The Ledes

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Washington Post: “Hours before Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida, a spate of unusually strong and long-lived tornadoes touched down across the state, flipping tractor-trailers and ripping off roofs. The twisters surprised anxious residents, even as the storm’s eye still loomed. Authorities said there had been 'multiple' deaths after the intense and destructive tornadoes.” MB: I'm still on Florida's emergency-call list, and I received several calls from Lee County, urging me to shelter in place.

The Washington Post's live updates of Hurricane Milton developments are here: “Hurricane Milton, which has strengthened to a 'catastrophic' Category 5 storm, is closing in on Florida’s west coast and is expected to make landfall Wednesday night or early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane, which could bring maximum sustained winds of nearly 160 mph with bigger gusts, poses a dire threat to the densely populated zone that includes Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers. As well as 'damaging hurricane-force winds,' coastal communities face a 'life-threatening' storm surge, the center said.” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here: “Milton carved a path of destruction after crashing ashore Wednesday evening on Florida’s Gulf Coast, making landfall near Sarasota as the second powerful hurricane to pound the region in less than two weeks. The storm battered the state for much of the day, with heavy winds, pelting rain and a spate of tornadoes.... By around midnight, the storm had destroyed more than 100 homes, killed several people in a retirement community and ripped the roof off Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays.”

Washington Post: “The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to David Baker at the University of Washington and Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper of Google DeepMind.... The prize was awarded to scientists who cracked the code of proteins. Hassabis and Jumper used artificial intelligence to predict the structure of proteins, one of the toughest problems in biology. Baker created computational tools to design novel proteins with shapes and functions that can be used in drugs, vaccines and sensors.”

Sorry, forgot this yesterday: ~~~

Reuters: “U.S. scientist John Hopfield and British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for discoveries and inventions in machine learning that paved the way for the artificial intelligence boom. Heralded for its revolutionary potential in areas ranging from cutting-edge scientific discovery to more efficient admin, the emerging technology on which the duo worked has also raised fears humankind may soon be outsmarted and outcompeted by its own creation.”

The Wires
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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.”

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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
Jan282021

The Commentariat -- January 29, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Luke Broadwater & Matthew Rosenberg of the New York Times: "Nearly 150 House Republicans supported ... Donald J. Trump's baseless claims that the election had been stolen from him. But [Rep. Paul] Gosar [R-Az.] and a handful of other Republican members of the House had deeper ties to extremist groups who pushed violent ideas and conspiracy theories and whose members were prominent among those who stormed the halls of Congress.... Their ranks include" Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Az.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), & Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). "It is not clear whether any elected officials played a role in directly facilitating the attack on the Capitol, other than helping to incite violence through false statements about the election being stolen from Mr. Trump.... In signaling either overt or tacit support, a small but vocal band of Republicans now serving in the House provided legitimacy and publicity to extremist groups and movements as they built toward their role in supporting Mr. Trump's efforts to subvert the outcome of the 2020 election and the attack on Congress.... To some degree, the members of Congress have been reflecting signals sent by Mr. Trump. During a presidential debate in October, he made a nod toward the Proud Boys, telling them to 'stand back and stand by.' Two months earlier, Mr. Trump described followers of QAnon ... as 'people that love our country,' adding that 'they do supposedly like me.'" The story details some of the wacko forays these Congressmembers have made into the dark side.

David Smith of the Guardian: "Donald Trump was cultivated as a Russian asset over 40 years and proved so willing to parrot anti-western propaganda that there were celebrations in Moscow, a former KGB spy has told the Guardian. Yuri Shvets, posted to Washington by the Soviet Union in the 1980s, compares the former US president to 'the Cambridge five', the British spy ring that passed secrets to Moscow during the second world war and early cold war. Now 67, Shvets is a key source for American Kompromat, a new book by journalist Craig Unger." MB: Although there is a great deal of fit between what we know about Trump & what Shvets claims, I would rate Shvets' assertions as "possibly true." AND it seems likely that the CIA would have known something about Trump's contacts with Russian agents. If so, didn't the public have a right to know before the 2016 election? What about Mike Pompeo, who headed the CIA? How about members of Congress, like Pelosi & McConnell? I'll be interested to see if there's any follow-up to this story. Thanks to unwashed for the link.

Dalton Bennett, et al., of the Washington Post: "The two pipe bombs that were discovered on Jan. 6 near the U.S. Capitol shortly before a mob stormed the building are believed to have been planted the night before, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation and video footage obtained by The Washington Post. The explosive devices, which were placed blocks from one another at the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national committees, have been largely overshadowed by the violent insurrection at the Capitol. But finding the person suspected of planting both bombs remains a priority for federal authorities, who last week boosted the reward for tips leading to the person's arrest from $50,000 to $75,000.... On Friday morning, the FBI released additional information that confirmed The Post's reporting about the timing of the placement of the bombs and raised the reward offered to $100,000." Includes some new video. MB: When I watched the way the person walked, I thought I was probably looking at a woman.

Jesse McKinley & Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "For most of the past year, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has tried to brush away a persistent criticism that undermined his national image as the man who led New York through the pandemic: that his policies had allowed thousands of nursing home residents to die of the virus. But Mr. Cuomo was dealt a blow when the New York State attorney general, Letitia James, reported on Thursday morning that Mr. Cuomo's administration had undercounted coronavirus-related deaths of state nursing home residents by the thousands. Just hours later, Ms. James was proved correct, as Health Department officials made public new data that added more than 3,800 deaths to their tally, representing nursing home residents who had died in hospitals and had not previously been counted by the state as nursing home deaths. The state's acknowledgment increased the overall death toll related to those facilities by more than 40 percent.... The findings do not change the overall number of Covid-19 deaths in New York -- more than 42,000, the most of any state -- but the recalculation in the number of nursing home deaths illustrates how unprepared the nursing home industry was in the first and deadliest weeks of the pandemic." An AP story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sheryl Stolberg & Abby Goodnough of the New York Times: "President Biden on Thursday ordered the Affordable Care Act's health insurance marketplaces reopened to give people throttled by the pandemic economy a new chance to obtain coverage, and he took steps to restore coverage mandates that had been undermined by his predecessor, including protecting those with pre-existing medical conditions. Thursday's orders also took aim at Trump-era restrictions on Medicaid, especially on work requirements imposed by some states on poor people trying to obtain coverage. Separately, Mr. Biden moved toward overturning his predecessor's restrictions on the use of taxpayer dollars for clinics that counsel patients on abortion, both in the United States and overseas." ~~~

~~~ Miriam Berger of the Washington Post: "On Thursday, a week into his presidency, Joe Biden signed an executive order rescinding ... the 'global gag rule,' which bars U.S. funding for organizations abroad that perform abortions or offer information about them[, a rule which Donald Trump had reinstated & expanded].... He also signed a memorandum requesting that the Department of Health and Human Services review a rule instated by Trump that cut off federal funding for domestic family planning programs involved with abortions, such as Planned Parenthood. Biden additionally ordered the restoration of funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which Trump had cut in a dispute over abortion provisions."; ~~~

~~~ President Biden signs executive orders "undoing the damage Trump has done" to the Affordable Care Act & Medicaid and women's access to healthcare: ~~~

Jim Tankersley & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Democrats are preparing to bypass Republican objections to speed President Biden's $1.9 trillion economic aid package through Congress, rather than pare it back significantly to attract Republican votes, even as administration officials and congressional moderates hold out hopes of passing a bill with significant bipartisan support. On a day when new data from the Commerce Department showed that the economic recovery decelerated at the end of last year, Democratic leaders in Congress and administration officials said publicly and privately on Thursday that they were committed to a large-scale relief bill and would move next week to start a process that would allow it to pass with only Democratic votes, if necessary. Behind closed doors, congressional committees are already writing legislative text to turn Mr. Biden's plans into law." Politico's story is here.

Camilo Montoya-Galvez & Ed O'Keefe of CBS News: "President Biden is delaying by at least a few days a series of executive actions on immigration that were anticipated as early as this week, including the reversal of Trump-era asylum policies and a plan to reunite migrant families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border, two people familiar with the ongoing deliberations told CBS News. A specific reason for the delay was not clear."

Lara Seligman of Politico: "The Pentagon has suspended the processing of a number of ... Donald Trump's last-minute appointees to defense advisory boards as the new administration looks to weed out loyalists to the former president. The move effectively prevents a number of Trump allies, including his 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and deputy campaign manager David Bossie, from actually serving on panels tasked with providing advice to the defense secretary, at least for the time being.... The freeze announced on Wednesday pertains only to appointees who have not yet been sworn in or have completed all the required paperwork.... It was not immediately clear whether the Pentagon planned to take any action against those who have been onboarded, but the Biden team is looking into whether it can replace dozens of Trump’s last-minute appointments to boards and commissions across the U.S. government."

Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "A gesture meant to bolster President Biden's call for unity and inclusion instead inspired divisiveness, after news emerged that a White House American Sign Language interpreter was a Trump supporter who previously interpreted videos rife with misinformation. Heather Mewshaw, who appeared in the White House coronavirus briefing on Monday beside press secretary Jen Psaki, was identified by deaf and hard-of-hearing advocates and Time Magazine, fueling questions about the White House's vetting process and what could have happened if Mewshaw misinterpreted Biden officials or inserted her own bias.... The Time article tied Mewshaw to Hands of Liberty, a right-wing interpreters group formerly known as Right Side ASL, pointing to posts that suggested Mewshaw led the group.... Many questioned why the White House would legitimize her by giving Mewshaw the national platform.... People in the deaf community told The Washington Post and wrote on social media that they felt Mewshaw's role in the Biden White House signaled the administration didn't fully understand the significance of the interpreter role, equating the use of Mewshaw to Biden hiring Trump's former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany as his own spokeswoman."

Neal Boudette & Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The days of the internal combustion engine are numbered. General Motors said Thursday that it would phase out petroleum-powered cars and trucks and sell only vehicles that have zero tailpipe emissions by 2035, a seismic shift by one of the world's largest automakers that makes billions of dollars today from gas-guzzling pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. The announcement is likely to put pressure on automakers around the world to make similar commitments. It could also embolden President Biden and other elected officials to push for even more aggressive policies to fight climate change."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Maxwell Tani & Lachlan Cartwright of the Daily Beast: "Less than six months before he became the New York Times' go-to reporter on the coronavirus pandemic, Donald McNeil Jr. was under intense scrutiny from the paper's top brass over accusations that he made wildly offensive and racist comments while leading a Times student trip [to Peru].... After the excursion ended, according to multiple parents of students on the trip who spoke with The Daily Beast along with documents shared with the Times and reviewed by the Beast, many participants relayed a series of troubling accusations to the paper: McNeil repeatedly made racist and sexist remarks throughout the trip including, according to two complaints, using the 'n-word.'... Multiple people familiar with the situation told The Daily Beast that an internal investigation was conducted about the claims and that the top science reporter was reprimanded." MB: Sounds like somebody at the Times had a Kevin-McCarthy-style "conversation" with McNeil.

"The Enemy Is Within" -- Pelosi

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Two weeks after Representative Kevin McCarthy, the top House Republican, enraged Donald J. Trump by saying that he considered the former president responsible for the violent mob attack at the Capitol, the two men met on Thursday for what aides described as a 'good and cordial' meeting, and sought to present a united front. The meeting at Mr. Trump's private club in Palm Beach, Fla., came two weeks after Mr. McCarthy, in a speech on the House floor, said that the former president 'bears responsibility' for the events of Jan. 6.... On Thursday, aides released a photograph of Mr. McCarthy and Mr. Trump posing together in one of the ornate rooms at the former president's Mar-a-Lago club.... [A] statement bore the hallmarks of Mr. Trump's bombastic and often false assertions about himself, incorrectly claiming that his 'popularity has never been stronger than it is today.' 'His endorsement means more than perhaps any endorsement at any time,' the statement, issued by Mr. Trump's Save America political action committee, added, saying that Mr. Trump had agreed to work with Mr. McCarthy to try to take back the House majority in 2022."

Colby Itkowitz & Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Open hostility broke out among Republicans and Democrats in Congress on Thursday amid growing fears of physical violence and looming domestic terrorism threats from supporters of ... Donald Trump, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leveling an extraordinary allegation that dangers lurk among the membership itself. 'The enemy is within the House of Representatives, a threat that members are concerned about, in addition to what is happening outside,' Pelosi (D-Calif.) said at a Thursday morning news conference. But even as she and others sounded the alarm, Republicans continued to deepen their ties to the former president.... Hours after Pelosi's remarks, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met with Trump in Florida. In a statement, the pair vowed to work together to take back the House.... ~~~

~~~ "On Thursday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) publicly admonished Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), a leader of the election challenges, after he signaled support for her position on an unrelated issue. 'I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there's common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out,' she said on Twitter. 'Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren't trying to get me killed.'" MB: Yeah, I'd say "trying to get me killed" could inspire me to feel some "hostility." ~~~

~~~ Sarah Ferris & Melanie Zanona of Politico: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday unloaded on House GOP leaders for elevating freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to a key panel, escalating pressure on Republicans to punish her for a long record of extremist comments. Pelosi said Greene should not be seated on the House Education Committee after peddling a false conspiracy theory that the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012 was a hoax -- remarks that Democrats say are among Greene's most horrific in a broader trend of incendiary and at times threatening rhetoric. 'What could they be thinking? Or is thinking too generous of a word for what they might be doing?' Pelosi said Thursday.... 'It's absolutely appalling, and I think the focus has to be on the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives for the disregard they have for the deaths of those children.'... Pelosi on Thursday signaled that she is putting the onus directly on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to act...." ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Swan & Alayna Treene of Axios: "During previously unreported meetings last summer, House Republican leaders discussed — but then largely set aside -- fears that QAnon-supporting conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene would end up a flaming trainwreck for their party.... Greene has emerged not just as an embarrassment but a challenge for the GOP, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy now forced to weigh whether to maintain his policy of sanctioning members who make dangerous statements.... John Cowan, Greene's opponent in August's primary runoff for Georgia's 14th District seat, recalls separate conversations he had with McCarthy and [Steve] Scalise, the House GOP whip, in which both men acknowledged Greene was a serious problem for the party. Cowan detailed a phone conversation he had with McCarthy in July, during which he warned him about wild opposition research they had against Greene.... While both McCarthy and Scalise condemned Greene, and Scalise endorsed and raised money for and donated to Cowan, it wasn't enough to overcome the vocal support for Greene from Trump's then-chief of staff Mark Meadows. The backing of Meadows, his wife, Debbie, and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio was so strong that Cowan never had a real shot against Greene, [Cowan] said." ~~~

     ~~~ It Wasn't Climate Change; It Was a Jewish Space Laser! Eric Hananoki of Media Matters: "In November 2018, California was hit with the worst wildfire in the state's history. At the time, future Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) wrote a bizarre Facebook post that echoed QAnon conspiracy theorists and falsely claimed that the real and hidden culprit behind the disaster was a laser from space triggered by some nefarious group of people ... [financed by Jews!:] She also speculated that a vice chairman at 'Rothschild Inc, international investment banking firm' was somehow involved.... Greene's post, which hasn't previously been reported, is just the latest example to be unearthed of her embracing conspiracy theories about tragedies during her time as a right-wing commentator. In addition to being a QAnon supporter, Greene has pushed conspiracy theories about 9/11, the Parkland and Sandy Hook school shootings, the Las Vegas shooting, and the murder of Democratic staffer Seth Rich, among others. Greene also has a history of pushing anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic remarks." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you assume climate change is a hoax, if sparking from faulty PP&E transformers does not seem compelling, then you have to come up with other explanations for climate-related diasters. A Jewish laser beam from outer space seems good. What you do have to grant QAnon people, they have vivid imaginations & are rather clever at weaving their supremacist prejudices into their fantasies. ~~~

~~~ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tells Chris Hayes what the House Repubican caucus is like. (Jan. 27) A civics lesson well-worth hearing:

~~~ Matthew Choi of Politico: "Rep. Matt Gaetz fired off a barrage of insults against his colleague Liz Cheney during a rally in her home state of Wyoming on Thursday -- a raw embodiment of the cleavage across the Republican Party following ... Donald Trump's exit from office. Gaetz's rally flouted Republican leadership's appeal to temper the intraparty conflict. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy urged members of his caucus Wednesday to lay off the attacks on each other.... Gaetz revealed his intention to campaign against Cheney after she and nine other House Republicans voted to impeach Trump for inciting an insurrection on the Capitol." MB: Gaetz is campaigning against & deriding a conservative leader of his own party because she opposes violent insurrection.

Marie: Wednesday, I wondered when the powers-that-be would put the Republican party on the terrorist watch list. I wasn't the only person thinking along those lines: ~~~

~~~ Harold Meyerson of the American Prospect: in a post titled, "Put the Republican Party on the Domestic Terrorist Watch List." "... the Republicans' indulgence of the [Marjorie] Greenes in their ranks -- and there are many such -- is of a piece with their overwhelming refusal to hold Trump responsible for the insurrection at the Capitol, much less their own current colleagues, such as Arizona’s Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs, who also encouraged the January 6 rioters. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution says that no government official can hold office 'who, having previously taken an oath ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.' That surely applies to Trump, but it increasingly appears that it should apply to most Republican members of Congress as well." ~~~

~~~ Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "The Republican Party is stuck, probably irreversibly, in a doom loop of bizarro. If the Trump-incited Capitol insurrection didn't snap the party back to sanity -- and it didn't -- nothing will. What isn't clear yet is who, exactly, will end up facing doom. Will it be the G.O.P. as a significant political force? Or will it be America as we know it? Unfortunately, we don't know the answer. It depends a lot on how successful Republicans will be in suppressing votes.... The G.O.P.'s national leadership, after briefly flirting with sense, has surrendered to the fantasies of the fringe. Cowardice rules.... One of America's two major political parties has parted ways with facts, logic and democracy, and it's not coming back.... And the Republican response to electoral defeat isn't to change policies to win over voters; it is to try to rig the next election." ~~~

~~~ Marie: And knowing all this, the media will continue to treat the GOP as one of two legitimate, mainstream political parties. The media will both-siderize GOP & Democratic views, normalizing Krugman's "bizarro." The media will describe radical, violent revolutionaries as "conservatives," as if what they really stand for is small government, fiscal responsibility & moderate social progress. The media will continue to describe the most blatant GOP lies as "presented without evidence." You will have to read between the lines of news stories, knowing all along that, unlike you, most readers have no clue.

Caitlin Emma & Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "The Capitol needs permanent fencing and backup forces continuously stationed nearby, the Capitol Police [acting] chief [Yogananda Pittman] said Thursday, immediately sparking objections from lawmakers concerned about creating a fortress that distances the public from the Legislative Branch.... Lawmakers from both parties immediately objected to the police chief's recommendations, noting that they have not received any threat assessments that would suggest permanent fencing would be necessary. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also said the city 'will not accept' permanent fencing or additional security forces 'being a long-term fixture in D.C.'"

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal judge has turned down a bid for release by the man photographed with his foot up on a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the Capitol riot earlier this month. Two weeks ago, a federal magistrate in Arkansas ordered that Richard Barnett, 60, be placed on home detention to await trial on a felony charge of entering the Capitol with a dangerous weapon, as well as misdemeanor charges of unlawful entry to a restricted building, disorderly conduct and theft. However, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell blocked that order the same day. Following a memorable hearing on Thursday afternoon, she granted the government's appeal -- effectively ruling that Barnett will stay behind bars for months or longer."

Christina Carrega & David Shortell of CNN: "US Capitol Police on Wednesday afternoon arrested a West Virginia man who was armed with a handgun and 20 rounds of ammunition outside the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, which is near the US Capitol, a spokesperson from the Metropolitan Police Department said. In court documents, authorities identify the man as 71-year-old Dennis Westover. According to a police affidavit, Westover had 'Stop the Steal paperwork' with him 'that had a list of Senators and Representatives' in both the US Congress and West Virginia state house, along with their contact information. In an interview with Capitol Police detectives, Westover said that 'he was concerned about the honesty and integrity of the election.'... Westover was 'animated' and 'shouting' at National Guardsmen on the inside of the perimeter surrounding Capitol Hill when police first approached him Wednesday, according to another police affidavit."

** Sean Naylor of Yahoo! News: "Former Defense Secretary James Mattis said Thursday the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol was 'fomented' by ... Donald Trump, and exemplified the 'internal threats' faced by the U.S. that should be viewed 'with every bit as much gravity as the external problems, and perhaps more so.' Speaking during an online event, Mattis walked through a list of national security threats such as North Korea, Russia, China and international terrorism, but then turned his attention to the U.S. 'There are also internal threats right now,' he said, citing 'the lack of unity on the consensual underpinnings of our democracy, and what we saw on Jan. 6, fomented by a sitting president.'... 'Globalism hasn't been altogether good in large parts of our country,' he said, adding that 'certain trade deals' had had 'second- and third-order effects inside our own country,' hurting some Americans economically and leaving them without hope for the future. 'People are much more inclined to listen to conspiracy theories and other things when they're losing hope,' Mattis said. Mattis was referring to the assault on the Capitol by hundreds of Trump supporters.... He made the comments in the webcast conversation with former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers, who said that the country faced a 'growing threat from white nationalists and other domestic extremists.'... Vickers, a former Special Forces officer, said that 'never in our worst nightmares did we imagine that we would witness an insurrection against our government incited by some of our top leaders.'"

** Voter Suppression, USA. Sam Levine of the Guardian: "After an election filled with misinformation and lies about fraud, Republicans have doubled down with a surge of bills to further restrict voting access in recent months, according to a new analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice. There are currently 106 pending bills across 28 states that would restrict access to voting, according to the data. That's a sharp increase from nearly a year ago, when there were 35 restrictive bills pending across 15 states.... The restrictions come on the heels of an election in which there was record turnout and Democrat and Republican election officials alike said there was no evidence of widespread wrongdoing or fraud. There were recounts, audits and lawsuits across many states to back up those assurances. Federal and state officials called the election 'the most secure in American history'.... Many of the restrictions have to do with placing new barriers around voting by mail, a process that a record number of Americans used in 2020 (46% of Americans cast a mail-in ballot in 2020, compared with just 19% four years ago)."

Pennsylvania. Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "As a second impeachment trial for Donald J. Trump approaches next month, Republicans in states across the country are lining up behind the former president with unwavering support. Perhaps no state has demonstrated its fealty as tenaciously as Pennsylvania, where Republican officials have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep Trumpism at the center of their message as they bolster the president's false claims of a 'stolen' election. Eight of nine Republicans in Pennsylvania's congressional delegation voted to throw out their state's own electoral votes for President Biden on Jan 6, just hours after a mob had stormed the Capitol.... And one House member from the state, Scott Perry, was instrumental in promoting a plan in which Mr. Trump would fire the acting attorney general in an effort to stay in office. In the weeks since the Nov. 3 election, Republicans in Pennsylvania have made loyalty to the defeated ex-president the sole organizing principle of the party, the latest chapter in a rightward populist march repeated across other states."

Ohio. Dan Sewell of the AP: "Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, a fiery Donald Trump supporter, won't run to succeed Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, who announced this week he isn't going to seek a third term in 2022.... The eighth-term congressman's name surfaced soon after Portman's announcement as a potential strong contender in what's expected to be a crowded GOP field."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

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

Carl Zimmer, et al., of the New York Times: "Johnson & Johnson announced on Friday that its one-dose coronavirus vaccine provided strong protection against Covid-19, potentially offering the United States a third powerful tool in a desperate race against a worldwide rise in virus mutations. But the results came with a significant cautionary note: The vaccine's efficacy rate dropped from 72 percent in the United States to 57 percent in South Africa, where a highly contagious variant is driving most cases. Studies suggest that this variant also blunts the effectiveness of Covid vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax. The variant has spread to at least 31 countries, including the United States, where two cases were documented this week. Johnson & Johnson said that it planned to apply for emergency authorization of the vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration as soon as next week, putting it on track to receive clearance later in February." The AP's story is here.

Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "A coronavirus vaccine made by Maryland biotech company Novavax proved effective at stopping coronavirus infections in global hot spots where concerning variants are dominant, the company announced Thursday. But in one of those trial sites, South Africa, the vaccine's degree of protection was markedly lower against a worrisome mutant first detected there. The data, presented by company news release, provides the first highly anticipated evidence of how well a vaccine performs against variants that have drawn global alarm as they spread. In a United Kingdom trial, where the B.1.1.7 variant has become dominant, the vaccine was 89 percent effective, and about half the infections were with the variant. In a smaller and less definitive South African trial where nearly all the participants were infected with the variant, the vaccine was 49 percent effective, although the company underscored that when looking only at people not infected with HIV, the efficacy was 60 percent." Politico has a story here.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Daria Litvinova & Vladamir Isachenkov of the AP: "A Russian court on Thursday rejected an appeal by opposition leader Alexei Navalny for his release from jail, while authorities detained several of his allies and warned social media companies about promoting more protests after tens of thousands rallied across the country last weekend demanding his freedom. Appearing in court by video link from jail, Navalny denounced the criminal proceedings against him as part of a government campaign to intimidate the opposition."

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Wednesday
Jan272021

The Commentariat -- January 28, 2021

"Green Jobs." Lisa Friedman, et al., of the New York Times: "President Biden on Wednesday signed a sweeping series of executive actions -- ranging from pausing new federal oil leases to electrifying the government's vast fleet of vehicles -- while casting the moves as much about job creation as the climate crisis. Mr. Biden said his directives would reserve 30 percent of federal land and water for conservation purposes, make climate policy central to national security decisions and build out a network of electric-car charging stations nationwide. But much of the sales pitch on employment looked intended to counteract longstanding Republican attacks that Mr. Biden's climate policies would inevitably hurt an economy already weakened by the pandemic. Mr. Biden argued instead that technological gains and demands for wind and solar infrastructure would create work that would more than make up for job losses even in parts of the country reliant on the fracking boom. Using the government's purchasing power to buy zero-emissions vehicles, Mr. Biden said, would help speed the transition away from gasoline-powered cars and ultimately lead to 'one million new jobs in the American automobile industry.'" ~~~

~~~ Juliet Eilperin, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden will make tackling America's persistent racial and economic disparities a central part of his plan to combat climate change, prioritizing environmental justice for the first time in a generation. As part of an unprecedented push to cut the nation's greenhouse gas emissions and create new jobs as the United States shifts toward cleaner energy, Biden will direct agencies across the federal government to invest in low-income and minority communities that have traditionally borne the brunt of pollution, White House officials said. Biden will sign an executive order establishing a White House interagency council on environmental justice, create an office of health and climate equity at the Health and Human Services Department, and form a separate environmental justice office at the Justice Department. The order also directs the government to spend 40 percent of its sustainability investments on disadvantaged communities." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

David Sanger of the New York Times: "When President Biden swore in a batch of recruits for his new administration in a teleconferenced ceremony late last week..., a far less visible transition was taking place: the quiet dismissal of holdovers from the Trump administration, who have been asked to clean out their offices immediately, whatever the eventual legal consequences. If there has been a single defining feature of the first week of the Biden administration, it has been the blistering pace at which the new president has put his mark on what ... Donald J. Trump dismissed as the hostile 'Deep State' and tried so hard to dismantle.... The Biden team arrived in Washington not only with plans for each department and agency, but the spreadsheets detailing who would carry them out.... The president's real grasp on the levers of power has come several layers down [from Cabinet-level jobs].... The contrast with the Trump administration at a similar point in time is striking.... Many of Mr. Trump's appointees ... arrived with instructions to cut, and it became a point of pride among Trump administration officials to leave jobs open." MB: IOW, Biden is giving us back a functioning federal government. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Josh Gerstein & Sabrina Rodriguez of Politico: "The Biden administration on Wednesday made its first move to set the nation's immigration courts in a new direction, announcing plans to replace the official who has overseen the system for nearly four years. One week into President Joe Biden's term, the Justice Department said Jean King will soon take over on an acting basis as director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review. King, a former EOIR general counsel who currently serves as the office's chief administrative law judge, will replace James McHenry, a close ally of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.... The personnel change comes after complaints from immigration advocates who were troubled to see McHenry's name on the agency-wide list the Justice Department released last Thursday of those holding top posts on an acting or continuing basis for the first weeks of the Biden presidency." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ She Really Does Care. Jim Acosta, et al., of CNN: "The Biden administration's planned task force aimed at reuniting children who were separated from their parents at the border under the Trump-era enforcement policies will include input from first lady Jill Biden, according to three sources familiar with the planning. Biden is tasking her East Wing with taking an active role in the reunification project. Her interest in the task force could offer something of a stark contrast with ... Melania Trump. Trump made her first trip to visit a border facility for children and families in Texas in June 2018 in the midst of the zero-tolerance separation controversy, but did so wearing a jacket emblazoned with the words, 'I really don't care. Do U?'"

Susannah Luthi of Politico: "President Joe Biden is taking the first step toward rebuilding Obamacare, ushering in a new era for the health care law after a decade of Republican attacks. The Biden administration on Thursday announced it's throwing open the doors to the law's enrollment site, HealthCare.gov, making it easier for the uninsured to get coverage during the pandemic.... The White House said it will reopen enrollment on HealthCare.gov, which serves most states, for a three-month window starting Feb. 15. The dozen-plus states that run their own enrollment websites may also reopen.... [The administration] is also expected to restore Obamacare marketing funds that the Trump administration had gutted, and it will soon begin the process of reversing the previous administration's changes seen as undermining the health law and Medicaid. The actions are the first in a series of moves Biden is planning to shore up a law he campaigned on expanding. Though ... Donald Trump failed to repeal Obamacare, his administration weakened the law through executive action and advanced policies that would shrink enrollment in its expansion of Medicaid to poor adults. But Biden's more ambitious plans for bolstering the Affordable Care Act will require help from Congress."

Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "The Biden administration is reviewing some weapons sales to Gulf Arab states approved by the Trump administration, including tens of billions of dollars of advanced fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates and precision munitions to Saudi Arabia. A State Department official speaking on background said on Wednesday that the administration was temporarily pausing some of the arms sales and transfers, calling the move a routine action typical of presidential transitions. But it drew unusual attention because the arms deals with the Gulf Arab nations, approved in the last months of the Trump administration, were the subject of intense political debate even before the review.... Democrats in Congress have strongly opposed the sales out of disgust over the Saudi and Emirati role in Yemen's grueling civil war, which has inflicted vast civilian suffering, but they failed to attract enough Republican support to block the deals in Congress in December. Many Democrats began pressuring President Biden even before his inauguration to halt the sales."

Dan Diamond & Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "Federal officials repeatedly raided a fund earmarked for biomedical research in the years leading up to the covid-19 pandemic, spending millions of dollars to pay for unrelated salaries, administrative expenses and even the cost of removing office furniture, according to the findings from an investigation into a whistleblower complaint shared with The Washington Post. The investigation, conducted by the Health and Human Services Department's inspector general and overseen by the Office of Special Counsel, centered on hundreds of millions of dollars intended for the development of vaccines, drugs and therapies by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority or BARDA, an arm of the federal health department. The unidentified whistleblower alleged that officials in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at HHS, which oversaw the biomedical agency, wrongly dipped into the money set aside by Congress for development of lifesaving medicines, beginning in fiscal year 2010 and continuing through at least fiscal year 2019, spanning both the Obama and Trump administrations. The inspector general substantiated some of the whistleblower's claims, finding that staff referred to the agency as the 'bank of BARDA' and told investigators that research and development funds were regularly tapped for unrelated projects, sometimes at 'exorbitant' rates." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Rick Bright -- who led BARDA for a time until Trump had him removed -- had to do with the illegal transfers. Was he a whistleblower, did he try to stop the transactions, or did he facilitate them?

Federal Judges Tie Their Retirements to Biden's Election & Inauguration. Jennifer Bendery of the Huffington Post: "... five federal judges with lifetime appointments who have announced plans to retire or semi-retire since last Wednesday, the day Donald Trump left the White House, according to data provided by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. That's after eight judges had already announced their plans to step down since Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election. The retirements keep coming. On Tuesday, two more U.S. district judges announced their plans to take senior status, though their names aren't yet listed on the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts' website. And there are likely others in the queue with similar plans.... In total, eight of these retiring judges were appointed by President Bill Clinton, and two were appointed by President Barack Obama; it would make sense that they'd want a Democratic president to fill their vacancies. But five of these judges were appointed by President George W. Bush. ... As of Wednesday, Biden has 46 district court vacancies and three appeals court vacancies to fill...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you think you're jubilant about getting rid of Whozit, think how these judges & their families must feel. Biden's election freed them to do what they want to do. P.S. Take a hint, Stephen Breyer. Bendery even provides a couple of model letters you could copy & send on to President Biden over your signature.

Remembering the Kaiser, Ctd.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs & David Sanger of the New York Times: "Warning that the deadly rampage of the Capitol this month may not be an isolated episode, the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday said publicly for the first time that the United States faced a growing threat from 'violent domestic extremists' emboldened by the attack. The department's terrorism alert did not name specific groups that might be behind any future attacks, but it made clear that their motivation would include anger over 'the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives,' a clear reference to the accusations made by ... Donald J. Trump and echoed by right-wing groups that the 2020 election was stolen.... The warning contained in a 'National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin' was a notable departure for a Department of Homeland Security accused of being reluctant during the Trump administration to publish intelligence reports or public warnings about the dangers posed by domestic extremists and white supremacist groups for fear of angering Mr. Trump, according to current and former homeland security officials.... Even after the Department of Homeland Security in September 2019 singled out white supremacists as a leading domestic terrorism threat, analysts and intelligence officials said their warnings were watered down, delayed or both. Former officials in the Trump administration have even said that White House officials sought to suppress the phrase 'domestic terrorism.'" A CNN story is here.

The Chickenshits Come Home to Roost. David Siders of Politico: "For a moment, it looked like Donald Trump might be losing his iron grip on the GOP.... Not anymore. Local and state Republican parties are censuring Republicans for disloyalty in states across the country. The lawmakers who broke with him are weathering a storm of criticism from Trump-adoring constituents at home, with punitive primary challenges already taking shape. In Washington, party leaders who once suggested Trump bore some responsibility for the Jan. 6 violence are backtracking. On Tuesday, 45 Republican senators -- all but five members of the GOP conference -- voted that putting a former president on trial for impeachment is unconstitutional, all but guaranteeing the Senate won't convict him. If the Republican Party seemed to be at a crossroad about its post-Trump future, it now appears to have concluded in which direction to travel." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ "Republicans Come Crawling Back to Trump." Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "Top Republican lawmakers are increasingly signaling that they are ready to let Trump off the hook yet another time, and the former president has been working the phones from his new home base in Florida in an effort to make sure GOP senators vote to acquit him in an upcoming impeachment trial.... After the Capitol riot, [House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)] had what was described as a 'tense' and 'aggressive' phone conversation with the then-president, pushing back on some of Trump's ludicrous conspiracy theories and telling him, 'Stop it. It's over. The election is over.' But that was in the distant past, two whole weeks ago. Now, McCarthy is making nice with the former president -- and his family, too.... Multiple news outlets reported on Wednesday that former President Trump and McCarthy are scheduled to meet in person in Florida on Thursday." Nikki Haley, who was "deeply disappointed" with Trump's "badly wrong .. words," is now arguing it's time to "give the man a break." MB: Right. He only aided, abetted & encouraged the murders of five people, and that was, like, weeks ago. ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Fandos & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Three times in recent weeks, as Republicans grappled with a deadly attack on the Capitol and their new minority status in Washington, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky carefully nudged open the door for his party to kick Donald J. Trump to the curb, only to find it slammed shut.So his decision on Tuesday to join all but five Republican senators in voting to toss out the House's impeachment case against Mr. Trump as unconstitutional seemed to be less a reversal than a recognition that the critical mass of his party was not ready to join him in cutting loose the former president.... By Wednesday, the Republican Party stated an official position against holding Mr. Trump's impeachment trial.... Far from elucidating his position, Mr. McConnell has adopted a sphinx-like silence in public." MB: Both McConnell's willingness to distance himself from Trump & his retreat on the matter are political calculations; they have nothing to do with the morality or the treachery of inciting an insurrection.

Matthew Choi of Politico: "Rep. Jimmy Gomez [D-Calif.] ... announced on Wednesday that he planned to introduce a resolution to oust Rep. [Marjorie Taylor Greene,] the conspiracy-theory-peddling Republican from Georgia, after recent news reports revealed that Greene had previously called for violence against Democrats on social media. A two-thirds majority is required to expel a member from the House, meaning Gomez's resolution is almost certain to fail.... Still, the measure is one of the starkest rebukes yet against the congresswoman, who has antagonized her peers by flouting coronavirus guidelines and has garnered national attention for engaging in the QAnon conspiracy theory. She has also denied the Parkland school shooting, and was filmed spreading racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic comments, prompting condemnation from the leadership of her own party. CNN on Tuesday unveiled a series of Greene's past social media posts from as recently as 2019 that called for executing Democrats and federal law enforcement officers. In one comment, she said that 'a bullet to the head would be quicker' to get rid of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi." ~~~

     ~~~ A photo accompanying the story, which appears to have been taken January 26, pictures Greene speaking on the House floor to another member with about two feet between them. She is wearing a mask (required in the House) pulled down to her chin, with her nose AND mouth exposed. Emblazoned on the mask: "TRUMP WON." ~~~

     ~~~ Allan Smith of NBC News: "Rep. Jim McGovern, R-Mass., tweeted: 'And they wonder why we don't want members carrying guns onto the House Floor.'... 'If you don't understand that calling for the murder of political rivals is a threat to democracy, you shouldn't be allowed to represent one,' [Rep. Jake] Auchincloss [D-Mass.] tweeted.... In[ a] Facebook post, Greene promoted a conspiracy theory about [Hillary] Clinton, a top aide, and child murder and mutilation.... Clinton tweeted: 'This woman should be on a watch list. Not in Congress.'... Greene was recently appointed to the House Education and Labor Committee." MB: Yeah, that's a perfect spot for someone who thinks the Parkland massacre didn't happen. Smith's story get around crediting someone for assigning Greene to the Education Committee, but it's fair to assume Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) approved it even if it wasn't his bright idea. ~~~

     ~~~ Lachlan Markay of Axios: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is setting up a new test for House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.... Media Matters for America ... previously noted her endorsements of claims that 9/11 was perpetrated by the American government, and that the Parkland school shooting was staged.... Mark Bednar, a spokesperson for McCarthy, told Axios he is aware of the comments and will discuss them with Greene. 'These comments are deeply disturbing and Leader McCarthy plans to have a conversation with the Congresswoman about them,' Bednar said in an emailed statement." ~~~

~~~ WRCB-TV 3 (Chattanooga): "A Whitfield County Sheriff's Deputy escorted a Channel 3 crew out of a public town hall meeting Wednesday night and threatened them with arrest after attempting to ask Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene a question.... Citizens were asked to register for the event and submit questions for Greene ahead of time. Greene's office invited the media to the event, including Channel 3's crew which had credentials to attend. Once on property, members of the media were told they would not be permitted to speak to anyone attending or ask any questions.... Channel 3's reporter attempted to ask a question of Greene about [her social media] posts and the resolution to expel her from the House, but Greene said she was there to talk to her constituents. That's when a member of Greene's staff approached Channel 3's reporter and told her to leave the event. Greene's staff waived [waved] over a deputy who escorted Channel 3's reporter and photographer out of the building." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Video & a still photo show that there were loads of empty chairs in the hall, but the (white) townfolk seated themselves close together. Though many appeared to be elderly, most were not wearing masks. Neither was Greene. Because freeedumb, I guess. Too bad freedom of the press is not among the freedoms Greene supports.

Liar, Liar. Eddie Burkhalter of the Alabama Political Reporter: "Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville through a spokeswoman Tuesday denied meeting with the then-director of the Republican Attorneys General Association and others inside Trump's private residence at the Trump International Hotel on Jan. 5 -- on the eve of the deadly U.S. Capitol attack. But a photo posted to social media appears to show Tuberville in the hotel's lobby that day, and a company CEO in a separate post describes meeting with Tuberville and others at the hotel that day and discussing 'illegal votes.'" In addition to a post by Charles W. Herbster, who was then the national chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Advisory Committee, & who first confirmed the meeting, there was this January 5 late-evening Facebook post from Daniel Beck, CEO of an Idaho technology company: "The Trump hotel is Amazing!! Fifteen of us spent the evening with Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle, Tommy Tuberville, Michael J. Lindell, Peter Navarro, and Rudy Giuliani. We talked about the elections, illegal votes, court cases, the republics' status, what to expect on the hill tomorrow. TRUMP WILL RETAIN THE PRESIDENCY!!!"

Caitlin Emma & Sarah Ferris of Politico: "A second police officer who responded to the violent insurrection that rocked the Capitol Building on Jan. 6 has died by suicide, according to testimony obtained by Politico. Acting Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee told House appropriators during a closed-door session on Tuesday that Jeffrey Smith, a D.C. Police officer, and Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood both 'took their own lives in the aftermath of that battle.'"

Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "Three self-styled militia members charged in the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol began soliciting recruits for potential violence within days of the 2020 presidential election, later training in Ohio and North Carolina and organizing travel to Washington with a busload of comrades and a truck of weapons, U.S. authorities alleged Wednesday. A four-count indictment returned in D.C. laid out fresh details and allegations against Jessica Marie Watkins, 38, and Donovan Ray Crowl, 50 -- both of Woodstock, Ohio -- and Thomas E. Caldwell, 66, of Berryville, Va. The three, all U.S. military veterans, are accused of conspiring to obstruct Congress and other counts, punishable by up to 20 years in prison." The plotting began as early as November 9, 2020. two days after the AP & other media organizations called the presidential election for Joe Biden. NPR's story, by Dustin Jones, is here.: "All three have ties to the Oath Keepers...."

Matt Zapotosky & Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "Federal prosecutors alleged in charges made public Wednesday that a California man who wrongly believed Donald Trump had won the election built pipe bombs and planned to go to 'war' against Democrats and others to keep him in power. Ian Benjamin Rogers had been taken into custody earlier this month on state charges after Napa County authorities and the FBI searched his home and business and found 49& guns and five pipe bombs, according to an FBI affidavit in the case.... Rogers already was being held on $5 million bail on state charges when prosecutors filed the federal case. He was charged federally with unlawful possession of unregistered destructive devices." ~~~

     ~~~ Lexi Lonas of the Hill: "Federal prosecutors in California said on Wednesday that a man found with pipe bombs and ammunition may have been targeting Gov. Gavin Newsom and the offices of Facebook and Twitter in the wake of the social media platforms banning the accounts of former President Trump. Prosecutors said Ian Benjamin Rogers was charged on Tuesday after he was found with five pipe bombs and other guns after authorities searched his business on Jan. 15.... Rogers claimed the pipe bombs were only for entertainment purposes and were not intended to be used against anyone." MB: Yes, when I'm not fashioning oragami birds & flowers, I make pipe bombs to wile away my free time.

Militiaman Agrees to Sing. Pilar Melendez of the Daily Beast: "One of the Michigan militiamen accused of conspiring to overthrow the state government, kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and put her on trial for 'treason' before Election Day has pleaded guilty in the foiled plot. Ty Garbin, 25, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the kidnapping conspiracy, marking the first conviction in the bizarre case that made national headlines in October. Fourteen men were accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer and discussing plans to attack the state Capitol building and a police facility, and possibly take out Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, too. Prosecutors allege the group, which included several militia group members, were frustrated over strict COVID-19 lockdown orders in Democrat-run states. According to the plea agreement, Garbin has agreed to 'fully cooperate' with the federal authorities, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Michigan State Police, and other law enforcement agencies." (Also linked yesterday.)

You Just Can't Trust Nobody. Aram Roston of Reuters: "Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys extremist group, has a past as an informer for federal and local law enforcement, repeatedly working undercover for investigators after he was arrested in 2012, according to a former prosecutor and a transcript of a 2014 federal court proceeding obtained by Reuters. In the Miami hearing, a federal prosecutor, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and Tarrio's own lawyer described his undercover work and said he had helped authorities prosecute more than a dozen people in various cases involving drugs, gambling and human smuggling. Tarrio, in an interview with Reuters Tuesday, denied working undercover or cooperating in cases against others. 'I don't know any of this,' he said, when asked about the transcript. 'I don't recall any of this.' Law-enforcement officials and the court transcript contradict Tarrios denial." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Mack Lamoureux, et al., of Vice: "After Reuters broke the news that Enrique Tarrio, 36, the current chairman of the Proud Boys, was a 'prolific' police informant, online supporters and members of the right-wing extremist group were defiant, suspicious, and in disbelief at the revelation their leader was reportedly a rat. On Telegram, a popular messaging app on the far right, reactions to the story came hard, fast, and varied: some believed this was the classic case of a 'fake news' smear campaign, while others said his treachery was all an attempt to counter the 'Deep State' and antifascist activists.... 'They're trying to take down the Proud Boys -- our beacon of light -- we won't let that happen so no worries,' wrote [a] Proud Boys fan.... On Wednesday afternoon, Tarrio broke his hours of silence to finally address his supporters in a screed published on his public-facing Telegram channel in which he accused Reuters of sensationalizing his cooperation with law enforcement as part of a larger conspiracy to destabilize the Proud Boys."

Nicole Hong of the New York Times: "A man who was known as a far-right Twitter troll was arrested on Wednesday and charged with spreading disinformation online that tricked Democratic voters in 2016 into trying to cast their ballots by phone instead of going to the polls. Federal prosecutors accused Douglass Mackey, 31, of coordinating with co-conspirators to spread memes on Twitter falsely claiming that Hillary Clinton's supporters could vote by sending a text message to a specific phone number. The co-conspirators were not named in the complaint, but one of them was Anthime Gionet, a far-right media personality known as 'Baked Alaska,' who was arrested after participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.... As a result of the misinformation campaign, prosecutors said, at least 4,900 unique phone numbers texted the number in a futile effort to cast votes for Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Mackey was arrested on Wednesday morning in West Palm Beach, Fla., in what appeared to be the first criminal case in the country involving voter suppression through the spread of disinformation on Twitter.... Some of their memes appeared to target Black and Latino voters." ~~~

     ~~~ The BuzzFeed News story, by Tasneed Nashrulla & Ryan Mac, is here. BuzzFeed describe Mackey as "a white nationalist troll who ran a racist and highly influential pro-Trump account on Twitter using the name 'Ricky Vaughn.'... In 2016, Mackey amassed a huge Twitter following across multiple troll accounts using anti-Semitic memes and racist messages. At the time, MIT Media Lab listed the anonymous personality as one of the top 150 influencers of the 2016 presidential election, placing him ahead of NBC News, Stephen Colbert, and Newt Gingrich."

Georgia. New Poll Tax + Hassle. Jerry Lambe of Law & Crime: "Freshman State Sen. Jason Anavitarte on Wednesday introduced Senate Bill 29 which would make it mandatory for voters to make physical copies of their photo IDs and then mail them to election officials not once, but twice, before they are permitted to cast an absentee ballot, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The state's Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who refused to endorse former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, gave the measure his full backing. During Kemp's former tenure as a Georgia's secretary of state, he was responsible for a massive voter roll purge before his race against then-gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D).... 'By requiring access to a printer, which many Georgians obviously do not have, Republicans are attempting to purposely take away the ability of many Georgians to vote by mail simply because they believe too many Democrats and too many people of color voted by mail,' wrote Fair Fight, the voter-rights organization Abrams founded. 'Georgians will see through these cynical power grabs, but it's going to take a big fight on the part of everyone who cares about the right to vote in Georgia; Republicans are more desperate than ever to hold onto their waning power.'"

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

House to Investigate a Totally Trumpy Scam. Reed Albergotti & Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "A House subcommittee is investigating a government deal to buy $70 million worth of ventilators for the coronavirus pandemic response that a Washington Post investigation found were inadequate for treating most covid-19 patients. Last spring..., the Department of Health and Human Services and the Defense Logistics Agency purchased 11,200 AutoMedx SAVe II+ ventilators from Combat Medical Systems.... But the ventilators were inadequate for treating covid-19 patients and remain in warehouses, according to Stephanie Bialek, a spokeswoman for the Strategic National Stockpile. 'AutoMedx appears to be the beneficiary of a potentially tainted procurement process,' Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the chairman of the House subcommittee on economic and consumer policy.... The Post previously reported that Adrian Urias, AutoMedx's co-founder and current shareholder, advised the Trump administration's covid-19 task force on ventilator purchases. In March, when the government posted the minimum specifications that ventilator manufacturers had to meet..., those specifications were nearly identical to a spec sheet listed on AutoMedx's website at the time." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This isn't one of those sexy scandals, & by federal government standards, a fairly small amount of change got dropped. So (1) the government tells a vendor to tell the government what it needs; (2) the vendor tells the government it needs the vendor's own product; (3) the government buys the vendors's product; and (4) the vendor's product doesn't work. And Americans died because of it. This is a very Trumpy scam.

Thanks to RAS for this link: ~~~


Gillian Brockell of the Washington Post: "Chiune 'Sempo' Sugihara..., a Japanese diplomat who ... had been sent to the Lithuanian city of Kaunas to monitor German and Soviet troop movements under the guise of handling consular affairs," saved as many as 6,000 Jews in 1940 by giving them transit visas thru the Soviet Union to Japan.

News Ledes

CNBC: "After a year in which a pandemic and politics posed challenges unlike the U.S. has seen in generations, the economy closed in fairly good shape. Gross domestic product increased at a 4.0% pace in the fourth quarter, slightly below the 4.3% expectation from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The annualized pace closed out a 2020 that saw GDP overall decline 3.5% for the full year and by 2.5% from the fourth quarter of 2019. The economy fell into recession in February, a month before the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic. The economy contacted a post-Depression record 31.4% in the second quarter then rebounded to a 33.4% gain in the following three months."

CNBC: "The number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits for the first time rose less than expected last week as the Covid-19 vaccine rollout continued under the new Biden administration. Jobless claims totaled 847,000 for the week ended Jan. 23, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected first-time claims to total 875,000. The previous week's level (for the week ended Jan. 16) was revised up by 14,000 from 900,000 to 914,000."

AP: "Cicely Tyson, the pioneering Black actor who gained an Oscar nomination for her role as the sharecropper's wife in 'Sounder,' a Tony Award in 2013 at age 88 and touched TV viewers' hearts in 'The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,' died Thursday at age 96." ~~~

     ~~~ Update: Tyson's New York Times obituary is here.

Comments Off
Tuesday
Jan262021

The Commentariat -- January 27, 2021

Afternoon Update:

David Sanger of the New York Times: "When President Biden swore in a batch of recruits for his new administration in a teleconferenced ceremony late last week..., a far less visible transition was taking place: the quiet dismissal of holdovers from the Trump administration, who have been asked to clean out their offices immediately, whatever the eventual legal consequences. If there has been a single defining feature of the first week of the Biden administration, it has been the blistering pace at which the new president has put his mark on what ... Donald J. Trump dismissed as the hostile 'Deep State' and tried so hard to dismantle.... The Biden team arrived in Washington not only with plans for each department and agency, but the spreadsheets detailing who would carry them out.... The president's real grasp on the levers of power has come several layers down [from Cabinet-level jobs].... The contrast with the Trump administration at a similar point in time is striking.... Many of Mr. Trump's appointees ... arrived with instructions to cut, and it became a point of pride among Trump administration officials to leave jobs open." MB: IOW, Biden is giving us back a functioning federal government. ~~~

~~~ Josh Gerstein & Sabrina Rodriguez of Politico: "The Biden administration on Wednesday made its first move to set the nation's immigration courts in a new direction, announcing plans to replace the official who has overseen the system for nearly four years. One week into President Joe Biden's term, the Justice Department said Jean King will soon take over on an acting basis as director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review. King, a former EOIR general counsel who currently serves as the office's chief administrative law judge, will replace James McHenry, a close ally of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.... The personnel change comes after complaints from immigration advocates who were troubled to see McHenry's name on the agency-wide list the Justice Department released last Thursday of those holding top posts on an acting or continuing basis for the first weeks of the Biden presidency."

Juliet Eilperin, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden will make tackling America's persistent racial and economic disparities a central part of his plan to combat climate change, prioritizing environmental justice for the first time in a generation. As part of an unprecedented push to cut the nation's greenhouse gas emissions and create new jobs as the United States shifts toward cleaner energy, Biden will direct agencies across the federal government to invest in low-income and minority communities that have traditionally borne the brunt of pollution, White House officials said. Biden will sign an executive order establishing a White House interagency council on environmental justice, create an office of health and climate equity at the Health and Human Services Department, and form a separate environmental justice office at the Justice Department. The order also directs the government to spend 40 percent of its sustainability investments on disadvantaged communities."

Dan Diamond & Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "Federal officials repeatedly raided a fund earmarked for biomedical research in the years leading up to the covid-19 pandemic, spending millions of dollars to pay for unrelated salaries, administrative expenses and even the cost of removing office furniture, according to the findings from an investigation into a whistleblower complaint shared with The Washington Post. The investigation, conducted by the Health and Human Services Department's inspector general and overseen by the Office of Special Counsel, centered on hundreds of millions of dollars intended for the development of vaccines, drugs and therapies by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority or BARDA, an arm of the federal health department. The unidentified whistleblower alleged that officials in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at HHS, which oversaw the biomedical agency, wrongly dipped into the money set aside by Congress for development of lifesaving medicines, beginning in fiscal year 2010 and continuing through at least fiscal year 2019, spanning both the Obama and Trump administrations. The inspector general substantiated some of the whistleblowe's claims, finding that staff referred to the agency as the 'bank of BARDA' and told investigators that research and development funds were regularly tapped for unrelated projects, sometimes at 'exorbitant' rates." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Rick Bright -- who led BARDA for a time until Trump had him removed -- had to do with the illegal transfers. Was he a whistleblower, did he try to stop the transactions, or did he facilitate them?

House to Investigate a Totally Trumpy Scam. Reed Albergotti & Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "A House subcommittee is investigating a government deal to buy $70 million worth of ventilators for the coronavirus pandemic response that a Washington Post investigation found were inadequate for treating most covid-19 patients. Last spring..., the Department of Health and Human Services and the Defense Logistics Agency purchased 11,200 AutoMedx SAVe II+ ventilators from Combat Medical Systems.... But the ventilators were inadequate for treating covid-19 patients and remain in warehouses, according to Stephanie Bialek, a spokeswoman for the Strategic National Stockpile. 'AutoMedx appears to be the beneficiary of a potentially tainted procurement process,' Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the chairman of the House subcommittee on economic and consumer policy.... The Post previously reported that Adrian Urias, AutoMedx's co-founder and current shareholder, advised the Trump administration's covid-19 task force on ventilator purchases. In March, when the government posted the minimum specifications that ventilator manufacturers had to meet..., those specifications were nearly identical to a spec sheet listed on AutoMedx's website at the time." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This isn't one of those sexy scandals, & by federal government standards, a fairly small amount of change got dropped. So (1) the government tells a vendor to tell the government what it needs; (2) the vendor tells the government it needs the vendor's own product; (3) the government buys the vendors' product; and (4) the vendor's product doesn't work. And Americans died because of it. This is a very Trumpy scam.

The Chickenshits Come Home to Roost. David Siders of Politico: "For a moment, it looked like Donald Trump might be losing his iron grip on the GOP.... Not anymore. Local and state Republican parties are censuring Republicans for disloyalty in states across the country. The lawmakers who broke with him are weathering a storm of criticism from Trump-adoring constituents at home, with punitive primary challenges already taking shape. In Washington, party leaders who once suggested Trump bore some responsibility for the Jan. 6 violence are backtracking. On Tuesday, 45 Republican senators -- all but five members of the GOP conference -- voted that putting a former president on trial for impeachment is unconstitutional, all but guaranteeing the Senate won't convict him. If the Republican Party seemed to be at a crossroads about its post-Trump future, it now appears to have concluded in which direction to travel."

Militiaman Agrees to Sing. Pilar Melendez of the Daily Beast: "One of the Michigan militiamen accused of conspiring to overthrow the state government, kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and put her on trial for 'treason' before Election Day has pleaded guilty in the foiled plot. Ty Garbin, 25, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the kidnapping conspiracy, marking the first conviction in the bizarre case that made national headlines in October. Fourteen men were accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer and discussing plans to attack the state Capitol building and a police facility, and possibly take out Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, too. Prosecutors allege the group, which included several militia group members, were frustrated over strict COVID-19 lockdown orders in Democrat-run states. According to the plea agreement, Garbin has agreed to 'fully cooperate' with the federal authorities, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Michigan State Police, and other law enforcement agencies."

You Just Can't Trust Nobody. Aram Roston of Reuters: "Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys extremist group, has a past as an informer for federal and local law enforcement, repeatedly working undercover for investigators after he was arrested in 2012, according to a former prosecutor and a transcript of a 2014 federal court proceeding obtained by Reuters. In the Miami hearing, a federal prosecutor, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and Tarrio's own lawyer described his undercover work and said he had helped authorities prosecute more than a dozen people in various cases involving drugs, gambling and human smuggling. Tarrio, in an interview with Reuters Tuesday, denied working undercover or cooperating in cases against others. 'I don't know any of this,' he said, when asked about the transcript. 'I don't recall any of this.' Law-enforcement officials and the court transcript contradict Tarrio's denial."

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

~~~~~~~~~~

Aamer Madhani of the AP: "President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered the Department of Justice to end its reliance on private prisons and acknowledge the central role government has played in implementing discriminatory housing policies. In remarks before signing the order, Biden said the U.S. government needs to change 'its whole approach' on the issue of racial equity. He added that the nation is less prosperous and secure because of the scourge of systemic racism.... Beyond calling on the Justice Department to curb the use of private prisons and address housing discrimination, the new orders will recommit the federal government to respect tribal sovereignty and disavow discrimination against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community over the coronavirus pandemic. Biden directed the Department of Housing and Urban Development in a memorandum to take steps to promote equitable housing policy. The memorandum calls for HUD to examine the effects of Trump regulatory actions that may have undermined fair housing policies and laws."

Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "President Biden and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia agreed to extend the last remaining nuclear arms treaty between their countries..., the White House said. It was the first call between the leaders of the world&'s two nuclear superpowers since Mr. Biden's inauguration. The New Start treaty, which limits the size of the two countries' strategic nuclear arsenals, expires on Feb. 5, and the call appeared to seal a last-minute agreement to extend the treaty after the Trump administration declined to do so. But on a host of other high-stakes matters, Mr. Biden sent the message that he would be taking a harder line on Russia than his predecessor. He raised the poisoning of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny, whose arrest on Jan. 17 sparked protests across the country last weekend, the White House said. He also spoke to Mr. Putin about what American officials have described as a highly sophisticated hack of American government networks, reports of Russia placing bounties on American soldiers in Afghanistan, and what the White House said was 'interference in the 2020 United States election.'" Politico's report is here. Here's the White House readout of their conversation.

Nahal Toosi of Politico: "Antony Blinken was confirmed as secretary of State on Tuesday, taking the reins of U.S. foreign policy amid major global challenges and following years of turmoil at the State Department. Blinken won bipartisan approval in the Senate, with a vote of 78-22. He's expected to begin work almost immediately, including by addressing the workforce at Foggy Bottom.... Blinken is well known in Foggy Bottom, where he served as John Kerry's deputy from 2015 to 2017. That familiarity may help him address the State Department's sagging morale: Foreign Service officers and other officials often felt marginalized under Trump, who generally ignored their advice and accused them of being members of a 'deep state' bent on thwarting his policies. Trump's first secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, frequently sidelined career officials and concentrated decision-making in the hands of a few top aides. Trump's second secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, improved morale when he first took over, but soon lost the confidence of many veteran diplomats. His refusal to stand up for Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine caught up in Trump's first impeachment trial, was a particular sore point." The New York Times' story is here.

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Janet L. Yellen was sworn in as the secretary of the Treasury Department on Tuesday by Vice President Kamala Harris, a history-making moment as both are the first women to hold two of the most powerful jobs in the United States government. Ms. Yellen is the nation's 78th Treasury secretary and the first woman to head the institution in its 232-year history. She is also the first woman to have held all three top economic jobs in the government, having served as chair of the Federal Reserve and the Council of Economic Advisers."

Michael Balsamo & Colleen Long of the AP: "The Justice Department rescinded a Trump-era memo that established a 'zero tolerance' enforcement policy for migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, which resulted in thousands of family separations. Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson issued the new memo to federal prosecutors across the nation on Tuesday, saying the department would return to its longstanding previous policy and instructing prosecutors to act on the merits of individual cases.... While the rescinding of 'zero tolerance' is in part symbolic, it undoes the Trump administration's massively unpopular policy responsible for the separation of more than 5,500 children from their parents at the U.S-Mexico border.... President Joe Biden has issued an executive order to undo some of Trump's restrictive policies, but the previous administration has so altered the immigration landscape that it will take quite a while to untangle all the major changes."

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told Democrats on a conference call on Tuesday that they could vote as soon as next week on a budget resolution that would pave the way for coronavirus legislation to pass the chamber with a simple majority. Schumer, who disclosed the detail to reporters during a press conference, didn't commit to using reconciliation -- a budget process that bypasses the 60-vote filibuster -- but warned that Democrats were willing to go it alone. 'We want to work with our Republican colleagues to advance this legislation,' Schumer said. '[But] we're keeping all our options open, on the table, including budget reconciliation.'... Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the incoming Budget Committee chairman, said he was already drafting instructions for reconciliation that would include a directive for an increase in the minimum wage as part of the eventual coronavirus legislation."

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "The first step toward victory is a government that can act. So, sure, moderate Democrats [like Senators Joe Manchin & Kyrsten Sinema] can keep the filibuster if they want. But they should prepare for when the voting public decides it would rather have the party that promises nothing and does nothing than the one that promises quite a bit but won't work to make any of it a reality." Thanks to PD Pepe for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Jacob Pramuk of CNBC: "Democrats in the House and Senate reintroduced a bill Tuesday to raise the U.S. minimum wage to $15 per hour, seeking fresh support for the policy during an economic crisis and with control of Congress and the White House. The legislation would gradually hike the pay floor to $15 an hour nationwide by 2025, then tie future increases to median wage growth. The measure would also end pay below the minimum wage for tipped workers, along with certain teens and people with disabilities. The party has long pushed to raise the federal minimum wage, which has stalled at $7.25 an hour since 2009."

Em Steck & Andrew Kaczynski of CNN: "Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians in 2018 and 2019 before being elected to Congress, a CNN KFile review of hundreds of posts and comments from Greene's Facebook page shows. Greene, who represents Georgia's 14th Congressional District, frequently posted far-right extremist and debunked conspiracy theories on her page, including the baseless QAnon conspiracy which casts ... Donald Trump in an imagined battle against a sinister cabal of Democrats and celebrities who abuse children. In one post, from January 2019, Greene liked a comment that said 'a bullet to the head would be quicker' to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In other posts, Greene liked comments about executing FBI agents who, in her eyes, were part of the 'deep state' working against Trump.... In [a] Facebook Live broadcast from inside Pelosi's office on February 22, 2019, Greene suggested the House speaker will 'suffer death or she'll be in prison' for her 'treason.' Notably, Greene never mentions a trial. In another broadcast from later that day, she suggested California Rep. Maxine Waters was 'just as guilty of treason as Nancy Pelosi.'" ~~~

     ~~~ As Rachel Maddow noted Tuesday night, there's no indication that there will be any repercussions for Greene's threats against Pelosi, Waters & FBI agents, "because that's not weird for the Republican party any more." MB: It's getting close to time for the FBI to list the Republican party as a terrorist organization. More on their pro-terrorist activities linked under "Remembering the Kaiser" below.

Nicole Narea of Vox: "A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday temporarily blocked President Joe Biden's attempt to pause deportations for 100 days, marking the new administration's first major defeat on immigration policy. US District Judge Drew Tipton, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order preventing the administration from stopping deportations for a period of 14 days. Though the moratorium on deportations could still go into effect once Tipton issues a final ruling, he said the administration likely did not sufficiently explain the reasoning behind the policy change and may have violated federal immigration law requiring that a noncitizen be removed from the US within 90 days of being ordered deported by an immigration judge. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton -- who is currently under investigation for bribery, abuse of office, and other potential crimes -- is leading the legal challenge to the policy, arguing that it violates an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security that the state signed shortly before ... Donald Trump left office.... Ken Cuccinelli, formerly the second-highest-ranking official at DHS, secretly signed a memorandum of understanding with Texas during his final days at the agency, in an apparent attempt to impede the Biden administration from dismantling Trump's immigration legacy." Thanks to RAS for the link.

Benjamin Din of Politico: "Marty Baron, the executive editor of The Washington Post who led the newsroom to 10 Pulitzer Prizes, will retire at the end of February, he announced in a newsroom memo Tuesday." (Also linked yesterday.) A Washington Post story is here.

Derrick Taylor of the New York Times: "CBS has placed two top TV executives on leave after a report detailing accusations that they had created a hostile work environment, including making disparaging remarks about female and Black employees. The executives, Peter Dunn, the president of CBS television stations, and David Friend, the senior vice president of news for TV stations, were placed on administrative leave pending the results of a third-party investigation, the company said in a statement on Monday.... The suspensions came after The Los Angeles Times published a report on Sunday in which employees accused the executives of 'bullying female managers and blocking efforts to hire and retain Black journalists.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Technical Difficulties. Rachel Lerman of the Washington Post: "People across the East Coast were having trouble accessing core Internet services Tuesday morning, just as they were logging on for work and school. Users reported trouble loading Gmail, Slack and Zoom -- apps that have become necessities to keep work-from-home life running smoothly during the coronavirus pandemic. On Twitter, which many still were able to access, people reported they were seeing issues with their Verizon Fios Internet service. DownDetector, which tracks reports of outages, showed widespread issues with Verizon, Google, Zoom, YouTube, Slack, Amazon WebServices and others Tuesday just before noon. It was not immediately clear what was causing the outages." (Also linked yesterday.)

Remembering the Kaiser

Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who is set to preside over the impeachment trial of former President Trump, was taken to the hospital Tuesday, his office said in a statement. Leahy, 80, 'was not feeling well' in his Capitol office and examined by the attending physician, said David Carle, a spokesperson for the Vermont senator. 'Out of an abundance of caution, the Attending Physician recommended that he be taken to a local hospital for observation, where he is now, and where he is being evaluated,' Carle said." Update: Rachel Maddow reported at 9: 23 pm ET that Leahy had been released from the hospital; a CNN story is here.

Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "All but five Republican senators backed ... Donald Trump Tuesday in a key test vote Tuesday ahead of his forthcoming impeachment trial, signaling that the proceedings are likely to end with Trump's acquittal on the charge that he incited the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump's trial is not scheduled to begin until Feb. 9, but senators were sworn in for the proceedings Tuesday and immediately voted on an objection raised by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) questioning the constitutional basis for the impeachment and removal of a former president. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) immediately moved to kill Paul's objection, prompting a vote. Only five Republican senators voted against Paul -- Sens. Susan M. Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah), Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Patrick J. Toomey (Pa.).... Notably, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) -- who had previously said Trump had 'provoked' the Capitol mob -- voted to back Paul and Trump." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times story by Nicholas Fandos is here. His lede: "Senate Republicans rallied on Tuesday against trying ... Donald J. Trump for 'incitement of insurrection' at the Capitol, with only five members of his party joining Democrats in a vote to go forward with his impeachment trial." MB: That's right: 45 Senators "rallied around" a mob boss who sent his mob into their place of work to kill them. They are, as Forrest M. has dubbed them, "psychophants." ~~~

~~~ Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "The majority of Senate Republicans remain every bit as timorous and intellectually slippery as they were in 2020 when they voted to acquit Donald Trump and when they sought to overturn the election.... A well-balanced and detailed report by the [nonpartisan] Congressional Research Service recalls: 'The House has never impeached, nor has the Senate ever tried, a former President. However, both chambers have previously determined that they retain power to proceed against an executive branch official that has resigned from office. The principal precedent is the 1876 impeachment of Secretary of War William Belknap....' ... According to the CRS report, 'a number of scholars have argued that the delegates at the Constitutional Convention appeared to accept that former officials may be impeached for conduct that occurred while in office.'" Rubin suggests Democrats call Republicans' bluff by forcing them to vote on stipulating the known facts, presented in video form. "Since these facts are not in doubt, call for a unanimous vote putting the Senate on record as to the evidence.... Finally, force a vote on conviction [based on the stiuplated facts]." ~~~

~~~ Marie: The main thing we found out for certain (-- we always figured as much --) about elected Republicans is that there is no bottom to their treachery. Even when Trump tried to turn our representative democracy into a dictatorship with an unelected tyrant at the top, even when he threatened their very lives & that of the Vice President by siccing a violent mob on them -- they find excuses for him. They oppose the fundamental principles laid down in the preamble to the Constitution: to "...establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty...." Once one has denied the basics, anything goes. And that's the Republican way.

Paul Sonne of the Washington Post: "The commander of the D.C. National Guard said the Pentagon restricted his authority ahead of the riot at the U.S. Capitol, requiring higher level sign-off to respond that cost time as the events that day spiraled out of control. Local commanders typically have the power to take military action on their own to save lives or prevent significant property damage in an urgent situation when there isn't enough time to obtain approval from headquarters. But Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, the commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, said the Pentagon essentially took that power and other authorities away from him ahead of a pro-Trump protest on Jan. 6. That meant he couldn't immediately roll out troops when he received a panicked phone call from the Capitol Police chief warning that rioters were about to enter the U.S. Capitol.... The Pentagon required the highest-level approval for any moves beyond that narrow mission, in part because its leaders had been lambasted for actions the D.C. Guard took during last June's racial justice protests...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Luke Broadwater, et al., of the New York Times: "The acting chief of the Capitol Police apologized to Congress on Tuesday for the agency's massive security failures on Jan. 6, acknowledging during a closed-door briefing that the department knew there was a 'strong potential for violence' but failed to take adequate steps to prevent what she described as a 'terrorist attack.' Yogananda D. Pittman, the acting chief of police, also confirmed that the Capitol Police Board, an obscure panel made up of three voting members, had initially declined a request two days earlier for National Guard troops and then delayed for more than an hour as the violence unfolded on Jan. 6 before finally agreeing to a plea from the Capitol Police for National Guard troops, according to prepared testimony obtained by The New York Times.... Chief Pittman's comments offered the fullest detailed account to date...." Pittman was not yet acting chief on January 6. The Hill's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Luke Broadwater, et al., of the New York Times: "The Capitol Police department on Tuesday delivered to Congress its first after-action report since the deadly pro-Trump assault on the Capitol, laying out a dismal picture of failure to prepare adequately despite knowing days ahead of time that right-wing extremists could target lawmakers." This is a somewhat more detailed version of the story above (different links).

** How Trump & Allies Endangered the Lives of Congressman's & News Anchor's Families. Jonah Bromich of the New York Times: "The same day that a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and tried to stop Congress from certifying President Biden's electoral victory, the brother of Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York received several troubling text messages.... Robert Lemke, 35, of Bay Point, Calif., told Representative Jeffries's brother in the texts that he was part of a group of 'active/retired law enforcement or military,' and that the group had 'armed members near your home.'... The source of the threats on Jan. 6 remained unclear until Tuesday, when federal authorities in New York City arrested a California man and charged him with sending those messages, among others.... On the same day, the complaint said, Mr. Lemke also threatened a family member of George Stephanopoulos, the ABC News anchor and former White House communications director under President Bill Clinton. Mr. Lemke texted a relative of Mr. Stephanopoulos, saying that the journalist's 'words are putting you and your family at risk. We are nearby armed and ready.'... In the days after the presidential election, Mr. Lemke posted ominous messages to his Facebook account.... In one post, he said to his followers: 'Folks. Be ready for war. Trump has refused to cede.'" An AP story is here.

Alan Feuer & Frances Robles of the New York Times: "The leadership of the Proud Boys has come under increased scrutiny as agents and prosecutors across the country try to determine how closely members of the far-right nationalist group communicated during the riot at the Capitol this month and to what extent they might have planned the assault in advance, according to federal law enforcement officials. At least six members of the organization have been charged in connection with the riot, including one of its top-ranking leaders, Joseph Biggs. Mr. Biggs, a U.S. Army veteran, led about 100 men on an angry march from the site of ... Donald J. Trump's speech toward -- and then into -- the Capitol building. The Proud Boys, who have a history of scuffling with left-wing antifascist activists, have long been some of Mr. Trump's most vocal, and violent, supporters, and he has returned the favor, telling them during one of the presidential debates to 'stand back and stand by.' Along with the right-wing militia the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys was one of the extremist groups with a large presence at the Capitol incursion, investigators said."

Andrew Oxford of the Arizona Republic: "Two Arizona legislators who went to the U.S. Capitol the day it was stormed by a mob ... will not provide emails or text messages about their travel to Washington, D.C. The Arizona Republic asked the state House of Representatives to provide any such messages from Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, and then-Rep. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, under public records laws. But responding through a private attorney, and not the House, the duo said they would not turn over any records that are on their 'personal devices,' arguing that these are not public records. The letter also noted the ongoing FBI investigation into the storming of the U.S. Capitol and added that even if the lawmakers agreed the records were public, 'the threat of criminal prosecution gives rise to certain Constitutional rights that may overcome the duty to disclose otherwise public documents under Arizona's public records law.' Arizona courts have ruled that records on a public official's private device can be considered a public record if those records relate to public business and the phone was used for a public purpose.... Finchem and Kern both signed on to a 'joint resolution' with many Republican legislators ... arguing that Congress should not accept Arizona's electoral college votes and their trip to Washington, D.C. appeared to be an extension of that campaign."

Eddie Burkhalter of the Alabama Political Reporter: "The night before the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville and the then-director of the Republican Attorneys General Association met with ... Donald Trump's sons and close advisers, according to a social media post by a Nebraska Republican who at the time was a Trump administration appointee. Charles W. Herbster, who was then the national chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Advisory Committee in Trump's administration, in a Facebook post ... said that he was standing 'in th private residence of the President at Trump International with the following patriots who are joining me in a battle for justice and truth.' Tuberville, through a spokeswoman Tuesday, told APR that he did not attend a Jan. 5 meeting at the Trump International Hotel.... Among the attendees, according to Herbster's post, were Tuberville, former RAGA director Adam Piper, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump..., Michael Flynn..., Peter Navarro..., Corey Lewandowski and 2016 deputy campaign manager David Bossie. RAGA's dark-money fundraising arm, the Rule of Law Defense Fund, led by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, paid for robocalls directing people to the March to Save America and rally, which took place just before the Capitol attack."

Pennsylvania. Holly Otterbein of Politico: "Pennsylvania once stocked D.C. with a steady stream of establishment Republicans. Now, in the wake of Donald Trump's reelection defeat, it's better known for its GOP hard-liners -- among them, Scott Perry, the congressman who recently made headlines for his behind-the-scenes efforts to assist Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. The state GOP's transformation from the party of former Sens. Arlen Specter and John Heinz -- and Govs. Dick Thornburgh and Tom Ridge -- to a bastion of Trump loyalists has been decades in the making. But the shift has perhaps never been so obvious as in the past two months when Republicans here were repeatedly thrust into the spotlight for their role in trying to override President Joe Biden's victory."

Maria Santana & Chris Isidore of CNN: "Goya's board of directors had enough of CEO Robert Unanue's public comments in support of ... Donald Trump and his unfounded claims of voter fraud. On Friday, it voted to muzzle him. The board of the privately held Latino food company voted to censure Unanue, following his most recent controversial remarks that questioned the legitimacy of the November election, according to a person familiar with the board's actions.... Unanue will no longer be allowed to speak to the media without the board's permission, the source said.... The source said this is a 'full stop' on Unanue speaking to the press, not only about politics, but also about the company itself." Leave us not forget Ivanka's Goya sales pitch.


Ken Vogel of the New York Times: In the ad hoc clemency system the White House used, people "skipped the line and got their petitions directly on the president's desk because they had money or connections, or allies who did.... Of the nearly 240 pardons and commutations issued by Mr. Trump, only 25 came through the rigorous process for identifying and vetting worthy clemency petitions overseen by the Justice Department, according to a tally kept partly by Margaret Love, who ran the department's clemency process from 1990 to 1997 as the United States pardon attorney. The system has a backlog of 14,000 applications.... In addition to rewarding people ... whose allies could afford to buy access to the highest levels of the administration, the results included pardons for people with direct personal relationships with the former president.... The Justice Department had recommended against clemency for some of the people granted it by Mr. Trump.... And some pardon recipients -- including [Roger] Stone, [Steve] Bannon and [Paul] Manafort -- would not have been eligible under the department's rules, which require people to wait five years after being released from confinement to apply.... 'This is the ultimate corruption of a system that was set up to serve a public purpose, but has been privatized to allow anybody who has connections to get to the front of the line,' said Ms. Love...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Homeless Mike, Couch Surfer. Mike Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Tuesday, Business Insider reported that former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen do not have a permanent residence since leaving the vice president's mansion -- and though Republicans close to the couple aren't exactly sure of their current living arrangements, they believe the former second couple is 'couch-surfing' at the residences of various Indiana officials.... 'Republicans who spoke with Insider also said they wondered whether Pence and his team are closely guarding their new domicile because of the wave of death threats he faced just three weeks ago,' said the report. The Business Insider report is here; firewalled. MB: Don't feel too sorry for homeless mike. He has up to $1mm in a retirement account, plus whatever he's due annually for his federal government service as a member of Congress & veep; also, he probably gets retirement benefits as a former governor. In addition, of course, he can make plenty giving speeches & sitting on boards. And Karen is probably a great seamstress; she'll let out your favorite dress for a fee.

Donie O'Sullivan of CNN: "Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow, was banned from Twitter Monday night, according to a Twitter spokesperson. Twitter made its decision based on a new policy it enacted after the Capitol insurrection whereby people who repeatedly share election misinformation can be permanently banned.... It is not immediately clear which tweets lead [led] to Lindell's ban." MB: Sure hope Mike wasn't your very favorite tweeter. (Also linked yesterday.)

Is Kellyanne Conway the Mom from Hell? MB: I don't know whether or not this story is true, but according to numerous media reports, Conway posted on Twitter a topless photo of her teenaged daughter Claudia. Claudia & her parents Kellyanne & George have been in a well-publicized battle over the past several months. (Supposedly, Kellyanne quit her White House gig to actually spend more time with her family; posting a nude photo of her daughter does not seem like good use of that time.) Still, it's hard to believe a parent would do this to a child, so I'll give Mrs. Alternate Facts the benefit of the doubt unless & until I learn otherwise. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

Sheryl Stolberg, et al., of the New York Times: "President Biden, under intense pressure to speed up the pace of coronavirus vaccination, said Tuesday that his administration was nearing a deal with two manufacturers that would enable 300 million Americans to have their shots by the end of the summer. Supplies to the states will be increasing by 16 percent beginning next week, according to figures provided by Mr. Biden, who promised that his administration would give governors something they had long asked for: certainty over the supply they would receive. He said states would now have three weeks' advance notice of how many doses they would get. 'Until now we've had to guess how much vaccine to expect for the next week, and that's what the governors had to do: "How much am I getting next week?"' the president said. 'This is unacceptable. Lives are at stake here.'" ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Drew of the AP: "An increasing number of COVID-19 vaccination sites around the U.S. are canceling appointments because of vaccine shortages in a rollout so rife with confusion that even the new CDC director [Dr. Rochelle Walensky] admitted she doesn't know exactly how many shots are in the pipeline. States were expected to find out their latest weekly allocation of vaccines on Tuesday amid complaints from governors and top health officials about inadequate supplies and the need for earlier and more reliable estimates of how much is on the way so that they can plan accordingly.... The setup [Biden] inherited from the Trump administration has been marked by frustration, miscommunication and unexplained bottlenecks, with shortages reported in some places even as vaccine doses remain on the shelf." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "Federal allocations of coronavirus vaccine doses to states and other jurisdictions are expected to increase by about 16 percent next week, easing shortages that have intensified nationwide without fully alleviating supply problems. Jeff Zients, coordinator of the White House's coronavirus response, is expected to inform governors of the increase on a call Tuesday afternoon, according to two people...." (Also linked yesterday.) A Hill story is here.

Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "President Biden is scheduled to take executive actions as early as Thursday to reopen federal marketplaces selling Affordable Care Act health plans and to lower recent barriers to joining Medicaid. The orders will be Biden's first steps since taking office to help Americans gain health insurance, a prominent campaign goal that has assumed escalating significance as the pandemic has dramatized the need for affordable health care -- and deprived millions of Americans coverage as they have lost jobs in the economic fallout. Under one order, HealthCare.gov, the online insurance marketplace for Americans who cannot get affordable coverage through their jobs, will swiftly reopen for at least a few months.... Another part of Biden's scheduled actions ... is intended to reverse Trump-era changes to Medicaid that critics say damaged Americans' access to the safety-net insurance." (Also linked yesterday.)

Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday spoke in personal terms about a 'full circle' moment after receiving the second dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at the same National Institutes of Health building her late mother had frequented for work. 'I have the luxury of being here at this moment on just the fifth day of our administration -- coming full circle because, you see, NIH was such a huge part of my youth as this place that my mother went all the time and was very excited to work,' Harris recalled moments after receiving her shot." ~~~

~~~ If you wonder why Harris made such a show of it, there's this alarming story: ~~~

~~~ Rachel Chason, et al., of the Washington Post: "A large percentage of nursing home workers in D.C., Maryland and Virginia have declined to take the coronavirus vaccine, officials say, presenting a major challenge in the region's plans to protect its most vulnerable residents. Nursing home workers were first offered the vaccine in late December and early January, along with residents of long-term care facilities and other health-care workers. Their wariness, providers and union representatives say, is fueled by online misinformation about the vaccine and historical mistrust of the medical system of which they are a part.... In an internal document obtained by The Washington Post, Maryland health officials said that as of Tuesday, only about 58 percent of the doses allocated to nursing home staff and residents had been administered -- even though vaccination clinics have been conducted at every facility."

Good News. Laura Meckler of the Washington Post: "Schools operating in person have seen scant transmission of the coronavirus, particularly when masks and distancing are employed, but some indoor athletics have led to infections and should be curtailed if schools want to operate safely, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded in papers published Tuesday. The CDC team reviewed data from studies in the United States and abroad and found the experience in schools differed from nursing homes and high-density work sites where rapid spread has occurred.... The review, which echoes the conclusions of other researchers, comes as many school districts continue to wrestle with whether and how to reopen schools and as President Biden makes a return to in-person learning one of his top pandemic-related priorities."

Antonia Farzan of the Washington Post: "Located deep in Canada's Yukon, the remote community of Beaver Creek is home to only about 100 people, most of them members of the White River First Nation. So when an unfamiliar couple who claimed to work at a local motel showed up at a mobile clinic to receive coronavirus vaccines..., authorities soon found that the couple were actually wealthy Vancouver residents who had chartered a private plane to the isolated outpost so that they could get shots intended to protect vulnerable Indigenous elders. 'I can't believe I've ever seen or heard of such a despicable, disgusting sense of entitlement and lack of a moral compass,' Mike Farnworth, the British Columbia solicitor general, said Monday, according to the Vancouver Sun. Canadian media outlets have identified the couple as casino executive Rodney Baker, 55, and his wife, Ekaterina Baker, a 32-year-old actress whose recent credits include the 2020 films 'Fatman' and 'Chick Fight.'" ~~~

~~~ Leyland Cecco of the Guardian: "The former head of a Canadian casino company and his actor wife have been fined after chartering a private plane to a remote community near the Alaska border and receiving coronavirus vaccines meant for vulnerable Indigenous residents.... Until resigning Sunday, Rodney Baker was head of the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, which runs racetracks and casinos across the country. His total annual compensation in 2019 was C$10.6m, according to the Yukon News."

Beyond the Beltway

Trouble in Oregon

(1) Crazy People Run Oregon GOP. Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post: "In Oregon, the state Republican Party isn't just backing ... Donald Trump -- its official position falsely claims that the entire [siege of the U.S. Capitol] was a 'false flag' operation staged to discredit the GOP and silence Trump's supporters. Last week, the state party released a resolution passed by its executive committee that says the supposedly fake operation was meant to undermine Trump and give more power to President Biden, citing websites by John Solomon and the Trump-friendly Epoch Times. 'The violence at the Capitol was a "false flag" operation designed to discredit President Trump, his supporters, and all conservative Republicans; this provided the sham motivation to impeach President Trump in order to advance the Democratic goal of seizing total power,' the resolution says." (Also linked yesterday.)

(2) Shane Kavanaugh of the Oregonian: "Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler blasted with pepper spray an unmasked man who confronted him and former Mayor Sam Adams with a video camera as the two left a pub Sunday night, the two men told police." Wheeler had an exchange with the man who complained Wheeler had not worn a mask while dining. "The man then followed Wheeler closely as he walked to his car, the mayor told police. 'He had no face mask on and got within a foot or two of my face while he was videoing me,' Wheeler said, according to the police report.... 'I clearly informed him that he needed to back off. He did not do so I informed him that I was carrying pepper spray and that I would use it if he did not back off. He remained at close distance, I pulled out my pepper spray and I sprayed him in the eyes.' Afterward, Wheeler said, he provided the man with a bottle of water to rinse his face." (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond

Elisabetta Povoledo of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy resigned on Tuesday after weeks of political infighting, thrusting the country into renewed instability as the coronavirus pandemic ravages lives and livelihoods.... As in the rest of Europe, Italy's immunization campaign has been held up by production delays for the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. At the current pace, it would take almost five years to vaccinate the majority of Italians, according to the most recent data. Mr. Conte's is serving his second consecutive stint as prime minister -- first as the head of an alliance of right-wing nationalists and populists, and then leading a coalition of populists and the center-left establishment that focused almost exclusively on the pandemic." (Also linked yesterday.)

News Lede

CNBC: "Americans continued to hit the unemployment line last week in large numbers as the ongoing surge of Covid cases added to America's unemployment problem. Jobless claims totaled 900,000 for the week ended Jan. 16, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was slightly less than the Dow Jones estimate of 925,000 and below the previous week's downwardly revised total of 926,000."

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