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.”

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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


Tuesday
Jan192021

Inauguration Day 2021

President Joe Biden

Poet Amanda Gorman reads "The Hill We Climb":

     ~~~ Ben Leonard of Politico: "Amanda Gorman became the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history on Wednesday at President Joe Biden's swearing-in, using the historic moment to call for unity and to ask 'where can we find light in this never-ending shade.'" Gorman, 22, is the country's first National Youth Poet Laureate. Here's the full text of the poem (via the Hill).

President Biden delivers his inaugural address:

     ~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, taking office at a moment of profound economic, health and political crises with a promise to seek unity after a tumultuous four years that tore at the fabric of American society. With his hand on a five-inch-thick Bible that has been in his family for 128 years, Mr. Biden recited the 35-word oath of office swearing to'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution' in a ceremony administered by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., completing the process at 11:49 a.m., 11 minutes before the authority of the presidency formally changes hands. The ritual transfer of power came shortly after Kamala Devi Harris was sworn in as vice president by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, her hand on a Bible that once belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the civil rights icon and Supreme Court justice. Ms. Harris's ascension made her the highest-ranking woman in the history of the United States and the first Black American and first person of South Asian descent to hold the nation's second highest office. In his Inaugural Address, Mr. Biden declared that 'democracy has prevailed' after a test of the system by a defeated president, Donald J. Trump, who sought to overturn the results of an election and then encouraged a mob that stormed the Capitol two weeks ago to block the final count." ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the full transcript of President Biden's inaugural speech (via Yahoo! News).

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts swears in President Joe Biden:

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor swears in Vice President Kamala Harris:

Lady Gaga sings the national anthem wearing a dress that looks just like what I usually wear around the house:

Jonathan Lemire of the AP: "Joe Biden swears the oath of office at noon Wednesday to become the 46th president of the United States, taking the helm of a deeply divided nation and inheriting a confluence of crises arguably greater than any faced by his predecessors.... The Democrat takes office with the bonds of the republic strained and the nation reeling from challenges that rival those faced by Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt."

Dareh Gregorian of NBC News reports on "what to expect on Inauguration Day -- and night." NBC New's liveblog of inaugural events is here. The New York Times is live-updating inaugural proceedings. CNN's live updates are here. ~~~

     ~~~ NEW. Here is another New York Times liveblog of events surrounding the inauguration. MB: The best read, IMO, was the item about the meager turnout of protesters at state capitols. But those who did show up are real idiots.

NEW. Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Eugene Goodman, a Capitol Police officer who was captured on video facing down members of the mob that breached the Capitol on Jan. 6 and diverting them from entering the Senate chamber and potentially saving lives, has been elevated to serve as the No. 2 security official in the Senate for the inaugural events on Wednesday. As the acting deputy Senate sergeant-at-arms, Officer Goodman, a Black man who fended off a mostly white throng, is part of the official escort accompanying Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to the platform outside the Capitol where she will be sworn into the nation's second-highest office."

Matt Viser & Annie Linskey of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden opened his inaugural commemorations Tuesday evening by honoring the 400,000 Americans who have died in the coronavirus pandemic, marking the final hours before his swearing-in with a somber reminder of the struggles facing the nation he will lead tomorrow. Biden presided over the first national mourning event amid the pandemic, and it set the tone for an inauguration that will be marked with more solemnity than jubilation. Lights surrounding the Reflecting Pool next to the Lincoln Memorial shone to represent the dead, and buildings across the nation lit in a united effort to honor those lost. As the sun set, Biden called on Americans to remember them.... Biden's appearance at the Reflecting Pool came hours after he offered an emotional farewell to his home state, weeping openly several times as he spoke in front of a bank of Delaware flags before boarding a flight to Washington for his swearing-in as president at noon Wednesday."

Four hundreds lights lining the Reflecting Pool, remember the 400,000 Americans who died of Covid-19:

Michael Ruane of the Washington Post: "The Marine Band has played for incoming presidents since Thomas Jefferson, according to its website.... On Wednesday, in locked-down Washington, the Marine Band [will play again] ... for a nation shaken by mob violence and a global pandemic.... The band's usual 80-member inauguration complement will be fewer than 60 this year. The musicians will be spread over a larger, 90-foot platform and separated from each other by clear protective shields."

Alayna Treene of Axios: "Congressional leaders, including House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, will skip President Trump's departure ceremony in Maryland tomorrow morning in favor of attending mass with incoming President Joe Biden ahead of his inauguration, congressional sources familiar with their plans tell Axios.... The Catholic service will take place at St. Matthew's Cathedral in downtown Washington, D.C., about 10 blocks from the White House. It is expected to begin at 8:45am...." Vice President pence also will be a no-show at Trump's ceremony "because of logistical issues." The "logical issue" is that pence will be busy attending Biden's inauguration.

Marie: Joe Biden has run -- and won -- on three presidential tickets. He was the only white guy on any of them.

Field of Flags. Dominick Mastrangelo of the Hill: "Nearly 200,000 flags have been placed on the National Mall ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, signifying the tens of thousands of people who won't be able to attend this year's ceremony. The Presidential Inaugural Committee first announced plans to install the public art display, which has flags representing all the U.S. states and territories, on Jan. 11. The display was lit up Sunday evening. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: "A dozen members of the National Guard have been removed from inauguration duty as the federal government screens troops involved for security concerns, senior U.S. defense officials said Tuesday, one day before President-elect Joe Biden is set to take over as commander in chief. The troops include at least two with possible sympathies for anti-government groups, said two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Ten were removed for reasons that defense officials declined to detail but said did not involve extremism.... Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, declined to provide specifics about the troops alleged to have expressed common cause with anti-government groups but said they had made 'inappropriate comments.' One of them was flagged because of concern within his unit, while the other was reported anonymously, defense officials said. The other 10 guardsmen were identified by the FBI, Hokanson said." The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Eric Schmitt & Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "Two of the members were removed over texts and social media posts that made threatening comments toward political officials, Pentagon officials said. They declined to specify the exact nature of the threats.... Two officials described the texts as broad in nature -- not directed specifically at Mr. Biden or Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, but rather at lawmakers as a whole. One of the service members removed, the officials said, made a point of expressing support for President Trump in addition to making menacing comments."

The Washington Post live-updated Tuesday's Senate confirmation hearings: "Senate confirmation hearings are being held for five of Biden's Cabinet nominees throughout the day on a heavily fortified Capitol Hill, where preparations also continue for Biden's swearing-in at noon on Wednesday." (Also linked yesterday.) NPR's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ ** Update. Snotty Seditionist Punk Puts Hold on DHS Nominee. Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: “Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced on Tuesday he would place a hold on Alejandro Mayorkas<, President-elect Joe Biden's choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Hawley, who has come under fire recently amid allegations that he played a role in the Capitol riot early this month, made the announcement just hours after the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs wrapped its hearing with Mayorkas. The move delays the nomination of a post Democrats have argued is critical to fill immediately to protect national security.... Defeating the hold will require a 50 vote threshold cloture vote and eats up days of floor time, complicating the process. 'Mr. Mayorkas has not adequately explained how he will enforce federal law and secure the southern border given President-elect Biden's promise to roll back major enforcement and security measures,' Hawley said in a statement.... Hawley's opposition stems from an exchange where the lawmaker asked Mayorkas if he would obligate $1.4 billion in funds set aside for Trump's border wall." MB: On Friday night, the Senate's most conservative Democrat, Joe Manchin (W.Va.), said the Senate should consider removing Hawley (R-Mo.) via the 14th Amendment because of his actions during the insurrection. Seems like an excellent idea. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Nick Miroff & Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "A spokesman for Mayorkas, Sean Savett, called Hawley's move 'dangerous, especially in this time of overlapping crises when there is not a moment to waste.' And Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee responded bitterly, tweeting, 'His games are, AGAIN, putting our national security at risk.'"

Secretary of State Nominee Demonstrates that Diplomacy Works. Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden's nominee to become secretary of state, deftly sidestepped Democratic invitations to sharply criticize the Trump administration, and Republican efforts to lure him into controversy, in a confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Amid repeated promises to work closely with Congress, Blinken parried potentially hostile questions with invitations to dialogue and mild restatements of Biden pledges to rewrite Trump foreign policy on issues ranging from Iran to Cuba.... There was every indication that Blinken would be confirmed with a strong bipartisan vote, although Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the incoming chairman, said earlier in the day that a panel vote was unlikely until at least Monday. After that, floor votes will have to vie for Senate time with President Trump's impeachment trial."

Samantha Schmidt, et al., of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he will nominate Pennsylvania's top health official, Rachel Levine, to be his assistant secretary of health. Levine, a pediatrician, would become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate." An AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

NEW. Yet Another Trumpian National Security Risk. Lara Seligman & Bryan Bender of Politico: "The Pentagon blocked members of President Joe Biden's incoming administration from gaining access to critical information about current operations, including the troop drawdown in Afghanistan, upcoming special operations missions in Africa and the Covid-19 vaccine distribution program, according to new details provided by transition and defense officials. The effort to obstruct the Biden team, led by senior White House appointees at the Pentagon, is unprecedented in modern presidential transitions and will hobble the new administration on key national security matters as it takes over positions in the Defense Department on Wednesday, the officials said.... People involved with the transition, both on the Biden team and the Pentagon side, [told] Politico ... briefings on pressing defense matters never happened, were delayed to the last minute, or were controlled by overbearing minders from the Trump administration's side."

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) failed to reach a deal on Tuesday on organizing a 50-50 Senate as a fight over the filibuster threatens to drag out the talks for days. The two Senate leaders met to discuss how to share power in an evenly split Senate. According to Schumer, they talked about 'a whole lot of issues' but didn't reach an agreement."

AP: "Three new Democratic senators are set to be sworn into office after President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration Wednesday. The arrival of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Alex Padilla of California will give Democrats a working majority in the Senate -- split 50-50, with the new vice president, Kamala Harris, as the tie-breaking vote.... Harris is set to deliver the oath of office to the three Democrats after she is sworn in during the inauguration as vice president." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Amy Gardner & Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "Georgia election officials on Tuesday certified the victories of two Democrats who won in the state's hard-fought U.S. Senate runoff elections earlier this month, paving the way for them to take office as early as Wednesday. Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock narrowly defeated Republican incumbents David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in the Jan. 5. runoffs, a stunning and unexpected boon for President-elect Joe Biden. Shortly before Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger certified the results Tuesday, election officials in Fulton County grappled with discrepancies between the unofficial vote totals reported and the final tallies. In the end, those discrepancies gave Perdue and Loeffler a few hundred additional votes -- not enough to alter the outcome, officials said."

Yellin Says "Act Big"; Curmudgeon Scolds Her. Erica Werner & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for treasury secretary, urged lawmakers Tuesday to 'act big' on economic relief for the coronavirus pandemic as she appeared before a Senate committee for her confirmation hearing. 'I think there is a consensus now: Without further action, we risk a longer, more painful recession now -- and long-term scarring of the economy later,' Yellen said in written testimony submitted to the Senate Finance Committee ahead of the hearing. She faced immediate pushback from Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who used his opening statement to slam the Biden relief plan as a 'laundry list of liberal structural economic reforms' that would not be appropriate to enact." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ctd.

Lateshia Beachum & Reis Thebault of the Washington Post: "Covid-19 has now killed more than 400,000 Americans. The country reached that devastating milestone Tuesday, the eve of the first anniversary of the first confirmed U.S. case and the final full day of Donald Trump's presidency, which historians say will be defined by his bungling of the public health crisis. 'To heal, we must remember,' President-elect Joe Biden said in a Tuesday evening vigil for coronavirus victims at the Lincoln Memorial. 'And it's hard sometimes to remember. But that's how we heal. It's important to do that as a nation. That's why we're here today.' The somber event offered a striking contrast to Trump's near-constant downplaying of the virus, and served as the new administration's signal that it would take seriously the dangerous pandemic." This is part of the WashPo's Covid-19 updates Tuesday & is free to nonsubscribers. ~~~

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

J.M. Rieger of the Washington Post: "... despite the Trump administration's repeated promises to deliver tens or even hundreds of millions of coronavirus vaccine doses by the new year, President Trump is set to leave office Wednesday having delivered only a fraction of the doses his administration pledged. The unprecedented rapid development of two highly effective vaccines remains a remarkable accomplishment, and the nation's vaccine deployment is more or less on par with other economically developed countries. But the failure to more quickly administer the vaccine has compounded the broader failure of the United States to contain a pandemic that has killed 100,000 Americans over the past five weeks alone. As of Monday, [Jan. 18,] just over 31 million coronavirus vaccine doses had been delivered nationwide. Fewer than half of those have been administered."

The Last Half-Day of the Mad Kaiser ~~~

~~~ And let's face it: every day was, at best, a half-day.

NEW. Forrest M. kindly watched Trump's going-away speech for us, and he has provided a complete report in today's Comments of everything you need to know. It's a short report. Akhilleus offers critical analysis of Trump's Last Word.

Trump Rides Out on a Wave of Sleaze. Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump used his final hours in office to wipe away convictions and prison sentences for a roster of corrupt politicians and business executives and bestow pardons on allies like Stephen K. Bannon, his former chief strategist, and Elliott Broidy, one of his top fund-raisers in 2016. The wave of clemency grants, hours before Mr. Trump's departure from the White House, underscored how many of his close associates and supporters became ensnared in corruption cases and other legal troubles, and highlighted again his willingness to use his power to help them and others with connections to him.... The latest round of pardons and commutations -- 143 in total -- followed dozens last month...." Read on. Trump never stops being sickening. Politico's story is here. The AP's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Of Course It's All About Trump. From CNN's liveblog of what are supposed to be inaugural events, also linked above: "Trump had spent the past days deliberating over a pardon for [Steve Bannon,] the man who helped him win the presidency in 2016 and followed him to the White House. A senior Trump adviser said part of the motivation for the President to issue a pardon for Bannon is that he believes his former chief strategist can help lead a political comeback for President Trump.... Trump also saw Bannon as one of the few remaining high profile conservatives to back the president all the way to the bitter end. As for their relationship, once fractured after Bannon was fired following Charlottesville, the adviser said, 'they made up.'" ~~~

~~~ New York Times reporters also filled a rogues' gallery with tiny portraits of miscreants whom Trump has pardoned.

Trump Replenishes Swamp. Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "President Trump rescinded an executive order early Wednesday morning that had limited federal administration officials from lobbying the government or working for foreign countries after they leave their posts, undoing one of the few measures he had instituted to fulfill his 2016 campaign promise to 'drain the swamp.' Trump had signed the now-reversed executive order with much fanfare in an Oval Office ceremony in January 2017. No explanation was given for why Trump chose to rescind the order. The White House released the directive at 1:08 a.m. on the day he will leave office. It had been signed Tuesday." Politico's story is here.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday authorized the declassification of a set of documents connected to the investigation of his 2016 campaign's contacts with Russia.... It's unclear which documents Trump has ordered declassified less than 24 hours before he leaves office.... Trump said he ... asked for the documents to be declassified to 'the maximum extent possible.' The FBI responded that it believed that all of the materials should remain classified, but that some were particularly crucial and should at least be redacted.... Trump's decision represents a sharp walkback from two previous assertions that he would declassify every document related to the probe, a longtime demand of his political allies, who have amplified his denigration of the investigation."

NEW. TMZ: "Donald Trump's pettiness apparently knows no bounds, because Joe Biden isn't getting what Trump himself got ... a government aircraft taking him to D.C. for his inauguration. Biden just boarded a private jet for the short flight to Washington. Protocol has been for the incoming President to get the courtesy of a military aircraft. Aside from the fact this tradition is rooted in the transfer of power, it's gotta be safer, with all the bells and whistles that come with it."

Ursula Perano of Axios: "President Trump gave a farewell video address on Tuesday, saying that his administration 'did what we came here to do -- and so much more.'"

Good News for Democrats. Joseph Choi of the Hill: "President Trump has reportedly floated the possibility of starting a new political party as he prepares to leave the White House amid internal struggles within the Republican Party. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Trump has discussed the matter with associates in the last week, suggesting he would call it the 'Patriot Party.' According to the Journal, it's unclear how serious the outgoing president is about starting a new party. The outlet noted that Trump's wide base of supporters was not heavily involved in the Republican Party before Trump became the party's 2016 presidential nominee."

Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast on "Trump's Pathetic Final Weekend in Office": "'Everyone knows I won.' That's a phrase that Donald Trump, the twice-impeached former game show host and soon-to-be former president, repeated to different advisers and confidants over the long MLK Day weekend.... Because of him and his party, the city and the federal government were forced to perform a simulacrum of a police state -- simply to ensure that the outgoing president's extremist supporters would allow a transition of government to occur without further bloodshed. To another president, this would bring a sense of deep shame and regret, or at least a moment of humility. But to Trump, it's still a matter of me, me, me." A fun read for the schadenfreude-inclined. (Also linked yesterday.)

Kaitlan Collins, et al., of CNN: "Huddled for a lengthy meeting with his legal advisers [this past Saturday night], Trump was warned the pardons he once hoped to bestow upon his family and even himself would place him in a legally perilous position, convey the appearance of guilt and potentially make him more vulnerable to reprisals.So, too, was Trump warned that pardons for Republican lawmakers who had sought them for their role in the Capitol insurrection would anger the very Senate Republicans who will determine his fate in an upcoming impeachment trial. White House counsel Pat Cipollone and another attorney who represented Trump in his first impeachment trial, Eric Herschmann, offered the grave warnings as Trump, his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner listened. Other lawyers joined by telephone. They all told Trump he should not pardon himself, his family or any GOP lawmakers in a prospective manner unless he was prepared to list specific crimes."

Russ Buettner & Susanne Craig of the New York Times: "Not long after he strides across the White House grounds Wednesday morning for the last time as president, Donald J. Trump will step into a financial minefield that appears to be unlike anything he has faced since his earlier brushes with collapse. The tax records that he has long fought to keep hidden, revealed in a New York Times investigation last September, detailed his financial challenges: Many of his resorts were losing millions of dollars a year even before the pandemic struck. Hundreds of millions of dollars in loans, which he personally guaranteed, must be repaid within a few years. He has burned through much of his cash and easy-to-sell assets. And a decade-old I.R.S. audit threatens to cost him more than $100 million to resolve.... That trend has only accelerated with his evidence-free campaign to subvert the outcome of the presidential election, which culminated in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol.... 'Trump is so reputationally toxic that a lot of financial institutions won't want to do business with him,' said Adam J. Levitin, a law professor at Georgetown University...."

An Accessory Before the Fact. Evan Semones of Politico: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says ... Donald Trump could be an accessory to murder after this month's deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol. In an interview with MSNBC's Joy Reid that aired Tuesday night, Pelosi repeatedly decried Trump's role in inciting a violent insurrection on Jan. 6 that claimed the lives of five people, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer.... The speaker went a step further and said that if it were proven that some members of Congress collaborated with members of the group that attacked the Capitol, they -- as well as Trump -- would be accessories to crimes committed during the insurrection. 'And the crime, in some cases, was murder,' Pelosi said. 'And this president is an accessory to that crime because he instigated that insurrection that caused those deaths and this destruction.'"

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday accused President Trump of provoking the violent crowd that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. 'The last time the Senate convened, we had just reclaimed the Capitol from violent criminals who tried to stop Congress from doing our duty. The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people,' McConnell said on the Senate floor, marking the first convening of the full Senate since the attack. McConnell's statements carry significance ahead of an anticipated Senate impeachment trial. The GOP leader has told colleagues he hasn't yet decided how he would vote on a House-passed article of impeachment against Trump." MB: No angry-bird response from Trump?... Oh, yeah. Tweetybird he dead. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Mr. McConnell's remarks ... were the clearest signal yet from the most powerful Republican left in Washington that after four years of excusing and enabling Mr. Trump, he has come to regard the departing president as a force who could drag down the party if he is not firmly excised by its leaders." ~~~

Remembering Melanie. Katie Rogers & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "When she leaves Washington on Inauguration Day, Mrs. Trump will be remembered as the first lady who arrived at the White House late and checked out early." MB: Best gossipy stories on Melania I've read, but I haven't read many. ~~~

~~~ Now picture the First Lady seated at a pretty little writing desk & diligently working her Cross pen on watermarked linen cards, her heart filled with gratitude for all the help her household staff have given her over the years. Oops, erase that picture from your mind: ~~~

~~~ Kate Bennett of CNN: "First lady Melania Trump did not write her own 'thank you' notes to the White House residence staff who have cared for her and her family for the last four years, according to two sources with knowledge of the notes and Trump's handling of them. The 80 or so staff who received the type written notes were under the assumption the first lady had written them herself. Instead, Trump tasked a lower-level East Wing staffer with writing them 'in her voice,' and she signed her name." MB: She probably didn't even know the names of the people who picked up after her. The addressee in a personal note in Melanie's "voice" might as well have been, "To Whom It May Concern."

Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "U.S. authorities have leveled the first conspiracy charge against an apparent leader of an extremist group in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, arresting an alleged Oath Keeper who is accused of plotting to disrupt the electoral vote confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden's victory and proposing further assaults on state capitols. Thomas Edward Caldwell, 66, of Clarke County, Va., was taken into custody before 7 a.m. on four federal counts, including conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States in the attack on the Capitol.... A charging affidavit says he helped organize a group of eight to 10 individuals, including self-styled Ohio militia members apprehended Sunday, who wore helmets and military-style gear and were seen moving purposefully toward the top of the Capitol steps and leading the move against police lines." The article reports more evidence against Caldwell cited in the charging affidavit. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. The story has been substantially updated. New Lede: "Self-styled militia members from Virginia, Ohio and other states made plans to storm the U.S. Capitol days in advance of the Jan. 6 attack, and then communicated in real time as they breached the building on opposite sides and talked about hunting for lawmakers, according to new court documents filed Tuesday." A CBS News report is here.

Jordan Fischer of WUSA (Washington, D.C.): "A New York man [-- Thomas Fee --] has now been charged with participating in the Jan. 6 insurrection in D.C. after allegedly texting a picture and video of himself in the Capitol to his girlfriend’s brother -- a special agent with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service. According to a probable cause affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the agent – who is a federal officer employed by the U.S. Department of State -- reported the photo and video to the Diplomatic Security Service, which then passed it along to the Joint Terrorism Task Force.... CNN reports Fee retired from the New York Fire Department in October after 22 years. He is at least the second retired firefighter to be charged in connection with the Capitol riot...." MB: These guys go out of their way to prove they're stupid.

Upscale Insurrectionists. CBS Los Angeles News: "Three people from Beverly Hills, including a salon owner, have been arrested in connection with the storming of the U.S. Capitol earlier this month. Gina Bisignano, 52, was taken into custody by FBI agents at around 7 a.m. Tuesday at her apartment in the 300 block of North Palm Drive in Beverly Hills.... The FBI, with the help of Beverly Hills police, also arrested 37-year-old John Strand and 55-year-old Simone Gold on Monday.


How Not to Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "The Trump White House on Monday released the report of the presidential '1776 Commission,' a sweeping attack on liberal thought and activism that calls for a 'patriotic education,' defends America's founding on the basis of slavery and likens progressivism to fascism. President Trump formed the commission in September, saying that American heritage was under assault by revolutionary fanatics and that the nation's schools required a new 'pro-American' curriculum. Its report, released on Martin Luther King's Birthday, denounces the charge that the American founders were hypocrites who preached equality even as they codified slavery in the Constitution and held slaves themselves. 'This charge is untrue, and has done enormous damage, especially in recent years, with a devastating effect on our civic unity and social fabric,' it says." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's report, by Maegan Vazquez, is here. Its headline: "Trump administration issues racist school curriculum report on MLK day". (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Michael Crowley & Jennifer Schussler of the New York Times: "President Trump formed the 18-member commission ... in the heat of his re-election campaign in September.... The commission formed part of Mr. Trump's larger response to the antiracism protests [last summer].... The report drew intense criticism from historians, some of whom noted that the commission, while stocked with conservative educators, did not include a single professional historian of the United States. James Grossman, the executive director of the American Historical Association, said the report was not a work of history, but 'cynical politics.'" MB: Let me just say that those who wrote, signed onto or believe this report are batshit crazy. Oh, and flaming racists. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ "Historical Whackamole." Gillian Brockell of the Washington Post: "Historians responded with dismay and anger Monday after the White House's '1776 Commission' released a report that it said would help Americans better understand the nation's history by 'restoring patriotic education. 'It's a hack job...," American Historical Association executive director James Grossman told The Washington Post.... The 45-page report is largely an attack on decades of historical scholarship, particularly when it comes to the nation's 400-year-old legacy of slavery.... 'This "report" lacks citations or any indication books were consulted, which explains why it's riddled in errors, distortions, and outright lies.' ... said public historian Alexis Coe." And so forth. ~~~

~~~ AND It's a Cheesy Cut-and-Paste Job. Tina Nguyen of Politico: "... Donald Trump's 1776 Commission ... has been mocked by historians as slapdash and slanted. And a good chunk appears lifted or recycled from other publications." Two pages were lifted by an opinion piece by one of the commission's members, Thomas Lindsay. Other parts came from previous works by Dr. Matthew Spalding, the director of the commission. "The sourcing of the report's material has come under scrutiny. Courtney Thompson, an assistant professor at Mississippi State University, ran the 1776 Report through TurnItIn, a plagiarism detection service..., and claimed that 26 percent of the content had been lifted in various ways from other sources without citing other sources.... Upon its publication, the report was criticized by historians for its lack of scholarship and factual accuracy." MB: The "report" is emblematic of the entire Trump presidency*: untrue, slanted, slapdash crap produced by amateurs & wingnuts.

An appropriate send-off. Thanks to unwashed for the link:

Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down the Trump administration's plan to relax restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, paving the way for President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. to enact new and stronger restrictions on power plants. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia called the Trump administration's Affordable Clean Energy rule a 'fundamental misconstruction' of the nation's environmental laws, devised through a 'tortured series of misreadings' of legal statute. On the last full day of the Trump presidency, it effectively ended the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to weaken and undermine climate change policies and capped a dismal string of failures in which courts threw out one deregulation after another. Experts have widely described the E.P.A.'s losing streak as one of the worst legal records of the agency in modern history.... 'The real win here is that the Trump administration failed to tie the Biden team's hands,' [environmental law professor Jody] Freeman said."

Stupidest Senator Loses Debate with Smart Editors. Ray Hartmann of the Raw Story: "In a rather extraordinary move, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel offered [Sen. Ron] Johnson [R-Wis.] space to respond to its editorial calling for his resignation, only to annotate his commentary with no less than 19 footnotes. Suffice it to say the fact-checking in response to his response was brutal. On January 7, the newspaper had editorialized that Johnson and Wisconsin Rep. Scott Fitzgerald and Tom Tiffany 'resign or be expelled for siding with Trump against our republic' in their attempts to support his attempted coup. Johnson wasn't even spared by his ultimate decision not to vote to overturn the election results[.]... [Johnson wrote,] 'Among its many baseless charges, it accuses me of "inciting violence and an act of domestic terrorism," being "a leading member of the Senate Sedition Caucus," "stoking an insurrection," "violating my solemn oaths," being a racist ... and "shilling for Trump."...' [In a footnote, the editors responded, in part,] 'Sen. Ron Johnson took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. In our system, the states certify Electoral College votes and Congress acknowledges the victor. Senators and representatives cannot overturn the will of citizen voters by rejecting a state's electoral votes.'... Johnson didn't fare all that much better in the other 18 footnotes he drew for his response to the editorial." Here's Johnson's op-ed, with Journal Sentinel footnotes.

Nicholas Fandos & Katie Benner of the New York Times: "The Justice Department informed Senator Richard M. Burr, Republican of North Carolina, on Tuesday that it would not pursue insider trading charges against him, quietly ending a monthslong investigation into his dumping of hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock in the turbulent early days of the coronavirus pandemic. The decision by the department effectively cleared a cloud of legal jeopardy that has loomed over Mr. Burr since the sales were first disclosed in March. At the crux of the case was whether Mr. Burr, then the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, had acted based on nonpublic information about the contagion that he received at senators-only briefings." Politico's story is here.

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Fox "News" Decides to Go All-Faux. Diana Falcone & Lachlan Cartwright of the Daily Beast: "Fox News on Tuesday fired the political editor who was tasked with defending the network's election night decisions that especially angered ... Donald Trump and his allies. Politics editor Chris Stirewalt's exit from the network coincided with the sacking of at least 16 digital editorial staffers, including senior editors. People familiar with the situation said the layoffs -- a 'blood bath,' as multiple Fox News insiders described it -- were perpetrated by Porter Berry, the Sean Hannity crony now in charge of remaking Fox's digital properties in the image of its right-wing opinion programming.... 'There is a concerted effort to get rid of real journalists,' said one recently departed Fox staffer. 'They laid capable people off who were actual journalists and not blind followers.'"

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Monday
Jan182021

The Commentariat -- January 19, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Field of Flags. Dominick Mastrangelo of the Hill: "Nearly 200,000 flags have been placed on the National Mall ahead of President-elect >Joe Biden's inauguration, signifying the tens of thousands of people who won't be able to attend this year's ceremony. The Presidential Inaugural Committee first announced plans to install the public art display, which has flags representing all the U.S. states and territories, on Jan. 11. The display was lit up Sunday evening. ~~~

The Washington Post is live-updating Tuesday's Senate confirmation hearings: "Senate confirmation hearings are being held for five of Biden's Cabinet nominees throughout the day on a heavily fortified Capitol Hill, where preparations also continue for Biden's swearing-in at noon on Wednesday." ~~~

     ~~~ ** Update. Snotty Seditionist Punk Puts Hold on DHS Nominee. Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced on Tuesday he would place a hold on Alejandro Mayorkas, President-elect Joe Biden's choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Hawley, who has come under fire recently amid allegations that he played a role in the Capitol riot early this month, made the announcement just hours after the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs wrapped its hearing with Mayorkas. The move delays the nomination of a post Democrats have argued is critical to fill immediately to protect national security.... Defeating the hold will require a 50 vote threshold cloture vote and eats up days of floor time, complicating the process. 'Mr. Mayorkas has not adequately explained how he will enforce federal law and secure the southern border given President-elect Biden's promise to roll back major enforcement and security measures,' Hawley said in a statement.... Hawley's opposition stems from an exchange where the lawmaker asked Mayorkas if he would obligate $1.4 billion in funds set aside for Trump's border wall."; MB: On Friday night, the Senate's most conservative Democratic senator, Joe Manchin (W.Va.), said the Senate should consider removing Hawley (R-Mo.) via the 14th Amendment because of his actions during the insurrection. Seems like an excellent idea.

Samantha Schmidt, et al., of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he will nominate Pennsylvania's top health official, Rachel Levine, to be his assistant secretary of health. Levine, a pediatrician, would become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate." An AP story is here.

AP: "Three new Democratic senators are set to be sworn into office after President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration Wednesday. The arrival of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Alex Padilla of California will give Democrats a working majority in the Senate -- split 50-50, with the new vice president, Kamala Harris, as the tie-breaking vote.... Harris is set to deliver the oath of office to the three Democrats after she is sworn in during the inauguration as vice president."

Yellin Says "Act Big"; Curmudgeon Scolds Her. Erica Werner & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden"s nominee for treasury secretary, urged lawmakers Tuesday to 'act big' on economic relief for the coronavirus pandemic as she appeared before a Senate committee for her confirmation hearing. 'I think there is a consensus now: Without further action, we risk a longer, more painful recession now -- and long-term scarring of the economy later,' Yellen said in written testimony submitted to the Senate Finance Committee ahead of the hearing. She faced immediate pushback from Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who used his opening statement to slam the Biden relief plan as a 'laundry list of liberal structural economic reforms' that would not be appropriate to enact."

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday accused President Trump of provoking the violent crowd that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. 'The last time the Senate convened, we had just reclaimed the Capitol from violent criminals who tried to stop Congress from doing our duty. The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people,' McConnell said on the Senate floor, marking the first convening of the full Senate since the attack. McConnell's statements carry significance ahead of an anticipated Senate impeachment trial. The GOP leader has told colleagues he hasn't yet decided how he would vote on a House-passed article of impeachment against Trump." MB: No angry-bird response from Trump yet.... Oh, yeah. Tweetybird dead.

James LaPorta of the AP: "Two Army National Guard members are being removed from the mission to secure Joe Biden's presidential inauguration. A U.S. Army official and a senior U.S. intelligence official say the two National Guard members have been found to have ties to fringe right group militias. No plot against Biden was found. The Army official and the intelligence official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity due to Defense Department media regulations. They did not say what fringe group the Guard members belonged to or what unit they served in."

Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "U.S. authorities have leveled the first conspiracy charge against an apparent leader of an extremist group in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, arresting an alleged Oath Keeper who is accused of plotting to disrupt the electoral vote confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden's victory and proposing further assaults on state capitols. Thomas Edward Caldwell, 66, of Clarke County, Va., was taken into custody before 7 a.m. on four federal counts, including conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States in the attack on the Capitol.... A charging affidavit says he helped organize a group of eight to 10 individuals, including self-styled Ohio militia members apprehended Sunday, who wore helmets and military-style gear and were seen moving purposefully toward the top of the Capitol steps and leading the move against police lines." The article reports more evidence against Caldwell cited in the charging affidavit.

Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast on "Trump's Pathetic Final Weekend in Office": "'Everyone knows I won.' That's a phrase that Donald Trump, the twice-impeached former game show host and soon-to-be former president, repeated to different advisers and confidants over the long MLK Day weekend.... Because of him and his party, the city and the federal government were forced to perform a simulacrum of a police state -- simply to ensure that the outgoing president's extremist supporters would allow a transition of government to occur without further bloodshed.To another president, this would bring a sense of deep shame and regret, or at least a moment of humility. But to Trump, it's still a matter of me, me, me." A fun read for the schadenfreude-inclined.

How Not to Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "The Trump White House on Monday released the report of the presidential '1776 Commission,' a sweeping attack on liberal thought and activism that calls for a 'patriotic education,' defends America's founding on the basis of slavery and likens progressivism to fascism. President Trump formed the commission in September, saying that American heritage was under assault by revolutionary fanatics and that the nation's schools required a new 'pro-American' curriculum. Its report, released on Martin Luther King's Birthday, denounces the charge that the American founders were hypocrites who preached equality even as they codified slavery in the Constitution and held slaves themselves. 'This charge is untrue, and has done enormous damage, especially in recent years, with a devastating effect on our civic unity and social fabric,' it says." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's report, by Maegan Vazquez, is here. Its headline: "Trump administration issues racist school curriculum report on MLK day". ~~~

~~~ ** Michael Crowley & Jennifer Schussler of the New York Times: "President Trump formed the 18-member commission ... in the heat of his re-election campaign in September.... The commission formed part of Mr. Trump's larger response to the antiracism protests [last summer].... The report drew intense criticism from historians, some of whom noted that the commission, while stocked with conservative educators, did not include a single professional historian of the United States. James Grossman, the executive director of the American Historical Association, said the report was not a work of history, but 'cynical politics.'" MB: Let me just say that those who wrote, signed onto or believe this report are batshit crazy. Oh, and flaming racists.

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

~~~~~~~~~~

Michael Shear & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. will arrive in the nation's capital on Tuesday evening for an inauguration eve ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool honoring the nearly 400,000 people who have died during the coronavirus pandemic that will be his first priority after he is sworn in the next day. The somber remembrance will kick off two days of in-person and virtual events as Mr. Biden takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, becoming the 46th president of the United States at a time of economic struggle and cultural upheaval in the wake of President Trump's four years in the White House.... Mr. Biden has planned a mix of celebratory, upbeat events to mark the occasion ... along with more serious moments aimed at marking the grim times that many Americans are facing as he takes office. Instead of an in-person parade along Pennsylvania Avenue, Mr. Biden's inaugural committee on Monday provided details about a virtual 'Parade Across America' that will start at 3:15 Wednesday afternoon after Mr. Biden's swearing-in."

James Hohmann of the Washington Post: "On Wednesday at noon, President-elect Joe Biden will ... [deliver his inaugural address] two weeks after the Capitol was stormed by a pro-Trump mob intent on stopping Congress from formally counting the electoral votes to confirm his victory. The bloodshed on Jan. 6 means the handoff from the 45th to the 46th president has not been a peaceful transfer of power. While Biden will nod to the violence and to the unprecedented security that has locked down the capital city, he plans to make a broader case for national healing and to make government work again.... 'What you'll hear from President-elect Biden on Wednesday will be a reflection of a lot of what you heard from him on the campaign trail, which is that he believes we can bring this country together,' incoming White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said on Sunday."

Jasmine Wright & Chandelis Duster of CNN: "Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has formally submitted a letter of resignation for her US Senate seat to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, ending her four-year career in the chamber. As Harris says goodbye to her seat, she assured Americans in an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle that her work is not done since she will preside over the chamber once she is sworn as the first female, first Black and first South Asian woman vice president of the United States on Wednesday. '... As I resign from the Senate, I am preparing to take an oath that would have me preside over it,' Harris wrote. 'As senator-turned-Vice-President Walter Mondale once pointed out, the vice presidency is the only office in our government that "belongs to both the executive branch and the legislative branch." A responsibility made greater with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.'"

Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden on Monday plans to nominate five women to serve in the No. 2 spots at key Cabinet agencies, moving to fill out vital day-to-day operations roles in the government he will take over on Wednesday. The moves, which will install deputies with hands-on experience in critical departments, reflect Biden's push to elevate women and his desire to quickly tackle the nation's crises and repair agencies suffering from morale and other problems. The nominees, who must be confirmed by the Senate, include Jewel H. Bronaugh at Agriculture, Polly Trottenberg at Transportation, Andrea Palm at Health and Human Services, Elizabeth Klein at Interior and Cindy Marten at Education." (Also linked yesterday.)

Lisa Mascaro & Bill Barrow of the AP: "President-elect Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on Day One of his administration, hoping to provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status, a massive reversal from the Trump administration's harsh immigration policies. The legislation puts Biden on track to deliver on a major campaign promise important to Latino voters and other immigrant communities after four years of President Donald Trump's restrictive policies and mass deportations. It provides one of the fastest pathways to citizenship for those living without legal status of any measure in recent years, but it fails to include the traditional trade-off of enhanced border security favored by many Republicans, making passage in a narrowly divided Congress in doubt." A Washington Post story is here.

The Washington Post's live inauguration updates Monday are topped with a quintessential headline: "Biden to participate in national day of service as Trump prepares pardons." MB: Another way to put it: Biden participates in presidential tradition as Trump engages in corrupt practices." Sure hope it warms up enough this afternoon for Trump to get in a round of golf with some white megadonors. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Sorest Losers. Ever. Kate Bennett of CNN: "On the morning of January 20, Donald Trump and Melania Trump will depart the White House as President and first lady, but they will not invite their incoming counterparts, Joe and Jill Biden, inside before they do. The dissolving of one of America's most enduring transfer-of-power rituals -- the outgoing president welcoming the incoming president on the steps of the North Portico, and then riding with them to the United States Capitol -- is just one of the snubs the Trumps are perpetrating as they leave Washington. Instead of a president and first lady, the Bidens will be greeted by the White House chief usher Timothy Harleth.... The Inauguration Day snub of the Biden's comes on the heels of a series of broken norms and childish behavior that comes directly from the President of the United States, who has been vocal about his disinterest in preserving any semblance of decency towards the man who will succeed him.... 'It's abhorrent,' said [a] former White House official who worked in the Trump administration.... Trump, according to several sources, is even mulling whether to write a letter to Biden to leave for him in the Oval Office, a standard-bearing tradition. Melania Trump, who has not been seen in public in more than two weeks, has not reached out to Jill Biden, dashing expectations she would continue the passing along of hospitality to her successor, hosting her for a tour. Even after contentious election cycles, first ladies and presidents have set aside hard feelings and ego, no matter how bruised, until now."

Carol Leonnig & Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The FBI privately warned law enforcement agencies Monday that far-right extremists have discussed posing as National Guard members in Washington and others have reviewed maps of vulnerable spots in the city -- signs of potential efforts to disrupt Wednesday's inauguration, according to an intelligence report obtained by The Washington Post. The document, a summary of threats that the FBI identified in a Monday intelligence briefing, warned that both 'lone wolves' and adherents of the QAnon extremist ideology, some of whom joined in the violent siege on the Capitol on Jan. 6, have indicated they plan to come to Washington for President-elect Joe Biden's swearing-in ceremony. The FBI also said it had observed people downloading and sharing maps of sensitive locations in Washington and discussing how those facilities could be used to interfere in security during the inauguration."

Manu Raju of CNN: "The top two Senate leaders are nearing a power-sharing agreement to hash out how the evenly divided chamber will operate, with Democrats in charge of setting the schedule but both parties likely to hold an equal number of seats on Senate committees, according to sources familiar with the talks. The negotiations between Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell have been built largely around how the Senate operated the last time the body was split 50-50.... Similar to those rules, set in January 2001, Schumer and McConnell aides are discussing allowing bills and nominations to advance to the Senate floor even if they are tied during committee votes.... Democrats will hold the chairmanships of the committees, giving them power to set the agenda, and Schumer will be granted the title of majority leader.... The full chamber still has to ratify these procedures...." MB: I doubt Mitch would have been so generous had the veep been a Republican. Mitch was not majority leader in 2001.

The Last Full Day of the Mad Kaiser

For a lovely trip down Memory Lane, CREW has put together an essay with extensive illustrative graphics of Trump's "legacy of profound corruption and egregious conflicts of interest." Thanks to RAS for the link.

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Trump on Monday ordered an end to the ban on travelers from Europe and Brazil that had been aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus to the United States, a move quickly rejected by aides to President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who said Mr. Biden will maintain the ban when he takes office on Wednesday. In a proclamation issued late Monday, Mr. Trump said that the travel restrictions, which apply to noncitizens trying to come to the United States after spending time in those areas, would no longer be needed on Jan. 26, the date on which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will start requiring all passengers from abroad to present proof of a negative coronavirus test before boarding a flight."

Some weeks back, thanks to a commentator (sorry, can't recall who), we linked to a mock-up of the Donald J. Trump Library, complete with rooms dedicated to such topics as Impeachments I & II, Storming the Capitol, and of course a Grift Shop for the Losers & Suckers. Immune to parody as Trump is, it turns out his library will be even sillier than clever people have imagined:

~~~ Phil Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post (Jan. 16): "... two people familiar with internal discussions [about a Trump presidential library] said it is likely to be located in Florida and run by Dan Scavino, one of Trump's longest-serving and most loyal aides who advises him on social media and most recently served as deputy White House chief of staff.... [Trump] wants to raise $2 billion for the library -- a far greater sum than has been raised for past presidential libraries...." MB: IOW, Trump thinks the appropriate "librarian" for his oeuvre is his Twitter manager, a guy whose previous professional experience was caddying for Trump. Maybe Trump is right. Who better to archive Trump's tweets & run the Grift Shop? However, it's more likely what we can expect has something else in common with the library Website linked above: they'll both be virtual "libraries." Oh, Trump will collect the $2BB if he can, but he won't ever buy the property or break ground. He will give his fans progress reports, telling them about the big, beautiful footings and doors so strong no criminal Mexicans and caravans can get through them.

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "As President Trump enters the final hours of his term, he has been intently focused on who should benefit from his clemency power. Along with the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, and advisers including Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner..., Mr. Trump has spent days sifting through names and recommendations, assembling a list that officials say he intends to disclose on Tuesday, his last full day in office. The size and precise composition of the list is still being determined, but it is likely to cover at least 60 pardons or commutations and perhaps more than 100. Already, Mr. Trump has been making calls to some of the recipients, people briefed about them said, and he held another meeting about the topic on Monday afternoon." MB: I also heard on the teevee that Trump was taping a "farewell address" somebody wrote.

Disappointing News. Jonathan Karl & Marc Nathanson of ABC News: Rudy "Giuliani, who has been leading the president's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, told ABC News' ... Jonathan Karl late Sunday that [he] will not be part of Trump's legal team for the upcoming Senate impeachment trial due to his involvement in the Jan. 6 Washington, D.C., rally that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol building." MB: So no shouting, screaming, mugging, spitting, drooling, dripping & farting on the Senate floor. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Em Steck & Andrew Kaczinski of CNN: "... Rudy Giuliani personally voted in the 2020 election using a voting method he publicly disparaged and bashed in his attempts to overthrow the presidential election results, a CNN KFile investigation has found. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, voted in Manhattan by an affidavit ballot, also known as a provisional ballot, after his name did not appear on the voter rolls when he showed up to vote. According to records obtained by CNN's KFile, Giuliani's registration was moved to his Long Island home in August and his registration in New York City was purged in September. Giuliani told CNN he did not know why his registration was moved to his Long Island home in August and contested that he changed his registration at all.... Giuliani has baselessly claimed that a high number of provisional ballots cast in Pennsylvania proved instances of fraud; he further suggested that voters were given provisional ballots when they showed up to vote after Democrats cast fraudulent ballots on behalf of voters.... In a statement to CNN, Giuliani claimed he never registered to vote elsewhere and said his case was another example of voter irregularities, if not fraud from the New York State Board of Elections." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The reporters don't take into account the fact that Rudy is white, and many of those Pennsylvania provisional voters probably were Black. In any event, they were Democrats. So, ya know.

ITV (U.K.): "Former US attorney general William Barr has told ITV News that questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election result 'precipitated the riots' in the US Capitol on January 6. In his first interview since the violent siege of America's seat of political power, Mr Barr said he was 'sad' but 'not surprised to see the kind of violence we saw'. He described the scenes in the US Capitol earlier this month as 'despicable'. MB: Barr never named Trump or Republicans as the perps; in fact, he said something about "whichever side does it...."

Eric Schmitt, et al., of the New York Times: "The Pentagon is intensifying efforts to identify and combat white supremacy and other far-right extremism in its ranks as federal investigators seek to determine how many military personnel and veterans joined the violent assault on the Capitol. In the days since a pro-Trump mob breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, senior leaders of the 2.1 million active-duty and reserve troops have been grappling with fears that former or current service members will be found among the horde. The F.B.I. investigation into the Capitol siege, still in its very early stages, has identified at least six suspects with military links out of the more than 100 people who have been taken into federal custody or the larger number still under investigation.... The military's examination of its ranks marks a new urgency for the Pentagon, which has a history of downplaying the rise of white nationalism and right-wing activism, even as Germany and other countries are finding a deep strain embedded in their armed forces."

Ursula Perano of Axios: "Dominion Voting Systems on Monday sent a cease and desist letter to My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell over his spread of misinformation related to the 2020 election.... Trump and several of his allies have pushed false conspiracy theories about the company, leading Dominion to take legal action. It's suing pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell for defamation and $1.3 billion in damages, and a Dominion employee has sued Trump himself, OANN and Newsmax. The letter also orders Lindell to 'preserve and retain all documents relating to Dominion and your smear campaign against the company.' Lindell also must preserve all communications with any member of the Trump campaign, in addition to communications with Rudy Giuliani, Powell, Jenna Ellis and Lin Wood. Lindell told Axios, 'I want Dominion to put up their lawsuit because we have 100% evidence that China and other countries used their machines to steal the election.'"

Jim Sciutto, et al., of CNN: "Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee said that he and a fellow lawmaker [-- John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) --] personally saw Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado guiding a group of people through the Cannon House Office Building tunnel in the days leading up the Capitol insurrection on January 6.... '... Now whether these people were people that were involved in the insurrection or not, I do not know,' Cohen told CNN's Jim Sciutto.... While Cohen is the first to specifically name Boebert as someone who may have given the tours, the rumors surrounding her role in the days leading up to January 6 were so heated that the congresswoman preemptively denied any wrongdoing..... Boebert sent Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York a letter denying that she gave tours to insurrectionists after an interview on MSNBC in which Maloney accused Republican members of doing so. Maloney never mentioned Boebert by name. 'The only people I have ever had in the Capitol with me are my young children, husband, mom, aunt and uncle,' Boebert wrote in the letter to Maloney." MB: I feel certain investigators have access to CCTV that will show who-all was in the Capitol complex in the days preceding the insurrection. There are visitor logs as well. If these names match up with any of those IDed in the Capitol siege, case closed -- tho not necessarily against Boebert, who could have more-or-less innocently acted as tour guide.

** Nomaan Merchant & Colleen Long of the AP: "As the rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, many of the police officers had to decide on their own how to fight them off. There was no direction. No plan. And no top leadership.... Interviews with four members of the U.S. Capitol Police who were overrun by rioters on Jan. 6 show just how quickly the command structure collapsed as throngs of people, egged on by ... Donald Trump, set upon the Capitol. The officers spoke on condition of anonymity because the department has threatened to suspend anyone who speaks to the media. 'We were on our own,' one of the officers told The Associated Press. 'Totally on our own.' The officers ... said they were given next to no warning by leadership on the morning of Jan. 6.... And once the riot began, they were given no instructions by the department's leaders on how to stop the mob or rescue lawmakers who had barricaded themselves inside. There were only enough officers for a routine day. Three officers told the AP they did not hear Chief Steven Sund on the radio the entire afternoon. It turned out he was sheltering with Vice President Mike Pence in a secure location for some of the siege. Sund resigned the next day." ~~~

~~~ Rosalind Helderman, et al., of the Washington Post: "... House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving balked when the chief of the Capitol Police suggested activating the National Guard two days before the Jan. 6 event... [because ] '... the leaders of the House and the Senate don't want the military up there...,' said Bill Pickle, who served as the Senate sergeant-at-arms from 2003 to 2007 and spoke to The Washington Post at Irving's request.... Irving did not consult first with his boss, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), but thought he was reflecting her likely response, Pickle said.... In a statement, Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said, 'Our expectation is to always be fully briefed on the options. The failure of the nation's law enforcement apparatus to fully understand the gravity of the situation coupled with the President's dramatic and deliberate incitement to violence led to the failure of any and all plans previously briefed to the Congress.'... According to Pickle, Irving said he, [Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael] Stenger and [Capitol police chief Steven] Sund were all comfortable with the security arrangements in place before Jan. 6 -- and thought that the National Guard would be on alert if needed."

Spencer Hsu & Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: "Federal authorities said they have arrested Capitol rioter Riley June Williams and are investigating claims from a 'former romantic partner' that Williams stole a laptop or hard drive from the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Williams was arrested Monday in her home state of Pennsylvania, the Justice Department said, a day after she was charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. The department did not immediately provide further details. An ex-partner of Williams's, identified only as W1 in court filings, told the FBI that friends of Williams played a video of her stealing the drive or computer from Pelosi's office, and that Williams 'intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service,' a criminal complaint states."

Tim Stelloh of NBC News: "A Texas man who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was arrested and accused of having threatened to shoot his children if they told authorities that he had gone to Washington, D.C., according to federal court documents released Monday.... In an affidavit, an FBI agent described [Guy] Reffitt as an apparent militia member who traveled from suburban Dallas to Washington with a Smith & Wesson pistol to help 'protect his country.' Reffitt's wife told investigators that during an argument, he told his children that if one of them turned him in, 'you're a traitor and you know what happens to traitors ... traitors get shot.'"

S.A. Miller of the Washington Times: "The Republican Party Central Committee in Carbon County, Wyoming, has censured Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach President Trump, as support for the one-time rising GOP star crumbles in her home state. The censure resolution passed in a unanimous vote by the 45-member central committee. It included a demand that Ms. Cheney appear before the committee to explain her actions." MB: It wouldn't surprise me that some committee members would vote to censure Cheney, but all of them?? The once pristine rivers of Wyoming must run with Kool-Aid these days. ~~~

~~~ Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Monday, the Washington Examiner reported that the chairman of the Wyoming Republican Party floated the idea of secession to form a neo-confederacy consisting of Republican-voting states. 'Wyoming GOP Chairman Frank Eathorne suggested the idea to War Room Pandemic podcast host and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon in a weekend interview focused on the decision by Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranked Republican in the House, to vote in favor of impeaching Trump on a charge of incitement of insurrection related to the deadly riot that took place at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6,' reported Mike Brest [of the Examiner].

Capitalism (Russian-Style) Is Awesome. Joseph Menn, et al., of Reuters: "Parler, a social media website and app popular with the American far right, has partially returned online with the help of a Russian-owned technology company. Parler vanished from the internet when dropped by Amazon Inc's hosting arm and other partners for poor moderation after its users called for violence and posted videos glorifying the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. On Monday, Parler's website was reachable again, though only with a message from its chief executive saying he was working to restore functionality. The internet protocol address it used is owned by DDos-Guard, which is controlled by two Russian men and provides services including protection from distributed denial of service attacks, infrastructure expert Ronald Guilmette told Reuters."


Trump Team's Incompetence Saves Civil Service Jobs. Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "President Trump's last-ditch effort to remove civil service protections from tens of thousands of career federal employees appears to have lost steam, facing time constraints and legal hurdles as the administration prepares to leave office, officials said. As a result, President-elect Joe Biden will become president Wednesday with an executive order in place to carry out the biggest change to the civil service in a generation -- but no completed paperwork to reclassify the affected employees so they can be fired without cause. Allies of Biden say he's likely to reverse Trump's order. In their final weeks, outgoing Trump administration officials took steps to fast-track the sweeping directive the president issued in October at one department, the powerful Office of Management and Budget. The agency closest to the White House identified a list of hundreds of jobs and sent it to federal personnel officials for final sign-off. But in a meeting last week, Budget Director Russell T. Vought, a conservative firebrand who targeted his agency as a test case for the new policy, told his senior staff that the administration ran out of time to change the employees' status before leaving office, according to two officials familiar with his comments."

Simon Tindsall of the Guardian: "While all eyes are on Donald Trump and his Capitol Hill mob, a would-be heir and successor is running riot all by himself, storming citadels, wagging the flag and breaking china.... Mike Pompeo may not strike many people as presidential material. But Trump lowered the bar.... In a display of extraordinary chutzpah, Pompeo has spent the time since Trump lost the election setting booby traps and laying diplomatic minefields in global conflict zones. Partly he aims to secure his own and Trump's 'legacy'. Partly it's to screw Biden. But mostly it's about winning the White House.... That potentially makes the former Kansas Tea party congressman and CIA chief more dangerous to the Biden presidency, and the progressive cause, than a disgraced Trump may ever be." --s (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ "The Worst Secretary of State in American History." Lara Jakes of the New York Times: "Spurned by many foreign allies, ridiculed by adversaries, disliked by a significant number of his own diplomats and trying to preserve his political future, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ... dismissed the power of persuasion, instead trying to strong-arm European leaders, taunting rulers in China and Iran, and working to keep dictators off-balance.... But by rejecting the traditional role of predictable diplomacy and mirroring President Trump's own style, Mr. Pompeo's strategy backfired, according to foreign policy analysts and a large cohort in the State Department. As he leaves office, Mr. Pompeo, 57, has been tagged by a number of officials and analysts with the dubious distinction of the worst secretary of state in American history. That will come back to haunt him as he considers running for president in 2024 or seeking another elected office, as he is widely believed to be doing. Iran is now closer to building a nuclear bomb and that North Korea has more nuclear weapons than it did at the beginning of the Trump administration. Relations with key European leaders, the United Nations and other diplomatic and economic alliances are in worse shape. The United States has less standing to promote democracy and human rights in the world than it did four years ago, according to many career diplomats. And Mr. Pompeo's role in enabling the president's shadow foreign policy in Ukraine -- undermining years of United States support to ward off Russian military aggression -- raised concerns among lawmakers...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: But kudos for making the front page of the paper of record, Mike.

Tara Bahrampour of the Washington Post: "The embattled director of the U.S. Census Bureau is resigning in the wake of allegations that he had supported a partisan push to deliver data on undocumented immigrants to President Trump before the president leaves office. Steven Dillingham's resignation will be effective Wednesday, according to a farewell message he sent to the bureau staff, posted on the agency's website Monday. Reports last week from bureau whistleblowers said political appointees were pressuring staff members to release state tallies of undocumented immigrants by Jan. 15, regardless of their accuracy, to boost Trump's effort to exclude them from congressional apportionment. Those reports prompted calls from civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers for Dillingham to resign. 'That the census director would push expert, career staff to ignore quality standards to achieve an unlawful policy for an outgoing president is appalling,' said Wade Henderson, interim president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference, and one of those who called for Dillingham's resignation." MB: In fairness to Dillingham, most actions by Trump's appointees are appalling.


Martyn McLaughlin of The Scotsman: "The Rockshiel trust, listed by Steven Mnuchin, the US Treasury secretary, among his global portfolio of property holdings, has been trying for two years to build a cluster of upmarket townhouses and apartments in a sought-after conservation area of Edinburgh.... Now, it has emerged that the trust has withdrawn its contentious blueprints for the development in Murrayfield’s Kinellan Road, casting doubt on its future plans.... The US Treasury has said that Mr Mnuchin has no financial interest in the Rockshiel trust, and that the only reason it is listed on his financial disclosure forms is because of his wife, the Scottish actor, Louise Linton." --s (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Fortunately, Steve is doing a fine job here at home: ~~~

~~~ Elizabeth Dwoskin & Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "Five prominent anti-vaccine organizations that have been known to spread misleading information about the coronavirus received more than $850,000 in loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, raising questions about why the government is giving money to groups actively opposing its agenda and seeking to undermine public health during a critical period.... Several of the Facebook pages of these organizations have been penalized by the social network, including being prohibited from buying advertising, for pushing misinformation about covid-19.... While it's unclear whether the anti-vaccine groups broke any rules, their receipt of public assistance is in many ways a consequence of the scattershot way in which the Paycheck Protection Program delivered hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy with few guardrails or preconditions." Thanks to Forrest M. for the link. MB: BTW, these PPP "loans" are not really loans at all; if certain fairly easy conditions are met, the loans are forgiven. (Also linked yesterday.)

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Sunday
Jan172021

The Commentariat -- January 18, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

A New York Times video op-ed:

Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden on Monday plans to nominate five women to serve in the No. 2 spots at key Cabinet agencies, moving to fill out vital day-to-day operations roles in the government he will take over on Wednesday. The moves, which will install deputies with hands-on experience in critical departments, reflect Biden's push to elevate women and his desire to quickly tackle the nation's crises and repair agencies suffering from morale and other problems. The nominees, who must be confirmed by the Senate, include Jewel H. Bronaugh at Agriculture, Polly Trottenberg at Transportation, Andrea Palm at Health and Human Services, Elizabeth Klein at Interior and Cindy Marten at Education."

The Washington Post's live inauguration updates are topped with a quintessential headline: "Biden to participate in national day of service as Trump prepares pardons." MB: Another way to put it: Biden participates in presidential tradition as Trump engages in corrupt practices." Sure hope it warms up enough this afternoon for Trump to get in a round of golf with some white megadonors.

Elizabeth Dwoskin & Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "Five prominent anti-vaccine organizations that have been known to spread misleading information about the coronavirus received more than $850,000 in loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, raising questions about why the government is giving money to groups actively opposing its agenda and seeking to undermine public health during a critical period.... Several of the Facebook pages of these organizations have been penalized by the social network, including being prohibited from buying advertising, for pushing misinformation about covid-19.... While it's unclear whether the anti-vaccine groups broke any rules, their receipt of public assistance is in many ways a consequence of the scattershot way in which the Paycheck Protection Program delivered hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy with few guardrails or preconditions." Thanks to Forrest M. for the link. MB: BTW, these PPP "loans" are not really loans at all; if certain fairly easy conditions are met, the loans are forgiven.

Disappointing News. Jonathan Karl & Marc Nathanson of ABC News: Rudy "Giuliani, who has been leading the president's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, told ABC News' ... Jonathan Karl late Sunday that [he] will not be part of Trump's legal team for the upcoming Senate impeachment trial due to his involvement in the Jan. 6 Washington, D.C., rally that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol building." MB: So no shouting, screaming, mugging, spitting, drooling, dripping & farting on the Senate floor.

Simon Tindsall of the Guardian: "While all eyes are on Donald Trump and his Capitol Hill mob, a would-be heir and successor is running riot all by himself, storming citadels, wagging the flag and breaking china.... Mike Pompeo may not strike many people as presidential material. But Trump lowered the bar.... In a display of extraordinary chutzpah, Pompeo has spent the time since Trump lost the election setting booby traps and laying diplomatic minefields in global conflict zones. Partly he aims to secure his own and Trump's 'legacy'. Partly it's to screw Biden. But mostly it's about winning the White House.... That potentially makes the former Kansas Tea party congressman and CIA chief more dangerous to the Biden presidency, and the progressive cause, than a disgraced Trump may ever be." --s ~~~

~~~ "The Worst Secretary of State in American History." Lara Jakes of the New York Times: "Spurned by many foreign allies, ridiculed by adversaries, disliked by a significant number of his own diplomats and trying to preserve his political future, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ... dismissed the power of persuasion, instead trying to strong-arm European leaders, taunting rulers in China and Iran, and working to keep dictators off-balance.... But by rejecting the traditional role of predictable diplomacy and mirroring President Trump's own style, Mr. Pompeo's strategy backfired, according to foreign policy analysts and a large cohort in the State Department. As he leaves office, Mr. Pompeo, 57, has been tagged by a number of officials and analysts with the dubious distinction of the worst secretary of state in American history. That will come back to haunt him as he considers running for president in 2024 or seeking another elected office, as he is widely believed to be doing. Iran is now closer to building a nuclear bomb and that North Korea has more nuclear weapons than it did at the beginning of the Trump administration. Relations with key European leaders, the United Nations and other diplomatic and economic alliances are in worse shape. The United States has less standing to promote democracy and human rights in the world than it did four years ago, according to many career diplomats. And Mr. Pompeo's role in enabling the president's shadow foreign policy in Ukraine -- undermining years of United States support to ward off Russian military aggression -- raised concerns among lawmakers...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: But kudos for making the front page of the paper of record, Mike.

Martyn McLaughlin of The Scotsman: "The Rockshiel trust, listed by Steven Mnuchin, the US Treasury secretary, among his global portfolio of property holdings, has been trying for two years to build a cluster of upmarket townhouses and apartments in a sought-after conservation area of Edinburgh.... Now, it has emerged that the trust has withdrawn its contentious blueprints for the development in Murrayfield's Kinellan Road, casting doubt on its future plans.... The US Treasury has said that Mr Mnuchin has no financial interest in the Rockshiel trust, and that the only reason it is listed on his financial disclosure forms is because of his wife, the Scottish actor, Louise Linton." --s

~~~~~~~~~~

Washington Post Editors: Martin Luther King, Jr. "spoke in his 'I Have a Dream' speech of the 'sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent.' This would not pass, he explained, 'until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.' He said this on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial -- not far from where armed insurrectionists this month tried to overturn an election decided, in part, by Black voters in Southern states who surmounted all manner of racist restrictions. He said it not far from the White House, where on the first day of June the president of the United States ordered the tear-gassing of peaceful [racial justice] protesters to clear his way for a photo op."

Ann Hornaday, the Washington Post's film critic, reviews "MLK/FBI": "In the exquisitely constructed, deeply unnerving 'MLK/FBI,' filmmaker Sam Pollard takes viewers behind the looking glass into the shadowy world of governmental surveillance during the mid-century civil rights movement, a program of spying, infiltration and harassment that reached its perverse apotheosis with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover's obsession with Martin Luther King, Jr.... In this meticulously constructed narrative, which centers on FBI files that are scheduled to be declassified in 2027, Pollard reminds viewers that, at the time of his death, King was anything but universally admired. By the time he came out against the Vietnam War and began linking race and class via the Poor People's Campaign, Hoover's years-long campaign to peg King as a Communist had taken hold. Archival footage of anti-King demonstrators spouting lies they've uncritically accepted about the Baptist minister bear an uncanny resemblance to scenes of Americans who today believe that Democrats and their leaders worship Satan, traffic children and stole the 2020 election." A Guardian/Observer review is here. You can stream the film on demand on various platforms including Amazon & Google Play for about $7.

Robert Daniels of the New York Times has more suggestions for "movies to stream for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day."


Emily Davies, et al., of the Washington Post outline how Joe Biden's presidential inauguration is supposed to go, though some details are apparently not decided. The AP's story is here.

Robert Samuels of the Washington Post profiles economist Donald Harris, Kamala's father.

Biden Keeps Nominating People Who Will Do Their Jobs. Matthew Goldstein, et al., of the New York Times: "The Biden administration is tapping two financial regulators from the Obama administration to oversee key departments that had loosened their grip of the industry under President Trump, according to two people with knowledge of the plans. Gary Gensler, who led the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the Obama administration from 2009 to 2014, will be President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s nominee to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, these people said. Also, Rohit Chopra, the former assistant director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has been chosen to run that agency." The Hill has a story here.

Lauren Gardner & Ben Lefebvre of Politico: "President-elect Joe Biden will rescind the cross-border permit for TC Energy's Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office, three sources confirm.... The move is billed as one of Biden's Day One climate change actions, according to a presentation circulating among Washington trade groups and lobbyists.... The decision was not included in incoming chief of staff Ron Klain's Saturday memo outlining Biden's planned executive actions during the first days of his presidency. Two lobbyists confirmed that Biden plans to yank the project's permit on Inauguration Day, a development first reported by CBC News [Canadian Broadcasting]. It's the latest development in a decade-long fight over the controversial pipeline and solidifies a campaign promise the Canadian government had hoped was negotiable."

Lolita Baldor of the AP: "U.S. defense officials say they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, prompting the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event. The massive undertaking reflects the extraordinary security concerns that have gripped Washington following the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters. And it underscores fears that some of the very people assigned to protect the city over the next several days could present a threat to the incoming president and other VIPs in attendance. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told The Associated Press on Sunday that officials are conscious of the potential threat, and he warned commanders to be on the lookout for any problems within their ranks as the inauguration approaches. So far, however, he and other leaders say they have seen no evidence of any threats, and officials said the vetting hadn't flagged any issues that they were aware of."

Samantha Schmidt, et al., of the Washington Post: "The troops were in formation. The residents were told to stay home. The heart of Washington was a fortress of fences, concrete barriers and security checkpoints. But on Sunday, the planned and promoted 'armed march' on the nation's capital never materialized. There were no gathered crowds, large or small, and authorities reported just one arrest of an armed man carrying a handgun and ammunition near barricades surrounding the Capitol building just after midnight. The quiet Sunday brought little relief to a city on edge from an attack on the Capitol. Each day leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden comes with fear of additional violence and ever more security. 'It's as if we are all being held hostage to people who want to bring a lot of chaos to America,' said Charlyce Wilson, a 62-year-old Washingtonian who has been to nearly every inauguration since she was 11.... 'This is the country that the whole world is looking at,' said [Dennis] Abigoe, an immigrant from Ghana. 'To see the whole place messed up like that, it's a disgrace.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The day of the battles of Lexington & Concord, my ancestor Benjamin Wellington is credited as the first man captured in the Revolutionary War. British troops detained him & took his gun, but for want of a proper jail, they released him before the battle. He secured another firearm & took a differentroute to join the battle at Lexington. I'd say Ben had a lot more guts than Trump's Army of Idiots. (In fairness, Ben was as good a prevaricator as Trump's Idiots: he told his captors his reason for carrying a gun was to "shoot rabbits," he promised them he would return home.) ~~~

~~~ Laura Meckler of the Washington Post: "A 22-year-old Virginia man whose Facebook page features a photo from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol was arrested near the Capitol complex Sunday, and police said he was carrying three high-capacity magazines, 37 rounds of unregistered ammunition and a Glock 22 firearm.... Also this weekend, U.S. Capitol Police arrested a woman accused of impersonating a police officer, stopping her at a security checkpoint in place for Wednesday's inauguration." The Hill's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Not with a Bang but a Whimper. Thomas Fuller of the New York Times: "And this is how the last weekend of the Trump presidency wound down, with state capitols across the nation ringed by barricades, military vehicles guarding closed-off streets and Washington, D.C., all but shut down. In the end, it was for a handful of protesters, most from the right, a few from the left, many looking more like ragtag stragglers than the furious mob of Trump supporters that ransacked the U.S. Capitol more than a week ago.... In Washington, 15,000 troops, more than the nation has stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, established a Green Zone, adding to the impression of an occupied city. The National Guard said the troops came from all 50 states and three territories, a force that could grow to 25,000 by Wednesday.... Protesters in some states could be counted on one hand.... In Lansing, Mich., National Guard soldiers watched as a dozen members of the far-right Boogaloo Bois group showed up with military-style weapons.... In Concord, N.H., five masked men dressed in tactical gear and carrying assault rifles gathered on the sidewalk in front of the statehouse lawn to express concerns about 'government overreach.'" An AP story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Although it's true Trump raised my taxes considerably & he irritates me every single day as I must read & record his latest stupid, corrupt stunt, yesterday was the first day he otherwise interrupted my life. I had planned to go thru downtown Concord --- the site of the state capitol -- on the way to my pharmacy, but I preemptively decided to skip the hassle by putting off my errand till Tuesday.

Julie Zauzmer & Michael Brice-Saddler of the Washington Post: As Trump & his followers conspire to shut down the national capital, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser takes center-stage: "When it became clear that the U.S. Secret Service would attempt to shut down a large swath of the city due to the seriousness of the threat of right-wing violence on Inauguration Day, it was Bowser -- not Trump or Biden -- who made the announcement. It was Bowser who told Americans in stark terms not to travel to town for inaugural events. People across the 50 states heard her words and canceled their plane tickets."

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Carol Leonnig, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump is preparing to pardon or commute the sentences of more than 100 people in his final hours in office, decisions that are expected to be announced Monday or Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the discussions.... Trump met Sunday with ... Jared Kushner..., Ivanka Trump and other aides for a significant amount of the day to review a long list of pardon requests.... The president was personally engaged with the details of specific cases, one person said. CNN's story is here. ~~~

~~~ John Avlon of CNN has written an interesting commentary on presidential pardons & raises the question (MB: for me) of why the House didn't "suspend" Trump when it impeached him this time, thus depriving -- or attempting to deprive -- him of his pardon power.

Stephen Collinson of CNN: "A battered nation haunted by sickness, death and division is heading into an epic week in which constitutional principles will triumph over lies and insurrection with the transfer of power from one president to the next. President-elect Joe Biden's shouldering of the presidency on Wednesday will end twice-impeached Donald Trump's four-year assault on truth and tranquility and an administration awash in corruption that tested US democracy to the limit. His new team will face the gravest national challenges of any new White House in 90 years, with the pandemic running riot, nearly 400,000 citizens dead, an economy in ruins and a vaccine rollout faltering. The week begins amid unmistakable signs of a new presidency getting up to speed while an old administration dissolves in disgrace and disarray...."

Matt Flegenheimer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... in the final frames of his presidency, Mr. Trump is confronting an unfamiliar fate. He is being held to account as never before for things he has said, finding his typical defenses -- denial, obfuscation, powerful friends, claiming it was all a big joke -- insufficient in explaining away a violent mob acting in his name.... Those who have known and watched Mr. Trump across the years cannot shake the irony of a president felled by the very formula that powered his rise: inflammatory speech and a self-regard that has congealed at times into functional self-delusion.... As president, Mr. Trump benefited daily from an army of defenders, in Congress and across the conservative media, who dedicated themselves to interpreting his often-inexplicable words as charitably as possible."

Jennifer Agiesta of CNN: "... Donald Trump will leave office with the lowest approval rating of his presidency, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, with more Americans than ever in support of removing him from office.... Overall, 34% of Americans approve of the way Trump is handling the presidency, down from 42% in a pre-election poll and one point below his previous low point in CNN's polling. Among his own partisans, Trump's approval rating has dropped 14 points since October but remains largely positive with 80% approving. It has held steady in the low single digits among Democrats (3% pre-election, 2% now).... A majority, 54%, say Trump ought to be removed from office before January 20 because of his role in the events of January 6.... Nearly all Democrats (93%) favor removing Trump from office before January 20, while just 10% of Republicans feel the same."

I Really Don't Care. Do You? Kate Bennett & Jennifer Agiesta of CNN: "Melania Trump will be exiting the White House with the lowest favorability rating of her tenure as first lady, according to a new CNN poll. At 47%, more people have an unfavorable view of the first lady now than at any point since CNN first asked about views of her in February 2016.... According to a CNN/ORC poll in January 2017, Michelle Obama departed the White House with a 69% favorable rating, which was the same number as when she entered, eight years prior. Laura Bush's parting ranking was also largely positive, despite her husband's unpopularity at the time. In 2009, a CNN/ORC poll put Bush at a 67% favorable rating...."

The violence that Americans witnessed -- and that might recur in the coming days -- is not a protest gone awry or the work of 'a few bad apples.' It is the blossoming of a rotten seed that took root in the Republican Party some time ago and has been nourished by treachery, poor political judgment, and cowardice.... Until last week, many party leaders and consultants thought they could preach the Constitution while winking at QAnon. They can't. The GOP must reject conspiracy theories or be consumed by them. Now is the time to decide what this party is about. -- Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), in the Atlantic

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "As [Joe] Biden prepares to be sworn into office surrounded by more than 20,000 National Guard troops protecting the inauguration from one of the gravest domestic terrorism threats in U.S. history, Democrats and other Trump critics are pushing Republicans to renounce the party's embrace of the falsehood that inspired the Capitol attack and is motivating many of the Trump supporters vowing to take up arms again.... [BUT] Even as much of corporate America threatens to withhold donations from lawmakers who objected to the election results, and social media companies cancel accounts -- including Trump's -- spreading the false conspiracy theories, the bulk of elected Republicans continue to follow Trump's lead in refusing to acknowledge that Biden's win was legitimate and fair.... In their comments about the election, congressional Republicans have hedged, equivocated and accused Democrats of being divisive -- even as they continue to promote a falsehood linked to ongoing violence..., [and even though] The allegation of widespread election fraud has been debunked over and over again."

Lindsey Graham Blames Nancy Pelosi for Capitol Siege. Hayley Miller of the Huffington Post: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday expressed outrage over the deadly Capitol riot, pointing a finger at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for not doing more to secure the building instead of at ... Donald Trump, whose rhetoric inspired the violence. During an appearance on Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures,' Graham called on his fellow Republicans to unite against Trump's impeachment despite the insurrectionist attack on the Capitol, which left at least five people dead. 'I understand what happened on January the 6th was one of the low points in my time in office,' Graham told host Maria Bartiromo, one of Trump's most vocal defenders on cable news. 'It was horrendous to see people take over the Capitol, the House and the Senate, beat officers, defile the seat of government,' he continued. 'How in the hell did that happen? Where was Nancy Pelosi? It's her job to provide Capitol security. We'll get to the bottom of that.'"

Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass! Our ancestors sacrificed their blood, their sweat, their tears, their fortunes and sometimes their lives.... Are you willing to do the same?... The question is really simple. Are you as an American citizen going to surrender in the face of unparalleled, massive voter fraud and election theft? Or are you going to do what your ancestors did and fight for your country, your republic? -- Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), January 6 speech encouraging violent revolution against the federal government

As one of America's most effective conservative leaders, I defend my honor and reputation against scurrilous, George Orwellian, 1984, Socialist Democrats Politics of Personal Destruction.... This entire smear campaign is about intimidating, censoring and suppressing the ability of American citizens to fight at the ballot box the efforts of Socialist Democrats to seize control of the United States of America. -- Mo Brooks, in a statement issued January 12

The New Yorker on Sunday published this footage, recorded by reporter Luke Mogelson, of the siege of the Capitol January 6:

Peter Lewis of the Ashville [N.C.] Watchdog: "In the middle of the siege of the Capitol on Jan. 6, while a mob of insurrectionists still roamed the halls and ransacked offices, leaving five dead and dozens injured, Madison Cawthorn called a friendly conservative radio host and blamed the violence on left-wing agitators sent by 'the Democratic machine' to make President Trump look bad.... Cawthorn confirmed to the radio host, Charlie Kirk, that he carried loaded weapons into the House that day. 'Me being in a wheelchair, I am able to carry multiple weapons at one time,' he said." ~~~

~~~ From the Lardner-Smith AP story, also linked below: "The AP reviewed social media posts, voter registrations, court files and other public records for more than 120 people either facing criminal charges related to the Jan. 6 unrest or who, going maskless during the pandemic, were later identified through photographs and videos taken during the melee. The review found the crowd was overwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters, including Republican Party officials, GOP political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists, off-duty police, members of the military and adherents of the QAnon myth.... Even after police cleared the rioters, dead bodies, and injured police officers from the Capitol, and in defiance of appeals for unity, Cawthorn once again voted to contest the legitimacy of the Biden-Harris electoral victory, in an effort to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power." Emphasis added.

Devlin Barrett & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A heavy-metal guitarist, the alleged leader of a Colorado paramilitary training group and two ex-military militia members from Ohio have been charged with allegedly taking part in the riot at the Capitol last week [MB: ???], as the FBI ratchets up its investigation into the role extremist groups played in storming the building.... The Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters, and the Proud Boys, a male-chauvinist group with ties to white nationalism, have drawn particular attention from FBI agents investigating the attack on Congress, as they work to determine whether those groups organized or directed the violence to block certification of President-elect Joe Biden's election victory."

Andrew Goudsward of the Asbury Park [N.J.] Press: "A Colts Neck[, N.J.,] man who is a military contractor and an 'avowed white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer' was part of the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol building earlier this month, according to federal authorities. Timothy Louis Hale-Cusanelli, a U.S. Army Reservist who works as a contractor at Naval Weapons Station Earle, was charged Friday with five federal counts in connection with his role in the riot that disrupted a Congressional vote to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's election victory.... Investigators noted that because of Hale-Cusanelli's position as a military contractor he has a 'Secret' security clearance and 'access to a variety of munitions,' according to the NCIS affidavit." MB: So nice to be reminded on MLKJr. Day that our tax dollars are going to "an avowed white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer." And so nice to know these particular sympathies are no impediment to obtaining a secret security clearance. In context, of course, we already know that our tax dollars are going to support the white supremacist & Nazi sympathizer temporarily residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The FBI is investigating evidence that a woman who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 stole a laptop or hard drive from Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and intended to sell it to Russians. The bizarre claim, which the FBI emphasized remains under investigation, was included in an affidavit describing the criminal case against Riley June Williams, a Pennsylvania woman who was seen in footage of the Jan. 6 insurrection in area of the Capitol near Pelosi's office.... According to the affidavit..., a witness who spoke to authorities claimed to have seen a video of Williams 'taking a laptop computer or hard drive from Speaker Pelosi's office.... [Witness 1] stated that WILLIAMS intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service,' the agent noted. 'According to [Witness 1], the transfer of the computer device to Russia fell through for unknown reasons and WILLIAMS still has the computer device or destroyed it.'" MB: Now, Riley June is a person Trump should pardon. A woman who intends to (a) profit off an illegal act AND (b) conspire with Russia is a woman after his own heart (figure of speech; I know Trump doesn't have a heart).

Rebecca Falconer of Axios: "A New Mexico County commissioner who founded the 'Cowboys for Trump' group was arrested and charged Sunday [link fixed] in connection with the U.S. Capitol insurrection, after returning to Washington, D.C., to participate in inauguration protests, the Justice Department said.... Couy Griffin, of Otero County, N.M., told FBI agents he got 'caught up' in the Capitol siege and remained outside the building, but video posted to his Facebook page shows him in restricted areas of the complex, according to an affidavit.... Prosecutors say Griffin pushed his way past the building's security barriers and onto an outside deck, where he allegedly used a bullhorn to lead the mob in a prayer."

Robert O'Harrow of the Washington Post: "The fiery rallies that preceded the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 were organized and promoted by an array of established conservative insiders and activists, documents and videos show. The Republican Attorneys General Association was involved, as were the activist groups Turning Point Action and Tea Party Patriots. At least six current or former members of the Council for National Policy (CNP), an influential group that for decades has served as a hub for conservative and Christian activists, also played roles in promoting the rallies. The two days of rallies were staged not by white nationalists and other extremists, but by well-funded nonprofit groups and individuals that figure prominently in the machinery of conservative activism in Washington.... Organizing warm-up events is not the same thing as plotting to invade the Capitol. But before the rallies, some used extreme rhetoric, including references to the American Revolution, and made false claims about the election to rouse supporters to challenge President-elect Joe Biden's victory[.]" ~~~

~~~ ** Richard Lardner & Michelle Smith of the AP: "Members of ... Donald Trump's failed presidential campaign played key roles in orchestrating the Washington rally that spawned a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to an Associated Press review of records, undercutting claims the event was the brainchild of the president's grassroots supporters. A pro-Trump nonprofit group called Women for America First hosted the 'Save America Rally; on Jan. 6 at the Ellipse.... But an attachment to the National Park Service public gathering permit ... lists more than half a dozen people in staff positions for the event who just weeks earlier had been paid thousands of dollars by Trump's 202 reelection campaign. Other staff scheduled to be 'on site' during the demonstration have close ties to the White House." Organizers "rushed to obscure their connections to the demonstration."


Julian Barnes & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "The National Security Agency is moving forward with hiring a Trump administration loyalist, the agency said on Sunday, after the acting defense secretary ordered he be made the spy agency's top lawyer. Christopher C. Miller, the acting defense secretary, gave Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, the spy agency's director, until 6 p.m. on Saturday to install Michael Ellis as its general counsel. The deadline came and went with the National Security Agency remaining silent. But the agency said in a statement on Sunday that 'Mr. Ellis accepted his final job offer yesterday afternoon. N.S.A. is moving forward with his employment.'... Mr. Ellis has been accused of having a hand in one of the more contentious legal decisions the Trump administration made: the attempt to stop John R. Bolton ... from publishing a damning book about the president.... While it will be difficult to fire Mr. Ellis under Civil Service rules, the Biden administration could easily reassign him to another, less important post." A Politico story is here. MB: While seeking to remove him, how about putting Ellis in charge of ensuring that federal bathrooms & broom closets meet OSHA standards? I can think of a lav & closet to-do list that would keep Devin's toady busy with his nose in toilets & cleaning fluids for years.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

"How the U.S. Guaranteed Its Own Failure."* Sarah Mervosh, et al., of the New York Times: "For nearly the entire pandemic, political polarization and a rejection of science have stymied the United States' ability to control the coronavirus. That has been clearest and most damaging at the federal level, where Mr. Trump claimed that the virus would disappear,' clashed with his top scientists and, in a pivotal failure, abdicated responsibility for a pandemic that required a national effort to defeat it, handing key decisions over to states under the assumption that they would take on the fight and get the country back to business. But governors and local officials who were left in charge of the crisis squandered the little momentum the country had as they sidelined health experts, ignored warnings from their own advisers and, in some cases, stocked their advisory committees with more business representatives than doctors." MB: I put this failure entirely on Trump & Sycophants, Ltd. Had Trump been honest about the trajectory of the coronavirus spread & the means to mitigate it, there would have been little or no "political polarization."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Russia. Anton Troianovski & Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "Aleksei A. Navalny returned to his home country Sunday, five months after a near-fatal nerve-agent attack, and was arrested at the border, a show of fearlessness by Russia's most prominent opposition leader and of anxiety by President Vladimir V. Putin. In hours of live-streamed drama that played out in Berlin, in the air and at two Moscow airports, Mr. Navalny careened headlong into near-certain detention after deciding to leave the relative safety of Germany, where he had been recovering from last summer's poisoning. Hundreds of people braved the bitter cold outside Moscow's Vnukovo Airport to greet Mr. Navalny, but the low-cost Russian airline he was flying was diverted just before landing to a different Moscow airport. There, at passport control, Mr. Navalny was confronted by uniformed policemen in black masks. He embraced his wife, Yuliya Navalnaya, before being led away." An AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ Shaun Walker of the Guardian: By purchasing flight records & phone data on the black market, a Bellingcat investigator named Christo Grozev has found that a "poison squad" working for the Russian government's FSB security services followed Aleksei Navalny on 40 flights over several years.

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