We know there was fraud,' he said, falsely. 'We know that dead people voted.' Then, he aimed his fire squarely, and publicly, at Pence. 'All we are demanding of Vice President Pence is this afternoon at 1 o'clock, he let the legislatures of the states look into this so we get to the bottom of it and the American people know whether we have control of the direction of our government or not!'... 'All Vice President Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify, and we become president, and you are the happiest people!' Trump would later the crowd that day. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

I knocked on Mary Trump's door. She opened it. I think they call that journalism. -- Susanne Craig of the New York Times, in a tweet Wednesday ~~~

~~~ Katerina Ang of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump has sued his niece, Mary L. Trump, and the New York Times over the publication of a 2018 article detailing allegations that he 'participated in dubious tax schemes ... including instances of outright fraud' that allowed him to receive over $413 million from his father, Fred Trump Sr., while significantly reducing taxes. The suit, filed in a Dutchess County, N.Y., court on Tuesday, alleges that Mary Trump, the New York Times and at least three of its reporters 'engaged in an insidious plot to obtain confidential and highly-sensitive records' about the former president;s finances. According to the lawsuit, Donald Trump suffered at least $100 million in damages as a result of the alleged actions.... The New York Times and the three reporters named in the suit -- David Barstow, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner -- won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting for their 18-month investigation that culminated in the article. Their work 'debunked [Trump's] claims o self-made wealth and revealed a business empire riddled with tax dodges,' according to the Pulitzer Prize board." An AP story is here.

#epicfail. Drew Harwell, et al., of the Washington Post: "Epik long has been the favorite Internet company of the far-right, providing domain services to QAnon theorists, Proud Boys and other instigators of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol -- allowing them to broadcast hateful messages from behind a veil of anonymity. But that veil abruptly vanished last week when a huge breach by the hacker group Anonymous dumped into public view more than 150 gigabytes of previously private data -- including user names, passwords and other identifying information of Epik's customers. Extremism researchers and political opponents have treated the leak as a Rosetta Stone to the far-right, helping them to decode who has been doing what with whom over several years. Initial revelations have spilled out steadily across Twitter since news of the hack broke last week, often under the hashtag #epikfail, but those studying the material say they will need months and perhaps years to dig through all of it." (Also linked yesterday.)

Adela Suliman of the Washington Post: "Ice cream company Ben & Jerry's, described by some as the face of 'woke' capitalism, has revealed a new flavor in support of Democratic Rep. Cori Bush's 'People's Response Act,' which calls for a health-centered approach to policing. The 'Change Is Brewing' flavor -- comprising cold brew coffee ice cream with marshmallows and fudge brownies -- aims to help 'transform the nation's approach to public safety,' the company said in support of the legislation. 'It's time to divest from systems that criminalize Black communities & invest in a vision of public safety that allows everyone to breathe free,' Ben & Jerry's said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Unsaid here is that many of the people Bush aims to help -- and at one point, even Bush herself -- could not afford to buy a pint of any flavor of Ben & Jerry's.

Jesus Jiménez of the New York Times: "Human remains found in a national park in Wyoming were confirmed on Tuesday to be those of Gabrielle Petito, according to the F.B.I., which also said that the manner of death had been determined to be homicide.... The specific cause of death was still pending final autopsy results, the agency said. Michael Schneider, a special agent in charge with the F.B.I. in Denver, said in the statement that anyone with information about Brian Laundrie, Ms. Petito's fiancé, who had gone on a cross-country road trip with her this summer and had been named as a person of interest in the case, should contact the agency." ~~~>

     ~~~ Marie: I did hesitate to link this story, as I am in complete agreement with PD Pepe & citizen625, who wrote in yesterday's Comments thread about the extraordinary coverage that abductions or murders of young white women receive, and with Rockygirl who noted that "pretty, young, blond, and preferably wealthy white women" get the news coverage -- because as citizen writes, their misfortunes amount to news "clickbait." In fairness to the media, this is a prejudice so built-in to the American psyche that when I was a very young child, I thought Disney's Cinderella story was "more important" than "Snow White" because Cinderella was pictured as blonde & Snow White as brunette. (True, Cinderella wasn't rich, but presumably the Handsome Prince fixed that.) As a cute little red-haired girl, I wished I were blonde. When I was a little older, I began to rethink that, based on news coverage that suggested -- falsely -- that blonde women were more apt to be abducted & murdered.

Karla Adam of the Washington Post: "The family of Harry Dunn, a teen motorcyclist who died in an accident that became a high-level diplomatic dispute, reached a settlement in its U.S. civil suit against Anne Sacoolas, an American alleged to have been driving on the wrong side of the road in the East Midlands of England when she hit Dunn -- and who subsequently claimed diplomatic immunity. A criminal case in Britain is still pending, a family spokesman said. Last year, Dunn's parents, Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, launched a U.S. federal lawsuit claiming wrongful death and seeking financial damages from Sacoolas."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Wednesday are here: "The White House on Wednesday will host a virtual summit on ending the coronavirus pandemic, as President Biden seeks to take a more visible role amid criticism that his administration has done too little on the global stage. The summit, which coincides with this week's United Nations General Assembly meetings, will be broken into four sessions, according to administration officials who previewed the event with reporters on Tuesday. Biden will chair the first session on the need to vaccinate the world...."

Stephanie Nolen & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "As President Biden convenes heads of state for a Covid-19 summit on Wednesday, pressure is growing on American drug companies -- particularly Moderna, the upstart biotech firm that developed its coronavirus vaccine with billions of dollars in taxpayer money -- to share their formulas with manufacturers in nations that desperately need more shots. Last year's successful race to develop vaccines in extraordinarily short order put companies like Moderna and Pfizer in a highly favorable spotlight. But now, with less than 10 percent of those in many poor nations fully vaccinated and a dearth of doses contributing to millions of deaths, health officials in the United States and abroad are pressing the companies to do more to address the global shortage. The Biden administration has privately urged both Pfizer and Moderna to enter into joint ventures where they would license their technology to contract manufacturers with the aim of providing vaccines to low- and middle-income countries, according to a senior administration official. Those talks led to an agreement with Pfizer, expected to be announced on Wednesday, to sell the United States an additional 500 million doses of its vaccine at a not-for-profit price -- rather than license its technology -- to donate overseas."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Tuesday are here: "More people have died of covid-19 in the United States than are estimated to have died of influenza during the 1918 pandemic. Over 675,000 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in the United States since Feb. 29, 2020, according to data tracked by The Washington Post. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that's roughly how many died of influenza in the United States between 1918 and 1919 -- along with more than 49 million people killed globally during the 'deadliest pandemic of the 20th century.'" (The coronavirus has killed nearly 4.7 million people globally.)" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm loath to demonstrate my poor mastery of arithmetic, but it sure looks as if the U.S. accounts for about ten times more deaths per capita worldwide from Covid-19 than it did from the 1918-19 influenza pandemic. That is, 675K/4.7MM (Covid) v. 675K/49MM (flu). Correct me if I'm wrong, please.

Florida. Lexi Lonas of the Hill: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has introduced the state's new surgeon general, who opposes vaccine and mask mandates amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Joseph Ladapo, who got his doctorate from Harvard Medical School and was a researcher at UCLA, began his role as Florida's top public health official Tuesday. 'Like Governor DeSantis, Dr. Ladapo is not against vaccines or masks -- he is against vaccine mandates and forced-masking,' Christina Pushaw, a spokeswoman for the government, told The Hill in a statement.... Pushaw said the only people criticizing DeSantis's new surgeon general are 'media activists' and that the doctor’s résumé 'speaks for itself.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Uh, Maybe Not. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "The man whom Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed as his next surgeon general has a long history of questioning the science behind mask wearing and vaccinations as ways to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.... Newsweek reports that newly minted Florida surgeon general Dr. Joseph Ladapo appeared in a hydroxychloroquine-promoting video last year that was organized by a fringe group of medical professionals whose work was subsequently promoted by then-President Donald Trump.... Also making an appearance with Ladapo in the video was Dr. Stella Immanuel, who gained notoriety last year for her theories about demons coming to Earth and impregnating human women, as well as about physicians using 'alien DNA' to treat their patients."

Australia. Stranded in the Outback. Michael Miller of the Washington Post: "Welcome to covid-era Australia, where state border closures designed to keep the coronavirus from spreading have turned retired office workers into roadside nomads. When the pandemic began, many Australians found that the leaders of the country's six states and two territories, rather than the federal government, suddenly controlled the most vital things in people's lives, including who could go to work and where they could travel.... States and territories have shut their borders with New South Wales, where a delta variant outbreak that began in June has grown to average more than 1,000 cases a day recently. The closures have upended domestic travel and stranded scores of Australians internally, even as a vaccination ramp-up means some states -- and international airports --; will soon open up. People in Sydney could find it easier to fly to Singapore or Los Angeles than to Adelaide."

Beyond the Beltway

Alabama Works on a Rewrite of Its Racist Constitution. Tariro Mzezewa of the New York Times: "The last time Alabama politicians rewrote their State Constitution, back in 1901, their aspirations were explicitly racist: 'to establish white supremacy in this state.'... One hundred twenty years later, the Jim Crow-era laws that disenfranchised Black voters and enforced segregation across Alabama are gone, but the offensive language written into the State Constitution remains. Now, as communities across the South reconsider racist symbols and statues, activists in Alabama who have labored for 20 years to convince voters that rewriting their Constitution is important -- and long overdue -- see an opportunity to get it done.... This month, a committee of lawmakers and lay people began the process of redrafting; their work will go before the voters next year to be ratified before the new Constitution can take effect." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Arizona. Jeremy Duda of the Arizona Mirror: "Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Chucri announced that he will resign his seat after a recording surfaced in which he criticized his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors for not supporting the Senate's review of the 2020 election, speculating that two of them were worried about what such a review would show about their own narrow victories in November in a newly released recording.... 'I think it [Biden's win] was done through dead people voting. I think it was multifaceted. I think there's a lot of cleanup here,' he ... [said] in a Jan. 22 phone call, which Gateway Pundit posted on Tuesday."

Texas. Mychael Schnell of the Hill: "Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) last week signed a new abortion bill into law, further restricting access to the procedure in the state. Senate Bill 4 -- which the Texas Legislature approved during the special session that ended on Sept. 2 -- bans the use of abortion-inducing drugs in the state seven weeks into a pregnancy, according to The Dallas Morning News. The bill also allows people who 'intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly' breach the law to be criminally charged, according to The Dallas Morning News. The penalty for such an action would be a state jail felony, which comes with fines of up to $10,000 and between 180 days and two years in prison." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Crazy Lawsuits May Bring Down Cruel Texas Anti-Abortion Law(s). Ruth Graham, et al., of the New York Times: "When the United States' most restrictive abortion law went into effect in Texas on Sept. 1, it worked exactly as intended: It effectively stopped all abortions in the second-most populous state. But its very ingenuity -- that ordinary citizens, and not state officials, enforce it -- has begun to unleash lawsuits that are out of the control of the anti-abortion movement that fought for the law. On Monday, a man in Arkansas and another in Illinois, both disbarred lawyers with no apparent association with anti-abortion activists, filed separate suits against a San Antonio doctor who publicly wrote about performing an abortion.... Legal experts said the lawsuits filed in state court might be the most likely way to definitively resolve the constitutionality of the Texas law, which has withstood legal tests. Two more sweeping challenges filed in federal court, brought by abortion providers and the Justice Department, raise difficult procedural questions.... From the anti-abortion movement's perspective, neither of the two men who filed suits this week is an ideal plaintiff." MB: No kidding.

Way Beyond

Brazil. Tom Phillips of the Guardian: "The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, told the United Nations general assembly he had come to showcase 'a new Brazil, with its credibility restored before the world'. But in a 12-minute address, in which the far-right populist preached unproven Covid remedies, denounced coronavirus containment measures and peddled a succession of distortions and outright lies about Brazilian politics and the environment, Bolsonaro did little to repair his country's mangled international reputation." ~~~

     ~~~ Adam Taylor & Annabelle Timsit of the Washington Post: "While [Jair Bolsonario] devoted only a small part of his address to the pandemic, his presence at the assembly spoke volumes on it: As he has not been fully immunized, Bolsonaro appears to have broken U.N. rules that asked for all those who entered the General Assembly Hall to be fully vaccinated under an 'honor system.'... Anyone who enters the General Assembly Hall at U.N. headquarters tacitly attests that they are vaccinated under rules put in place to prevent the assembly from turning into a superspreader event.... Bolsonaro ... says he does not need to get vaccinated because he recovered from a mild case of covid-19 last year.... Later, Bloomberg News reported that a member of Bolsonaro's delegation, who hadn't been in contact with the president, tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in New York and was placed in isolation."

U.K. Don't know why anyone cares about this, but it seems to be newsy on both sides of the pond: ~~~

~~~ Heather Stewart of the Guardian: "Boris Johnson has admitted for the first time that he has six children, claiming in an interview on US television that he 'changes a lot of nappies'. The prime minister has previously tended to avoid questions about his notoriously complex family life. He has been divorced twice, and conceived a daughter during an extramarital relationship. But when an NBC interviewer put to him that he has six children, he replied: 'Yes.'" ~~~

     ~~~ MEANWHILE. William Booth, et al., of the Washington Post: "As host of the upcoming global summit on climate change in November, billed as a final 'moment of truth,' [U.K. Prime Minister Boris] Johnson and his diplomats have just six weeks to help secure ambitious, concrete commitments to slash emissions of greenhouse gases -- or manage failure.... On Monday, Johnson chaired a closed-door roundtable discussion at the United Nations, alongside U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, where he urged the assembled world leaders to increase their financial commitments and emissions targets.... Then on Tuesday, the prime minister headed to the White House -- by Amtrak, an emissions-conserving choice.... For its part, Britain has announced ambitious climate targets for 2030 and 2035 to help achieve net zero by 2050.... But ... a recent report by the Climate Action Tracker ... noted that there is a 'large gap' between Britain's targets and levels of action."

News Lede

New York Times: "Willie Garson, the actor best known for his role as Carrie Bradshaw's best male friend Stanford Blatch in 'Sex and the City,' has died. He was 57."

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