The Ledes

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

The New York Times is live-updating developments Tuesday as powerful Hurricane Milton moves through the Gulf of Mexico toward Central Florida.

New York Times: “Cissy Houston, a Grammy Award-winning soul and gospel star who helped shepherd her daughter Whitney Houston to superstardom, died on Monday at her home in Newark. She was 91.”

The Wires
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The Ledes

Monday, October 7, 2024

Weather Channel: “H​urricane Milton has rapidly intensified into a Category 3 and hurricane and storm surge watches are now posted along Florida's western Gulf Coast, where the storm poses threats of life-threatening storm surge, destructive winds and flooding rainfall by midweek. 'Milton will be a historic storm for the west coast of Florida,' the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay said in a briefing Monday morning.” ~~~

     ~~~ New York Times live updates are here for what is now a Cat 5 hurricane. 

CNN: “This year’s Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their work on the discovery of microRNA, a fundamental principle governing how gene activity is regulated. Their research revealed how genes give rise to different cells within the human body, a process known as gene regulation. Gene regulation by microRNA – a family of molecules that helps cells control the sort of proteins they make – ... was first revealed by Ambros and Ruvkun. The Nobel Prize committee announced the prestigious honor ... in Sweden on Monday.... Ambros, a professor of natural science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, conducted the research that earned him the prize at Harvard University. Ruvkun conducted his research at Massachusetts General Hospital, and is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School.”

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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


Monday
May312021

The Commentariat -- June 1, 2021

Marie: If you missed it, see also yesterday's Scam Alert at the top of the May 31 page. Plus: I wrote to a friend about the scam because I thought it was so odd. Apparently not. She wrote back, "The Gift Card scam is a multi-million dollar scam, that tends to target the elderly. Some people have lost their life's savings. Another one is that someone you are related to or know is in jail, stranded somewhere or in some kind of trouble (like jail) and needs you to wire them money."

Calvin Woodward of the AP: "President Joe Biden honored America's war dead at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day by laying a wreath at the hallowed burial ground and extolling the sacrifices of the fallen for the pursuit of democracy, 'the soul of America.' Biden invoked the iconic battles of history and joined them to the present as he implored Americans to rise above the divisions straining the union, which he described in stark terms. The president was joined Monday by first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff in a somber ceremony at the Virginia cemetery's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is dedicated to deceased service members whose remains have not been identified. His face tight with emotion, Biden walked up to the wreath, cupping it in his hands in silent reflection, then making the sign of the cross. His eyes were wet." ~~~

The soul of America is animated by the perennial battle between our worse instincts, which we've seen of late, and our better angels. Between 'me first' and 'we the people.' Between greed and generosity, cruelty and kindness, captivity and freedom.... Democracy itself is in peril, here at home and around the world. What we do now, what we do now, how we honor the memory of the fallen, will determine whether democracy will long endure. -- Joe Biden, Memorial Day address ~~~

~~~ Kathryn Watson of CBS News: "President Biden said how America honors the memory of its fallen service members 'will determine whether democracy will long endure' in a Memorial Day address at Arlington National Cemetery.... Mr. Biden emphasized America is an 'idea' dependent on a commitment to freedom and justice in each generation." ~~~

David Lynch of the Washington Post: "Finance ministers from Group of Seven nations meeting in London on Friday are expected to back President Biden's call for a global minimum tax on corporate profits, giving him an early win in a grueling diplomatic campaign that is just beginning. The new minimum tax, one half of a two-pronged global reform effort, is designed to halt a cycle of corporate tax-cutting that has sapped government revenue around the globe. As part of a package deal, negotiators are also wrestling with European demands to tax American technology giants such as Google and Facebook, which earn substantial revenue in countries where they have little physical presence. Biden catalyzed the global tax debate this month by lowering to 15 percent from 21 percent his proposed worldwide minimum. If he can secure agreement from the world's leading democracies -- en route to a broader global consensus later this year -- it could eventually produce the most significant global tax shift in decades."

What I Saw at the QAnon "Conference." David Gilbert of Vice: "QAnon's biggest celebrities threw a three-day conference in Dallas over the weekend -- and it did not disappoint. Whether you wanted to hear a former US Army general [-- Michael Flynn --] calling for a military coup or Roger Stone's social media advisor [Jason Sullivan] calling for Hillary Clinton's execution, there was something for everyone.... A sitting Congressman [-- Louie Gohmert (R-Texas --] appeared on stage and literally embraced QAnon influencers. Dozens of members of a shadowy militia provided protection -- some with their own pugs in tow. And then there was Kraken-lawyer Sidney Powell trying to sing the national anthem."

Seth Borenstein of the AP: "More than one-third of the world's heat deaths each year are due directly to global warming, according to the latest study to calculate the human cost of climate change. But scientists say that's only a sliver of climate's overall toll -- even more people die from other extreme weather amplified by global warming such as storms, flooding and drought -- and the heat death numbers will grow exponentially with rising temperatures. Dozens of researchers who looked at heat deaths in 732 cities around the globe from 1991 to 2018 calculated that 37% were caused by higher temperatures from human-caused warming, according to a study Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here.

I Ain't Working Here No More. Micheline Maynard in a Washington Post op-ed: "... upward of 1 million [open jobs in the restaurant business] are going begging, leading to a bitter debate over the reasons. Business owners point to the extra $300 a week in jobless benefits that are part of the American Rescue Plan for a covid-ravaged economy.... People forget that restaurants were scrambling to find workers long before the pandemic.... But what if a substantial number of those not going back to restaurant work simply realized ... that working in many restaurants ... is kind of awful?... [Many laid-off restaurants workers] find themselves welcome in ... many places where, unlike many restaurants, the pay and hours may be steadier and even come with benefits."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Beyond the Beltway

Oklahoma. DeNeen Brown of the Washington Post: "On the 100th anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, survivors and descendants gathered Monday at Standpipe Hill, where Black World War I veterans fought fiercely in a battle to hold off a White mob descending on the all-Black neighborhood of Greenwood.... Tulsa spent much of the past century denying and dismissing the racial terror that unfolded here. Now the city is finally acknowledging the history and its lasting scars, even as it resists calls for reparations for the survivors and descendants. Over the past three days, crowds of Black and White people have flocked to Greenwood for peaceful demonstrations, parades, concerts and panel discussions about the race massacre. Hundreds were expected to gather late Monday evening for a candlelight vigil, and President Biden is scheduled to visit Tulsa on Tuesday, when the city resumes excavation of a mass grave in Oaklawn Cemetery that may be connected to the rampage." An AP story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post: "... the burning of 'Black Wall Street' in Tulsa a century ago ... was part of a long and shameful pattern in which White mobs used murderous violence to erase African American prosperity.... It happened in two dozen cities across the country in 1919, during what came to be known as the 'Red Summer.'... Perhaps the worst of the 1919 riots was in Chicago.... Whites rioted and set fires throughout heavily African American neighborhoods on the city's South Side. In the end, 38 people were killed and more than 500 injured, most of them Black.... The aftermath of the riots saw the codification of Jim Crow laws and the intensification of unwritten practices such as redlining, intended to keep Black Americans 'in their place.'... There are those who deny that anything called 'systemic racism' is a feature of the American landscape. They should be aware that history tells a very different story."

Texas. Hey, U.S. Senate: The Eyes of Texas Are upon You. Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "Texas Democrats who defeated a Republican effort to pass a suite of new voting restrictions with a dramatic, late-night walkout from the state House chamber on Sunday have a message for President Biden and his allies in Congress: If we can protect voting rights, you can too. The surprise move by roughly 60 Democratic lawmakers headed off the expected passage of S.B. 7, a voting measure that would have been one of the most stringent in the nation, denying Republicans a required quorum and forcing them to abruptly adjourn without taking a vote. The coordinated walkout just after 10:30 p.m. Central time jolted the national debate about voting rights, putting the spotlight on Democratic-backed federal legislation that has been stalled in the Senate all spring, even as state Republicans move to enact new voting rules.... Much of the pressure to secure voting rights nationally falls primarily on ... Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.)...." ~~~

~~~ King Greg. Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune: &"Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he would veto the section of the state budget that funds the Legislature hours after a Democratic walkout killed his priority elections bill. 'No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities,' Abbott said in a tweet. 'Stay tuned.'... 'This would eliminate the branch of government that represents the people and basically create a monarchy,' state Rep. Donna Howard of Austin tweeted."

Way Beyond

Russia. Vladimir Isachenkov of the AP: "Russia's military will form 20 new units in the country's west this year to counter what it claims is a growing threat from NATO, the defense minister [Sergei Shoigu] said Monday.... He added the military units in Western Russia have commissioned about 2,000 new pieces of weaponry this year."

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Sunday
May302021

The Commentariat -- May 31, 2021

Scam Alert!! Yesterday, PD Pepe and I received exactly the same set of two emails, purporting to come from a former contributor to Reality Chex. Another reader told Pepe he also got these two emails. The first email was a well-wishes sort that said the writer would be asking for an unspecified favor. When Pepe & I responded, we each got this email:

Thanks for your concern, I am sorry for bothering you with this mail, I need to get a GOOGLE PLAY GIFT CARDS for my Niece, It's her birthday but I can't do this now because I'm currently traveling and I tried purchasing online but unfortunately I have no luck with that. Can you get it from any store around you? I'll pay back as soon as I am back. Kindly let me know if you can handle this.

This clearly is a scam, and I doubt the purported writer has anything to do with it. I don't want to give her name as I think even that could unfairly implicate her. (I don't have her real email address or I would write to her to alert her of the scam using her name.) In any event, if you get a personal email supposedly from someone you know used to comment on Reality Chex, I'd suggest you not open it. If you're not a long-timer so don't recognize the name, just don't respond. This is a weird new type of scam I haven't experienced before. But here it is.

Late Morning Update:

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here.

~~~~~~~~~~

The offering we bring to-day is due alike to the patriot soldiers dead and their noble comrades who still live; for, whether living or dead, whether in time or eternity, the loyal soldiers who imperiled all for country and freedom are one and inseparable.... We are sometimes asked, in the name of patriotism, to forget the merits of this fearful struggle, and to remember with equal admiration those who struck at the nation's life and those who struck to save it, those who fought for slavery and those who fought for liberty and justice.... But ... we must never forget that victory to the rebellion meant death to the republic. We must never forget that the loyal soldiers who rest beneath this sod flung themselves between the nation and the nation's destroyers. -- Frederick Douglass, Arlington National Cemetery, Decoration Day 1871 (full remarks)

Jonathan Lemire of the AP: "President Joe Biden marked his first Memorial Day weekend as commander in chief by honoring the nation's sacrifices in a deeply personal manner as he paid tribute Sunday to those lost while remembering his late son Beau, a veteran who died six years ago to the day. As a cold rain fell, Biden made his annual appearance at the commemoration in New Castle, not far from his Wilmington home, a day before he planned to do the same at Arlington National Cemetery on the official observance.... Biden had attended the ceremony nearly every year for decades, and it was at last year's event when he emerged for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, spotted with a mask while laying a wreath." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is what a real President does. We are fortunate to have such a President again.

MEANWHILE. Marie: The news of the day seldom lets us forget that nearly half of us "beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Four more Oath Keepers associates have been indicted and three were arrested in Florida in recent days in the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol, bringing the number of co-defendants charged in the largest conspiracy case from that day to 16, court records show. Joseph Hackett, 51, of Sarasota, Fla., Jason Dolan, 44, of Wellington, Fla., and William Isaacs, 21, of Kissimmee, Fla., each face multiple counts in an indictment handed up Wednesday and unsealed Sunday in Washington.... The name of a fourth defendant not known to be in custody was redacted.... The four new defendants are charged with conspiring to obstruct Congress's confirmation of the 2020 presidential election.... They are accused of forcing entry through the Capitol's East Rotunda doors after marching single-file up the steps wearing camouflaged combat uniforms, tactical vests with plates, helmets, eye protection and Oath Keepers insignia." A CNN story is here.

Mary Papenfuss of the Huffington Post: "Avowed QAnon disciple and confessed felon retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn has called for a Myanmar-like military coup in America. 'It should happen,' Donald Trump's former national security adviser said in an astonishing declaration at a QAnon conference Sunday.... 'I wanna know why what happened in Myanmar can't happen here?' an unidentified member of the audience asked Flynn, though he pronounced the nation as 'Minnimar.' 'No reason,' Flynn responded to wild screams of approval. 'It should happen.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Paul Campos in LG&$: "I know nothing about the UCMJ [Uniform Code of Military Justice], but can't Flynn be recalled to active duty for the purpose of court-martialing him?" MB: If I stood up in front of a crowd of loonytunes and advocated for overthrowing the government, I'd be charged with something -- like maybe 18 U.S. Code § 2385 -- advocating overthrow of the government -- violation of which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years. And I'm not a former general capable of raising an army.

Aaron Morrison of the AP: Commemoration of the Tulsa Race Massacre is proceeding, but not exactly as planned. "... a march this weekend [will] memorialize those who ran from what is considered one of the worst and deadliest acts of racial violence in American history. That march is just one of an array of events, culminating Tuesday with a visit by President Joe Biden, who is expected to join local leaders in marking the occasion. The weekend was to include a keynote speech from former Georgia gubernatorial candidate and voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams and a performance by singer John Legend at Tulsa's ONEOK Field in the historic Greenwood district. But organizers canceled the event on Thursday, citing 'unexpected circumstances with entertainers and speakers.'... Law enforcement organizations around the U.S. received a bulletin this week from the Department of Homeland Security warning of the potential for targeted violence at the commemoration of the Tulsa massacre...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Way We Were. DeNeen Brown of the Washington Post looks back on the Tulsa Race Massacre.

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Democrats are striking a more urgent tone on negotiations over President Biden's infrastructure plan, as a compromise remains elusive after weeks of talks and measured optimism from both sides. In political talk shows on Sunday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said a clear direction on the plan is needed by June 7, when members of Congress return from a week-long recess.... 'I think we are getting pretty close to a fish-or-cut-bait moment,' Buttigieg said, though he quickly added a conciliatory note that 'on the fishing side of things, the negotiations have been healthy.'" The AP's story is here.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Florida. AP: "A former Florida Department of Health employee has received whistleblower status a year after being fired for repeatedly violating the agency's policy about communicating with the media. The employee, Rebekah Jones, had raised questions about Florida's COVID-19 data after being ousted as the data's curator. State officials said she was fired for insubordination after being reprimanded several times, according to state records. The Miami Herald reported that the Office of the Inspector General told her attorneys on Friday that 'the information disclosed does meet the criteria for whistleblower status as described by ... Florida statutes.' Jones, who helped build the state's online presentation of its COVID-19 data, received national attention a year ago when she sowed doubt about the information being reported by the state when Florida was an epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.... Under the state's whistleblower rules, Jones could be reinstated or be eligible for compensation if an investigation finds her firing was in retaliation for the the concerns she raised." (Also linked yesterday.) (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: When Florida state law enforcement officials raided her home, they collected evidence they claimed justified charging her with a criminal offense, and in January 2021 they jailed her overnight before she posted bond.

Wingers Accuse Regulators of Being Health Nazis

Tennessee. When You Think, "At Least They Can't Get Worse." Jordan Williams of the Hill: "Several prominent hat makers have distanced themselves from a Nashville hat store amid online backlash over the store's decision to sell yellow 'not vaccinated' patches shaped like the Star of David.... HatWRKS originally defended its move on Friday in two Instagram posts, saying people were outraged by the badges but not the 'tyranny the world is experiencing.'... According to WRKN in Nashville, protestors surrounded the store on Saturday, with demonstrators holding up a 'No Nazis in Nashville' sign in front of the store. American hat maker Stetson announced on Twitter on Saturday that it was no longer selling its hats with the store.... Another hat maker, Goorin Bros, said on Instagram that it was 'horrified by the display and selling of the Jewish badge by HatWRKS.'... On Saturday evening, HatWRKS posted an apology for the badges to Instagram, saying 'in NO WAY did I intend to trivialize the Star of David or disrespect what happened to millions of people.'" MB Translation: "I never intended to hurt my business." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Texas. Derek Hawkins of the Washington Post: "A group of 117 unvaccinated staffers from Houston Methodist Hospital filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to avoid the hospital's coronavirus vaccine mandate, saying it's unlawful for bosses to require the shots. The staffers join a growing list of employees challenging compulsory immunizations at businesses, colleges and other workplaces essential to the country's reopening.... The lawsuit against Houston Methodist was filed by Jared Woodfill, a Houston-area attorney and conservative activist. It appears to mirror a legal strategy used by a New York-based law firm, Siri & Glimstad, that is closely aligned with one of the country's biggest anti-vaccination organizations but unaffiliated with the Houston litigation. The complaint ... says Houston Methodist's vaccine mandate violates a set of medical ethics standards known as the Nuremberg Code, which ... was created after World War II in response to the medical atrocities Nazis committed against prisoners in concentration camps." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ See also Patrick's comments in yesterday's Comments on the flaws in the employees' argument.

Beyond the Beltway

Massachusetts. Maria Cramer of the New York Times: "Nearly 50 years ago, the body of Danny Croteau, a 13-year-old altar boy, was found floating in the Chicopee River in Springfield, Mass. His head had been beaten with a blunt object. Richard R. Lavigne, a Catholic priest who was close to the boy's family, presided over his funeral Mass at Saint Catherine of Siena Church in Springfield and comforted his parents. But the police began investigating the priest almost immediately after the boy's death. Soon, the parents of Danny, the youngest in a family of five boys and two girls, became suspicious as well. Over the years, investigators repeatedly interviewed Mr. Lavigne and searched his house for evidence.... On May 21, prosecutors and investigators in Hampden County decided they finally had enough evidence to arrest Mr. Lavigne, who had been defrocked in 2004 for molesting two boys.... But just hours after they had begun preparing a request for an arrest warrant for murder, investigators learned that Mr. Lavigne, 80, had died, said the Hampden County district attorney, Anthony D. Gulluni." (Also linked yesterday.)

Texas. Voter Suppression, Super-sized, Ctd. Alexa Ura of the Texas Tribune: "In the course of several hours Saturday and early Sunday, Senate Republicans hurtled to move forward on a sweeping voting bill negotiated behind closed doors where it doubled in length and grew to include voting law changes that weren't previously considered. Over Democrats' objections, they suspended the chamber's own rules to narrow the window lawmakers had to review the new massive piece of legislation before giving it final approval ahead of the end of Monday's end to the legislative session. This culminated in an overnight debate and party line vote early Sunday to sign off on a raft of new voting restrictions and changes to elections and get it one step closer to the governor's desk. Senate Bill 7, the GOP's priority voting bill, emerged Saturday from a conference committee as an expansive bill that would touch nearly the entire voting process, including provisions to limit early voting hours, curtail local voting options and further tighten voting-by-mail, among several other provisions." This and related stories linked yesterday. ~~~

     ~~~ ** Just Not Showing Up Wins the Battle. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Democrats in the Texas Legislature staged a dramatic, late-night walkout on Sunday night to force the failure of a sweeping Republican overhaul of state election laws. The move, which deprived the session of the minimum number of lawmakers required for a vote before a midnight deadline, was a stunning setback for state Republicans who had made a new voting law one of their top priorities. The effort is not entirely dead, however. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, indicated that he would call a special session of the Legislature, which could start as early as June 1, or Tuesday, to restart the process.... He was widely expected to sign whatever measure Republicans passed." The Texas Tribune story is here.

Way Beyond

Strange Bedfellows May Oust Bibi. Shira Rubin of the Washington Post: "A diverse coalition of Israeli opposition parties said Sunday that they have the votes to form a unity government to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader and its dominant political figure for more than a decade. Under their agreement, reached after weeks of negotiations spearheaded by centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid, former Netanyahu defense minister and ally Naftali Bennett will lead a power-sharing government. Bennett, 49, would serve as Israel's next prime minister, according to terms of the deal reported by Israeli media, to be succeeded in that role by Lapid, 57, at a later date." ~~~

~~~ Patrick Kingsley of the New York Times: "The longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history, Benjamin Netanyahu, faced the most potent threat yet to his grip on power Sunday after an ultranationalist power-broker, Naftali Bennett, said his party would work with opposition leaders to build an alternative government to force Mr. Netanyahu from office. If the maneuvering leads to a formal coalition agreement, it would be an uneasy alliance between eight relatively small parties with a diffuse range of ideologies. The prime minister's post would rotate between two unlikely partners: Mr. Bennett, a former settler leader who rejects the concept of a sovereign Palestinian state and champions the religious right -- and Yair Lapid, a former television host who is considered a voice of secular centrists." The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Don't know if the Post is right or if the Times & AP stories are more accurate. All three are up at the same time Sunday evening ET.

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Saturday
May292021

The Commentariat -- May 30, 2021

Late Morning Update:

Aaron Morrison of the AP: Commemoration of the Tulsa Race Massacre is proceeding, but not exactly as planned. "... a march this weekend [will] memorialize those who ran from what is considered one of the worst and deadliest acts of racial violence in American history. That march is just one of an array of events, culminating Tuesday with a visit by President Joe Biden, who is expected to join local leaders in marking the occasion. The weekend was to include a keynote speech from former Georgia gubernatorial candidate and voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams and a performance by singer John Legend at Tulsa's ONEOK Field in the historic Greenwood district. But organizers canceled the event on Thursday, citing 'unexpected circumstances with entertainers and speakers.'... Law enforcement organizations around the U.S. received a bulletin this week from the Department of Homeland Security warning of the potential for targeted violence at the commemoration of the Tulsa massacre...."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here.

Florida. AP: "A former Florida Department of Health employee has received whistleblower status a year after being fired for repeatedly violating the agency's policy about communicating with the media. The employee, Rebekah Jones, had raised questions about Florida's COVID-19 data after being ousted as the data's curator. State officials said she was fired for insubordination after being reprimanded several times, according to state records. The Miami Herald reported that the Office of the Inspector General told her attorneys on Friday that 'the information disclosed does meet the criteria for whistleblower status as described by ... Florida statutes.' Jones, who helped build the state's online presentation of its COVID-19 data, received national attention a year ago when she sowed doubt about the information being reported by the state when Florida was an epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.... Under the state's whistleblower rules, Jones could be reinstated or be eligible for compensation if an investigation finds her firing was in retaliation for the the concerns she raised." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: When Florida state law enforcement officials raided her home, they collected evidence they claimed justified charging her with a criminal offense, and in January 2021 they jailed her overnight before she posted bond.

Wingers Accuse Regulators of Being Health Nazis

Tennessee. When You Think, "At Least They Can't Get Worse." Jordan Williams of the Hill: "Several prominent hat makers have distanced themselves from a Nashville hat store amid online backlash over the store's decision to sell yellow 'not vaccinated' patches shaped like the Star of David.... HatWRKS originally defended its move on Friday in two Instagram posts, saying people were outraged by the badges but not the 'tyranny the world is experiencing.'... According to WRKN in Nashville, protestors surrounded the store on Saturday, with demonstrators holding up a 'No Nazis in Nashville' sign in front of the store. American hat maker Stetson announced on Twitter on Saturday that it was no longer selling its hats with the store.... Another hat maker, Goorin Bros, said on Instagram that it was 'horrified by the display and selling of the Jewish badge by HatWRKS.'... On Saturday evening, HatWRKS posted an apology for the badges to Instagram, saying 'in NO WAY did I intend to trivialize the Star of David or disrespect what happened to millions of people.'" MB Translation: "I never intended to hurt my business." ~~~

~~~ Texas. Derek Hawkins of the Washington Post: "A group of 117 unvaccinated staffers from Houston Methodist Hospital filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to avoid the hospital's coronavirus vaccine mandate, saying it's unlawful for bosses to require the shots. The staffers join a growing list of employees challenging compulsory immunizations at businesses, colleges and other workplaces essential to the country's reopening.... The lawsuit against Houston Methodist was filed by Jared Woodfill, a Houston-area attorney and conservative activist. It appears to mirror a legal strategy used by a New York-based law firm, Siri & Glimstad, that is closely aligned with one of the country's biggest anti-vaccination organizations but unaffiliated with the Houston litigation. The complaint ... says Houston Methodist's vaccine mandate violates a set of medical ethics standards known as the Nuremberg Code, which ... was created after World War II in response to the medical atrocities Nazis committed against prisoners in concentration camps."


Massachusetts. Maria Cramer of the New York Times: "Nearly 50 years ago, the body of Danny Croteau, a 13-year-old altar boy, was found floating in the Chicopee River in Springfield, Mass. His head had been beaten with a blunt object. Richard R. Lavigne, a Catholic priest who was close to the boy's family, presided over his funeral Mass at Saint Catherine of Siena Church in Springfield and comforted his parents. But the police began investigating the priest almost immediately after the boy's death. Soon, the parents of Danny, the youngest in a family of five boys and two girls, became suspicious as well. Over the years, investigators repeatedly interviewed Mr. Lavigne and searched his house for evidence.... On May 21, prosecutors and investigators in Hampden County decided they finally had enough evidence to arrest Mr. Lavigne, who had been defrocked in 2004 for molesting two boys.... But just hours after they had begun preparing a request for an arrest warrant for murder, investigators learned that Mr. Lavigne, 80, had died, said the Hampden County district attorney, Anthony D. Gulluni."

Texas. Voter Suppression, Super-sized, Ctd. Alexa Ura of the Texas Tribune: "In the course of several hours Saturday and early Sunday, Senate Republicans hurtled to move forward on a sweeping voting bill negotiated behind closed doors where it doubled in length and grew to include voting law changes that weren't previously considered. Over Democrats' objections, they suspended the chamber's own rules to narrow the window lawmakers had to review the new massive piece of legislation before giving it final approval ahead of the end of Monday's end to the legislative session. This culminated in an overnight debate and party line vote early Sunday to sign off on a raft of new voting restrictions and changes to elections and get it one step closer to the governor's desk. Senate Bill 7, the GOP's priority voting bill, emerged Saturday from a conference committee as an expansive bill that would touch nearly the entire voting process, including provisions to limit early voting hours, curtail local voting options and further tighten voting-by-mail, among several other provisions." Related stories linked below.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "... Mitch McConnell, was adamant: he would oppose the bill [to create a January 6 commission], regardless of any amendments -- and he expected his colleagues to follow suit. The commission that would have likely found Donald Trump and some Republicans responsible for the insurrection posed an existential threat to the GOP ahead of the midterms, he said.... McConnell's sharp warning ... underscored the alarm that gripped McConnell and Senate Republican leadership in the fraught political moments leading up to the vote, and how they exploited fears within the GOP of crossing a mercurial former president to galvanize opposition to the commission. The story of how Republicans undermined an inquiry into one of the darkest days for American democracy ... is informed by eight House and Senate aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity." ~~~

     ~~~ Thanks to RAS for the link.

Marisa Iati of the Washington Post: "The latest front in the culture wars over how U.S. students should learn history and civics is the concept of critical race theory, an intellectual tool set for examining systemic racism. With roots in academia, the framework has become a flash point as Republican officials across the country seek to prevent it from being taught in schools.... At least five Republican-led state legislatures have passed bans on critical race theory or related topics in recent months, and conservatives in roughly nine other states are pressing for similar measures.... Critical race theory ... holds that racial inequality is woven into legal systems and negatively affects people of color in ... [many aspects] of life.... Conservative activists and politicians now use the term as a catchall phrase for nearly any examination of systemic racism in the present.... In September..., Donald Trump directed federal agencies to cease any trainings related to critical race theory, White privilege or other forms of what he called 'propaganda.' A federal judge later blocked the directive on First Amendment grounds, and President Biden rescinded the ban after he took office.... The American Civil Liberties Union characterized the bans as an attempt to silence teachers and students and impose a version of American history 'that erases the legacy of discrimination and lived experiences of Black and Brown people.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Republicans are afraid of any attempts to get to essential truths, because those projects will expose their rotten, racist core. Whether it's the plot to overturn the election results, the ensuing voter suppression movement -- or addresing the systemic racism that underlies these efforts -- the GOP is going all-out to squelch it.

You, Too, Can Be a Cybercriminal! Andrew Kramer, et al., of the New York Times: The cybergang "DarkSide's attack on ... Colonial Pipeline ... cast a spotlight on a rapidly expanding criminal industry based primarily in Russia that has morphed from a specialty demanding highly sophisticated hacking skills into a conveyor-belt-like process. Now, even small-time criminal syndicates and hackers with mediocre computer capabilities can pose a potential national security threat. Where once criminals had to play psychological games to trick people into handing over bank passwords and have the technical know-how to siphon money out of secure personal accounts, now virtually anyone can obtain ransomware off the shelf and load it into a compromised computer system using tricks picked up from YouTube tutorials or with the help of groups like DarkSide.... A glimpse into DarkSide's secret communications ... reveals a criminal operation on the rise, pulling in millions of dollars in ransom payments each month. DarkSide offers what is known as 'ransomware as a service,' in which a malware developer charges a user fee to so-called affiliates.... DarkSide's services include providing technical support for hackers, negotiating with targets like the publishing company, processing payments, and devising tailored pressure campaigns through blackmail and other means...."

"A Run on Guns." Sabrina Tavernise of the New York Times: "... the country's appetite for firearms has only been increasing, with more being bought by more Americans than ever before. While gun sales have been climbing for decades -- they often spike in election years and after high-profile crimes -- Americans have been on an unusual, prolonged buying spree fueled by the coronavirus pandemic, the protests last summer and the fears they both stoked.... 'There was a surge in purchasing unlike anything we've ever seen,' said Dr. Garen J. Wintemute, a gun researcher at the University of California, Davis.... Not only were people who already had guns buying more, but people who had never owned one were buying them too." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Although I wouldn't do it myself, it seems rational to me for some people to own handguns for personal protection and non-repeating rifles, or two, for hunting. But everything else is nuts or criminal. I do think part of it is people's -- and especially men's -- inability to spend their leisure time productively. By "productively," I don't mean just making things or helping others (tho those are good things), but learning, exercising or honing skills. Buying guns or watching contact sports are signs of incurious minds. As our brilliant former veep Dan Quayle once said, "What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."

Sam Roberts of the New York Times: Faye Schulman, a Polish Jewish resistance fighter who photographed the Holocaust, "died on April 24 in Toronto, her daughter, Dr. Susan Schulman, said. Mrs. Schulman was believed to be 101.... On Aug. 14, 1942, a year after German troops invaded Soviet-occupied Poland, they massacred the last 1,850 Jews from a shtetl named Lenin near the Sluch River. Only 27 were spared, their skills deemed essential by the invaders. The survivors included shoemakers, tailors, carpenters, blacksmiths, a barber and a young novice photographer named Faigel Lazebnik, who later in marriage would become known as Faye Schulman. The Germans enlisted her to take commemorative photographs of them and, in some cases, their newly acquired mistresses.... At one point the Germans witlessly gave her film to develop that contained pictures they had taken of the three trenches into which they, their Lithuanian collaborators and the local Polish police had machine-gunned Lenin's remaining Jews, including her parents, sisters and younger brother. She kept a copy of the photos as evidence of the atrocity, then later joined a band of Russian guerrilla Resistance fighters."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Saturday, Business Insider reported that Arizona has purchased the materials needed to manufacture hydrogen cyanide gas -- the same chemical the Nazis used to murder Jewish prisoners at Auschwitz and other death camps -- just as they are refurbishing a gas chamber used in death row executions.... Asphyxiation by hydrogen cyanide gas is an extremely painful way to die, causing violent seizures and cardiac arrest as the body's cells are blocked from respirating."

Florida. Hannah Sampson of the Washington Post: "Cruise lines see vaccine requirements as their quickest path back to sailing from the United States. But Florida, home to the largest operators and busiest cruise ports in the world, has passed a law saying those companies are not allowed to ask passengers for proof of vaccination status.... Cruising has been banned [by the CDC] from U.S. ports since March of 2020. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) sued the CDC last month over the ban and has continued to challenge the agency's authority. After Celebrity Cruises announced this week that it had approval to sail in late June with vaccinated passengers, a representative for the governor warned of potentially 'millions of dollars in fines' for violating [Florida's] law.... Legal experts are betting ... the cruise lines [will win the battle] -- and calling out Florida's governor for political posturing."

Texas. Voters Suppression, Super-sized. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Texas lawmakers on Saturday finished drafting a bill that would impose a raft of new voting restrictions, setting up the likely passage of what would be among the most far-reaching laws in Republicans' nationwide drive to overhaul elections systems and limit voting. The bill would ... specifically target balloting methods that were employed for the first time last year by Harris County, home to Houston.... In a statement on Saturday, President Biden called the proposed law, along with similar measures in Georgia and Florida, 'an assault on democracy' that disproportionately targeted 'Black and Brown Americans.' He called on lawmakers to address the issue by passing Democratic voting bills that are pending in Congress." The Texas Tribune story is here.

Way Beyond

Canada. Antonia Farzan of the Washington Post: "The discovery of a mass grave containing the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school in British Columbia prompted an outpouring of grief as efforts to identify the students began.... The discovery has also prompted renewed scrutiny of the Roman Catholic Church, which operated the Kamloops school from 1890 to 1969. Nearly 150,000 Indigenous children in Canada were removed from their families between 1883 and 1996 and sent to residential schools where they often faced neglect and abuse. The schools strictly banned Indigenous languages and traditions, and Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission determined in 2015 that their use constituted 'cultural genocide.' It's unclear what led to the deaths of the 215 children, some as young as 3, whose bodies were found at the former Kamloops residential school....The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has estimated at more than 4,000 children [died in the schools]. Although the Canadian government has formally apologized and paid billions in compensation to the survivors of residential schools, the Catholic Church has yet to issue an apology of its own."

U.K. Love (or Something) in a Time of Covid. Nedeem Badshah of the Guardian: "Boris Johnson has married Carrie Symonds at Westminster Cathedral in a ceremony planned in strict secrecy, according to newspapers. The pair exchanged vows in front of a small group of close friends and family on Saturday, the Mail on Sunday and the Sun newspaper reported. The ceremony had been planned for six months and a handful of church officials were involved in the preparation, according to the Sun. The 30 guests invited, the maximum number under current lockdown restrictions, were said to have been informed only at the last minute."

News Lede

Another Saturday Night in the NRA-USA. AP: "Two people died and an estimated 20 to 25 people were injured in a shooting outside a banquet hall in South Florida, police said. The gunfire erupted early Sunday at the El Mula Banquet Hall in northwest Miami-Dade County, near Hialeah, police told news outlets. The banquet hall had been rented out for a concert. Three people got out of an SUV and opened fire into a crowd outside with assault rifles and handguns, police director Alfredo 'Freddy' Ramirez III said. Authorities believe the shooting was targeted. 'These are cold blooded murderers that shot indiscriminately into a crowd and we will seek justice,' Ramirez said in a tweet." Thanks to PD Pepe for the lead. MB: I grew up in Hialeah. I think the El Mula Hall is after my time, as I don't remember it.

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