The Ledes

Thursday, October 10, 2024

CNBC: “The pace of price increases over the past year was higher than forecast in September while jobless claims posted an unexpected jump following Hurricane Helene and the Boeing strike, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The consumer price index, a broad gauge measuring the costs of goods and services across the U.S. economy, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.2% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.4%. Both readings were 0.1 percentage point above the Dow Jones consensus. The annual inflation rate was 0.1 percentage point lower than August and is the lowest since February 2021.”

The New York Times' live updates of Hurrucane Milton consequences Thursday are here: “Milton was still producing damaging hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall to parts of East and Central Florida, forecasters said early Thursday, even as the powerful storm roared away from the Atlantic coast and left deaths and widespread damage across the state. Cities along Florida’s east coast are now facing flash flooding, damaging winds and storm surges. Some had already been battered by powerful tornadoes spun out by the storm before it made landfall on the Gulf Coast on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane. In [St. Lucie] county [Fort Pierce], several people in a retirement community were killed by a tornado, the police said.... More than three million customers were without power in Florida as of early Thursday.” ~~~

     ~~~ Here are the Weater Channel's live updates.

CNN: “The 2024 Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to Han Kang, a South Korean author, for her 'intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.' Han, 53, began her career with a group of poems in a South Korean magazine, before making her prose debut in 1995 with a short story collection. She later began writing longer prose works, most notably 'The Vegetarian,' one of her first books to be translated into English. The novel, which won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, charts a young woman’s attempt to live a more 'plant-like' existence after suffering macabre nightmares about human cruelty. Han is the first South Korean author to win the literature prize, and just the 18th woman out of the 117 prizes awarded since 1901.” The New York Times story is here.

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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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Public Service Announcement

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Click on photo to enlarge.

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

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

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

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Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Monday
Dec142020

The Commentariat -- December 15, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon News:

Dan Merica of CNN: "President-elect Joe Biden will nominate Pete Buttigieg to be his transportation secretary, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN, elevating the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to a top post in the federal government. Buttigieg would be the first Senate-confirmed LGBTQ Cabinet secretary should his nomination make it through the chamber. The choice vaults a candidate Biden spoke glowingly of after the Democratic primary into a top job in the incoming administration and could earn Buttigieg what many Democrats believe is needed experience should he run for president again. The role of transportation secretary is expected to play a central role in Biden's push for a bipartisan infrastructure package." The Washington Post's story is here.

Jonathan Swan of Axios: "Right up to Monday's Electoral College vote, President Trump held the false hope that Republican-controlled state legislatures would replace electors with allies who'd overturn Joe Biden's win, two people who discussed the matter with him told Axios.... Through the past week, the sources said, the president browbeat GOP legislators in multiple states, launched tirades against Republican Govs. Doug Ducey of Arizona and Brian Kemp of Georgia, vowed to make Fox News 'pay' for accurately calling the race, and tested ways to say he didn't win without acknowledging he had lost."

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

Noah Weiland, et al., of the New York Times: "Newly released data confirmed on Tuesday that Moderna's coronavirus vaccine is highly protective, setting the stage for its emergency authorization this week by federal regulators and the start of its distribution across the country. The Food and Drug Administration intends to authorize use of the vaccine on Friday, people familiar with the agency's plans said. The decision would give millions of Americans access to a second coronavirus vaccine beginning as early as Monday. The review by the F.D.A. confirms Moderna's earlier assessment that its vaccine had an efficacy rate of 94.1 percent in a trial of 30,000 people. Side effects, including fever, headache and fatigue, were unpleasant but not dangerous, the agency found. The success of Moderna's vaccine has become all the more crucial to fighting the pandemic as other vaccine efforts have faltered." Politico's story is here.

The Turtle Has Spoken. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Tuesday, marking the first time he has directly acknowledged their victory. 'The Electoral College has spoken, so today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. The president-elect is no stranger to the Senate. He's devoted himself to public service for many years, McConnell said." Update: A New York Times story is here. ~~~

Maybe Moscow Mitch Was Waiting for Vlad's Okay. Mary Ilyushina of CNN: "Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the US presidential election Tuesday, six weeks after the vote and a day after the Electoral College officially affirmed Biden's win." The WashPo's item on Putin's congrats was posted at 6:52 am ET. ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live Biden transition updates Tuesday are here. ~~~

~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "The position of the Senate GOP leader [Mitch McConnell] is now clear, pretty much negating any chance that Senate Republicans would participate in some kind of unlikely end-run not to accept the verdict of the electoral college.... McConnell is basically signaling he won't participate in such shenanigans.... Shortly after McConnell [congratulated Joe Biden & Kamala Harris], Trump made clear he's not giving up on his doomed crusade. 'Tremendous evidence pouring in on voter fraud,' Trump [tweeted] falsely. 'There has never been anything like this in our Country!' [Twitter flagged the tweet.]... Now is when we find out who is truly running this party from this point forward because its two top leaders' positions are completely irreconcilable."

Marie: In his speech yesterday, President-elect Biden noted that he had won the same number of Electoral College votes as Trump did in 2016. While that's true, Biden actually received two more votes than Trump did in 2016, because of faithless electors. So if Trump's win was a "landslide" (it wasn't), then I guess Biden won a "huge landslide."

~~~~~~~~~~

Real News

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "When future historians close the books on the misery of 2020, a grueling year of disease, death, racial strife, street violence, economic collapse and political discord the likes of which have not been seen in the United States in generations, they may look back on Monday, Dec. 14, as a pivotal juncture. It was on that day that Americans began rolling up their sleeves for a vaccine produced in record time to defeat a virus even as the death toll crossed 300,000. And it was on that day that members of the Electoral College gathered in each of the 50 states to ratify the end of the most polarized election in more than a century.... The day played out in a remarkable fashion as television viewers watched images of health care workers receiving lifesaving injections juxtaposed with live shots from state capitals around the country showing electors casting votes formally confirming the victory of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris.

Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden reaffirmed his faith in American democracy and the integrity of its elections in an address Monday after the electoral college formalized his victory over President Trump, despite the incumbent's false claims that the election results are somehow in doubt. In some of his most sweeping comments since he was projected as the winner 37 days earlier, Biden attempted to unify a polarized and skittish country with direct appeals to the more than 74 million Americans who voted for Trump.... Biden's speech on Monday night was designed to once again counter Trump's assault -- and to cement his belief that the country's founding democratic principles would remain intact.... Biden, in remarks that appeared clearly aimed at Trump, implicitly rejected those attempts to challenge the results of the election. 'In America, politicians don't take power -- people grant it to them,' Biden said. 'The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. And we now know that nothing -- not even a pandemic or an abuse of power -- can extinguish that flame.'" The AP's report is here. ~~~

~~~ Rebecca Shabad, et al., of NBC News: "President-elect Joe Biden on Monday gave his most scathing indictment yet of the attempts by ... Donald Trump and his allies to overturn November's election, hours after the Electoral College officially sealed Biden's victory. Biden called ... attacks on the election and election officials 'simply unconscionable' and Trump's attempts to overturn the election an 'abuse of power.'" ~~~

From the New York Times' live election updates Monday: "Joseph R. Biden Jr. was affirmed as the president-elect on Monday as members of the Electoral College pushed him past the 270 threshold to win the White House, all but ending a disruptive chapter in American history in which President Trump sought to use legal challenges and political pressure to overturn the results of a free and fair election." (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live election updates are here: "Joe Biden has amassed the electoral votes to secure his White House win. California and its 55 electoral votes put the president-elect over the top, despite President Trump's efforts to subvert the Nov. 3 election results. (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

~~~ California Electors put Biden & Harris over the top:

Josh Holder & others at the New York Times updated the results of the Electoral College vote as the states submit their results. CNN's tracker is here. MB: When I first checked this morning, Biden had only seven votes & Trump had 38. Now (at 4:20 pm ET Monday) Biden is ahead. How is that possible? There's only a one-in-a-bazillion statistical chance that could happen, absent rampant cheating. Trump wuz robbed! (Also linked yesterday.)

Scott Stedman of Forensic News: "U.S. Sen Mark Warner, the Ranking Member of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, has deep connections to a founder of the spyware company NSO Group according to corporate and government documents, open-source information, and sources who spoke to Forensic News, raising questions of a potential conflict of interest. As the Ranking Member on the committee, Warner is responsible for overseeing the intelligence apparatuses of the U.S. government and investigating potential national security risks posed by malign actors. The link between Warner and Omri Lavie, an ex-Israeli intelligence officer and one of the three founders of NSO Group (NSO stands for Niv, Shalev, and Omri, the first names of the three founders) lies in Warner's longtime confidant, current business partner, and the former manager of his family's investment office, Nicholas Perrins.... Corporate records reviewed by Forensic News reveal that Warner and Omri Lavie share an office space in Alexandria, Va.... A spokesperson for Senator Warner said, 'Senator Warner does not know, has not met, and has zero relationship with Omri Lavie.'" --s

Kansas. AP: "The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Kansas that sought to revive a law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. A federal appeals court had declared the law unconstitutional. Kansas had been the only state to require people to show a physical document such as a birth certificate or passport when applying to register to vote. The issue is distinct from state laws that call for people to produce driver licenses or other photo IDs to cast a vote in person. The law was championed by former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who led ... Donald Trump's now-defunct voter fraud commission. Kobach was a leading source for Trump's unsubstantiated claim that millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally may have voted in the 2016 election. Roughly 30,000 people were prevented from registering to vote during the three years the law was in effect, and the state's own expert estimated that almost all of those were U.S. citizens who were eligible to vote." A Washington Post story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Isabelle Khurshudyan & Robyn Dixon of the Washington Post: "A team of Russian state security agents poisoned prominent opposition activist Alexei Navalny in August [link fixed], the investigative website Bellingcat claimed in a report Monday, citing telecom and travel data that it says links Moscow with the attempt on Navalny's life and reveals how he has been under constant surveillance for three years. Bellingcat said the 'voluminous' data implicates eight members of a clandestine group of Russia's FSB, a successor to the Soviet-era KGB responsible for domestic intelligence. The unit specializes in working with chemical weapons, Bellingcat said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Bellingcat: "A joint investigation between Bellingcat and The Insider, in cooperation with Der Spiegel and CNN, has discovered voluminous telecom and travel data that implicates Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in the poisoning of the prominent Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny.... Throughout 2017, and again in 2019 and 2020, FSB operatives from a clandestine unit specialized in working with poisonous substances shadowed Navalny during his trips across Russia, traveling alongside him on more than 30 overlapping flights to the same destinations.... In the course of this investigation, Bellingcat and its partners also uncovered data pointing to the existence of a clandestine chemical weapons program operated by members of Russia's domestic intelligence services (FSB).... Our investigation also unearthed telecoms and travel data that strongly suggests the August poisoning attempt on Navalny's life was mandated at the highest echelons of the Kremlin." --s

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here: "The first shot was given in the American mass vaccination campaign on Monday morning, opening a new chapter in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more people in the United States than in any other country. Shortly after 9 a.m. on Monday, the first vaccination took place in Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens. The pandemic has scarred New York State profoundly, leaving more than 35,000 people dead and severely weakening the economy. 'I believe this is the weapon that will end the war, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said at a news conference Monday morning, shortly before the shot was given to Sandra Lindsay, an intensive-care nurse. State officials said the shot was the first to be given outside of a vaccine trial in the United States." (Also linked yesterday.) MB: Wow! A Black female ICU nurse in a Jewish hospital. Perfect. Plus, I hope this makes the head of a Queens Man explode:

     ~~~ Ben Guarino & William Wan of the Washington Post: "It was fitting for so many reasons that Sandra Lindsay became the face of the country's first coronavirus vaccinations Monday. With the coronavirus killing people of color at disproportionate rates, she was a Black woman eager to prove the shot's safety to those still hesitant about being vaccinated. She is a critical-care nurse, among the health-care workers who have spent more time than any caring for the pandemic's sickest victims -- working at a New York hospital system that was on the front lines of the pandemic this spring and has treated thousands of covid-19 patients.... In an interview shortly after the vaccination, Lindsay said she knew when she woke up Monday morning she would be getting the shot but had no idea she would be the first person in America to do so since the vaccine's approval this weekend.... As an intensive care unit director at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Lindsay, 52, oversees five units of critical-care nurses who have been caring for covid-19 patients since the worst weeks in New York this spring. Amid that work, Lindsay lost an aunt and an uncle to covid-19...." ~~~

     ~~~ Sharon Otterman of the New York Times: "Because of lingering skepticism about the vaccine, even among some on her own staff, [Sandra] Lindsay, the director of critical care nursing, said she wanted to lead by example -- particularly as a Black woman who understands the legacy of unequal and racist medical treatment and experimentation on people of color. 'That was the goal today,' she said in a phone interview on Monday. 'Not to be the first one to take the vaccine, but to inspire people who look like me, who are skeptical in general about taking vaccines.'... During the first wave of the pandemic, Ms. Lindsay led a team of hundreds of critical care nurses as the hospital coped with waves of extremely ill Covid-19 patients."

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Water Carrier Drops Bucket. Allie Malloy, et al., of CNN:"Attorney General William Barr resigned on Monday, ending a tenure in which the... Donald Trump loyalist carried the administration's 'law and order' message but ultimately dealt the most credible blow to Trump's unfounded claims that the 2020 election was littered with fraud. 'Just had a very nice meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House. Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job! As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family,' Trump tweeted.... 'Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, an outstanding person, will become Acting Attorney General. Highly respected Richard Donoghue will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General. Thank you to all!' Update: A Washington Post report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Jake Tapper of CNN: Trump released Barr's resignation letter minutes after the Electoral College put Joe Biden over the top. Pundits seems to think Trump forced Barr to resign. Others suggest Barr quit because he didn't want to be around for the last-minute pardon blitz. MB: My guess: After Trump let it be known he would fire Droopy Dawg, Droopy asked Trump to let him resign. Trump said, "Okay, but you have to write me a nice letter." The "nice letter" went through several iterations, one more sycophantic than the next, each of which Trump rejected until Barr wrote this stellar masterpiece of asskissery. No saint-to-be, no beloved muse has ever received so profusely complimentary a missive. Will Shakespeare (Sonnet 18), Elizabeth Barrett B. (Sonnet 43), hang your heads. Billy Barr hath outdone ye. ~~~

~~~ Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Mr. Barr had in recent weeks fallen out of favor with the president after acknowledging that the department had found no widespread voter fraud. Tensions between them escalated this past weekend when Mr. Trump accused his attorney general of disloyalty for not publicly disclosing the department's investigation into President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s son Hunter Biden during the campaign. Mr. Trump sought to play down their differences on Monday, saying in a tweet announcing Mr. Barr's departure that 'our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job!'... Mr. Barr reciprocated the praise in a resignation letter devoted to commending Mr. Trump's term, saying that the Justice Department was pursuing some accusations of voter fraud and mentioning that he and the president had met on the issue on Monday afternoon."

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump's allies are preparing to send an 'alternate' slate of electors to Congress, senior White House adviser Stephen Miller said Monday, signaling Trump will drag out his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election even after the Electoral College certifies Joe Biden as the winner. Miller appearing on Fox News as a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, brushed off the idea that the Electoral College vote marked any kind of end to the process. 'The only date in the Constitution is Jan. 20. So we have more than enough time to right the wrong of this fraudulent election result and certify Donald Trump as the winner of the election,' Miller said on 'Fox & Friends.'... Nothing in the Constitution or state electoral processes allows for such an 'alternate' slate of electors. Miller also raised the idea of state legislatures stepping in to overturn the results or of Congress interceding." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As Neal Katyal pointed out on MSNBC, an "alternate slate" of electors is akin to Kellyanne Conway's "alternate facts." ~~~

~~~ Haisten Willis, et al., of the Washington Post: "Republicans in six states won by President-elect Joe Biden held their own electoral college-style votes Monday for President Trump -- hoping that future court decisions would throw out Biden's votes and count the GOP ones instead. These votes have no legal meaning, according to election law experts. The law only recognizes votes from electors chosen according to state law -- which, in every one of these states, is the Democratic electors. But many Republicans who had been chosen to cast electoral votes for Trump still gathered to cast them.... In several states, Republicans said they were modeling their behavior after tactics used by Democrats in Hawaii in the 1960 presidential election. On the day that the electoral college voted that year, Republican Richard M. Nixon was ahead -- but Democratic electors, believing that John F. Kennedy had carried the state, held their own vote for Kennedy. Later, after a recount, the courts and the governor declared that Kennedy had won. So Hawaii officially sent two sets of electors. When Congress met to count the votes, Kennedy was ahead by a wide margin. With little debate, they counted Hawaii for the Democrat."

Big News! A Few U.S. Senators Acknowledge Reality. Marianne Levine, et al., of Politico: "... as the day went on [Monday] and the Electoral College's verdict was made clear, an increasing number of Republican senators -- though certainly not all -- began to say what the leader of their party won't and what they declined to acknowledge for weeks: [Joe] Biden will take office in January.... Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.), the second-ranking Senate Republican[, said,]'... I think that once the Electoral College settles the issue today, it's time for everybody to move on.' 'There's clearly a constitutional president-elect,' added Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the No. 4 GOP leader. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said 'the Electoral College vote today makes clear that Joe Biden is now president-elect.' Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) agreed that 'it's time to turn the page and begin a new administration.' And Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) was unequivocal: 'Vice President Biden is the president-elect based on the electoral count.'... For more than a month, only a small group of Republicans has been willing to say that Biden is the president-elect, despite a clear victory and massive barriers to overturning the election results.... Even at this late stage, some Senate Republicans refused to acknowledge Biden's victory Monday, noting that Trump is still pursuing his bid to overturn the election in court." ~~~

~~~ Paul McLeod of BuzzFeed News publishes more comments from Senate Republicans about the election results. MB: Like me, McLeod is very impressed with their "UNSPEAKABLE BRAVERY."

Jake Tapper of CNN: "Rep. Paul Mitchell, Republican of Michigan, told CNN that his disgust and disappointment with ... Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the election have led him to request that the Clerk of the House change his party affiliation to 'independent,' and to notify GOP leaders in a letter that he is withdrawing his 'engagement and association with the Republican Party at both the national and state level.' Mitchell, who is retiring at the end of this session of Congress, says he fears that the House GOP leadership's participation in the outgoing President's conspiracy theories and attempts to disenfranchise millions of American voters to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory could cause 'long-term harm to our democracy.' It is 'unacceptable for political candidates to treat our election system as though we are a third-world nation and incite distrust of something so basic as the sanctity of our vote,' Mitchell wrote in his letter, which was sent Monday." (Also linked yesterday.)

Arizona. Ronald Hansen of the Arizona Republic: "In another sign of the lingering unrest over ... Donald Trump's election loss, an Arizona group sent the National Archives in Washington, D.C., notarized documents last week intended to deliver, wrongly, the state's 11 electoral votes for him. Copies of the documents obtained by The Arizona Republic show a group that claimed to represent the 'sovereign citizens of the Great State of Arizona' submitted signed papers casting votes for what they want: a second term for Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.... The 11 electors actually chosen by Arizona voters last month -- meeting in an unpublicized location because of security concerns over their task -- cast their votes Monday for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, formalizing the Democrats' victory nationally and in the state." The leader of these "sovereign citizens" claimed firsties: "We seated before the legislators here. We already turned it in. We beat them to the game."

Michigan. Dave Boucher of the Detroit Free Press: "Michigan Republican legislative leaders pulled a GOP lawmaker from his committee assignments Monday after the lawmaker hinted he was part of a group that sought to disrupt or otherwise undermine the Electoral College vote slated to happen at the Capitol in the afternoon. State Rep. Gary Eisen, R-St. Clair Township, made the comments Monday morning during an interview with Port Huron-area radio station WPHM-AM (1380). He was asked about the Electoral College, members of which were set to meet Monday in the state Senate chamber to cast the state's 16 electoral votes for President-elect Joe Biden. Eisen made the comments in the context of he and others in Lansing having some sort of event, either at the Capitol or somewhere else. He said he could not rule out the possibility of violence.... House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, denounced threats made against Electoral College members in announcing the decision to pull Eisen from his committee assignments." ~~~

~~~ Chandelis Duster of CNN: "'Credible threats of violence' have prompted Michigan authorities to close the state capitol to the public and shutter House and Senate offices, a spokeswoman said, on the day the Electoral College will formally declare Joe Biden the President-elect. The tension surrounding Monday's procedure -- a typically routine event affirming a presidential victory -- was underscored in an interview with a GOP state lawmaker [Gary Eisen] who floated the possibility of violence at the capitol and was swiftly stripped of his committee assignments by the legislature's Republican leaders. 'The decision was not made because of anticipated protests, but was made based on credible threats of violence, Amber McCann..., the spokeswoman for Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, said in a statement."

Wisconsin. Harper Neidig of the Hill: "Wisconsin's Supreme Court on Monday rejected a legal challenge from President Trump's campaign seeking to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the key battleground state. A majority decision from the state's high court said that the Trump campaign had failed to show that more than 220,000 votes were illegallycast and should be invalidated." MB: The court has a conservative majority. The one conservative justice who rejected Trump's claim, Brian Hagedorn, wrote the majority opinion. (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

Saudi Arabia/Norway. Torgeir Krokfjord, et al. of Dagbladet (Norway): "In the early summer of 2018, Norway received an unusual request from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's government. Saudi Arabia wanted to send ten men on an official assignment to Norway.... But Saudi Arabia wanted the security guards to be registered as diplomats in Norway. This would give them extended room for manoeuvring in Norway [and diplomatic immunity]. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs intervened, and the Norwegian Police Security Service(PST) has informed Iyad el-Baghdadi (43) - a Norway-based journalist, activist, and critic of the Saudi regime - about the incident.... Officials ... have later noted that security personnel, from the consulate in Istanbul, played key roles in the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.... At the same time that Saudi Arabia requested that the security team were registeret [sic] as diplomats - in the spring/early summer of 2018 - el-Baghdadi and Khashoggi met in Oslo." --s

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Sunday
Dec132020

The Commentariat -- December 14, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Water Carrier Drops Bucket. Allie Malloy, et al., of CNN:"Attorney General William Barr resigned on Monday, ending a tenure in which the... Donald Trump loyalist carried the administration's 'law and order' message but ultimately dealt the most credible blow to Trump's unfounded claims that the 2020 election was littered with fraud. 'Just had a very nice meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House. Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job! As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family,' Trump tweeted.... 'Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, an outstanding person, will become Acting Attorney General. Highly respected Richard Donoghue will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General. Thank you to all!' Update: A Washington Post report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Jake Tapper of CNN: Trump released Barr's resignation letter minutes after the Electoral College put Joe Biden over the top.

From the New York Times' live election updates Monday: "Joseph R. Biden Jr. was affirmed as the president-elect on Monday as members of the Electoral College pushed him past the 270 threshold to win the White House, all but ending a disruptive chapter in American history in which President Trump sought to use legal challenges and political pressure to overturn the results of a free and fair election." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live election updates are here: "Joe Biden has amassed the electoral votes to secure his White House win. California and its 55 electoral votes put the president-elect over the top, despite President Trump's efforts to subvert the Nov. 3 election results. ~~~

~~~ "Following the [Electoral College votes], which will continue throughout the day, Biden plans to address the nation and say, 'The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. And we now know that nothing -- not even a pandemic -- or an abuse of power -- can extinguish that flame,' according to excerpts of his speech. Trump has planned no public events but continues to tweet grievances about the election, which he claimed Sunday is 'under protest.'... Already, six of the states in which Trump contested his defeat -- Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan -- have cast their electoral votes for Biden." Related AP stories are here (Biden's speech) and here (battleground state votes).

Josh Holder & others at the New York Times are updating the results of the Electoral College vote as the states submit their results. CNN's tracker is here. MB: When I first checked this morning, Biden had only seven votes & Trump had 38. Now (at 4:20 pm ET) Biden is ahead. How is that possible? There's only a one-in-a-bazillion statistical chance that could happen, absent rampant cheating. Trump wuz robbed! ~~~

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump's allies are preparing to send an 'alternate' slate of electors to Congress, senior White House adviser Stephen Miller said Monday, signaling Trump will drag out his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election even after the Electoral College certifies Joe Biden as the winner. Miller, appearing on Fox News as a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, brushed off the idea that the Electoral College vote marked any kind of end to the process. 'The only date in the Constitution is Jan. 20. So we have more than enough time to right the wrong of this fraudulent election result and certify Donald Trump as the winner of the election,' Miller said on 'Fox & Friends.'... Nothing in the Constitution or state electoral processes allows for such an 'alternate' slate of electors. Miller also raised the idea of state legislatures stepping in to overturn the results or of Congress interceding."

Harper Neidig of the Hill: "Wisconsin's Supreme Court on Monday rejected a legal challenge from President Trump's campaign seeking to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the key battleground state. A majority decision from the state's high court said that the Trump campaign had failed to show that more than 220,000 votes were illegally cast and should be invalidated." MB: The court has a conservative majority. The one conservative justice who rejected Trump's claim, Brian Hagedorn, wrote the majority opinion.

Jake Tapper of CNN: "Rep. Paul Mitchell, Republican of Michigan, told CNN that his disgust and disappointment with ... Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the election have led him to request that the Clerk of the House change his party affiliation to 'independent,' and to notify GOP leaders in a letter that he is withdrawing his 'engagement and association with the Republican Party at both the national and state level.' Mitchell, who is retiring at the end of this session of Congress, says he fears that the House GOP leadership's participation in the outgoing President's conspiracy theories and attempts to disenfranchise millions of American voters to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory could cause 'long-term harm to our democracy.' It is 'unacceptable for political candidates to treat our election system as though we are a third-world nation and incite distrust of something so basic as the sanctity of our vote,' Mitchell wrote in his letter, which was sent Monday."

AP: "The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Kansas that sought to revive a law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. A federal appeals court had declared the law unconstitutional. Kansas had been the only state to require people to show a physical document such as a birth certificate or passport when applying to register to vote. The issue is distinct from state laws that call for people to produce driver licenses or other photo IDs to cast a vote in person. The law was championed by former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who led ... Donald Trump's now-defunct voter fraud commission. Kobach was a leading source for Trump's unsubstantiated claim that millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally may have voted in the 2016 election. Roughly 30,000 people were prevented from registering to vote during the three years the law was in effect, and the state's own expert estimated that almost all of those were U.S. citizens who were eligible to vote." A Washington Post story is here.

Isabelle Khurshudyan & Robyn Dixon of the Washington Post: "A team of Russian state security agents poisoned prominent opposition activist Alexei Navalny in August [link fixed], the investigative website Bellingcat claimed in a report Monday, citing telecom and travel data that it says links Moscow with the attempt on Navalny's life and reveals how he has been under constant surveillance for three years. Bellingcat said the 'voluminous' data implicates eight members of a clandestine group of Russia’s FSB, a successor to the Soviet-era KGB responsible for domestic intelligence. The unit specializes in working with chemical weapons, Bellingcat said."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here: "The first shot was given in the American mass vaccination campaign on Monday morning, opening a new chapter in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more people in the United States than in any other country. Shortly after 9 a.m. on Monday, the first vaccination took place in Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens. The pandemic has scarred New York State profoundly, leaving more than 35,000 people dead and severely weakening the economy. 'I believe this is the weapon that will end the war, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said at a news conference Monday morning, shortly before the shot was given to Sandra Lindsay, an intensive-care nurse. State officials said the shot was the first to be given outside of a vaccine trial in the United States." MB: Wow! A Black female ICU nurse in a Jewish hospital. Perfect. Plus, I hope this makes the head of a Queens man explode:

~~~~~~~~~~

It's Electoral College Day AND, appropriately enough, there's a total eclipse of the sun. You can view it if you happen to be in Southern Chile or Argentina and have the proper eyeware (don't do a Donald). Or you can tune in to the NASA TV channel beginning at 9:40 am ET. ~~~

The New York Times on what to expect as the Electoral College votes. ~~~

~~~ Lisa Lerer & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "For decades, Electoral College voters have served as the rubber-stamping bureaucrats of American democracy, operating well below the political radar as they provided pro forma certification of a new president. Despite its procedural nature, the role has long been considered an honor, bestowed as a way to recognize political stature or civic service. This year..., as small-town electors face harassment and more prominent figures adapt to increased security measures, a duty long considered a privilege has also become a headache. Even as the electors prepared to vote on Monday, Mr. Trump on Sunday railed on Twitter against the 'MOST CORRUPT ELECTION IN U.S. HISTORY' and suggested that swing states could not certify 'without committing a severely punishable crime' -- further raising concerns about electors' personal security."

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Jack Healy, et al., of the New York Times: "Trucks and cargo planes packed with the first of nearly three million doses of coronavirus vaccine fanned out across the country on Sunday as hospitals rushed to set up injection sites and their anxious workers tracked each shipment.... The distribution of the first federally approved vaccine marked the start of the most ambitious vaccination campaign in American history, a critical, complicated feat that one top federal official compared to the Allied landings at Normandy during World War II.... On Sunday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner disagreed with President Trump's claims that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine could have been released a week ago. The commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn, said the F.D.A.'s decision on Friday to authorize the vaccine for emergency use was made as quickly as possible while still ensuring that it was safe and effective.

Some Are More Equal Than Others. Annie Karni & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "White House staff members who work in close quarters with President Trump have been told they are scheduled to receive injections of the coronavirus vaccine soon, at a time when the first doses of the vaccine are being distributed only to high-risk health care workers.... The hope is to eventually distribute the vaccine to everyone who works in the White House, but will begin with some of the most senior people who work around the president, one of the people said.... While many Trump officials said they were eager to receive the vaccine and would take it if it were offered, others said they were concerned it would send the wrong message by making it look like Trump staff members were hopping the line in order to protect a president who already had the virus and has bragged that he is now 'immune.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. "President Trump said on Sunday night that he would delay a plan for senior White House staff members to receive the coronavirus vaccine in the coming days.... 'People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary,' Mr. Trump tweeted, hours after a National Security Council spokesman had defended the plan. 'I have asked that this adjustment be made. I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time. Thank you!'" MB: So, um, Trump can be embarrassed?? If so, that's a first.

Remember way last week when we said the Biden team should send in teams wearing hazmat suits to fumigate the White House? According to the Daily Mail (not the most accurate journalistic enterprise), that's exactly what they're doing: ~~~

~~~ Caroline Graham of the Daily Mail: "A team in hazmat suits will spray the entire residence with disinfectant after Trump leaves and remove carpets, curtains and furniture. A member of the transition team added: "Mr Trump's administration has been riddled with the coronavirus. The Bidens are taking no chances. The entire property will be deep-cleaned down to replacing doorknobs and taking down soft furnishings. The virus can linger on hard surfaces so the entire residence and executive offices will be wiped clean with disinfectant to exorcise any trace of Team Trump.""

Mississippi. Keisha Rowe of the Clarion Ledger: "The surge of COVID-19 cases in Mississippi has left no intensive care unit beds available across the state and prompted the need for restrictions, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said Friday.... The Mississippi Department of Health is also anticipating many more hospitalizations as the increase in cases continues." --s

Brazil. Tom Phillips of the Guardian: "Jair Bolsonaro is facing a furious backlash over what critics are calling his 'homicidally negligent' failure to prepare a coherent coronavirus vaccination programme as Brazil's death toll again soars. More than 181,000 Brazilians have died from the disease the president calls 'a little flu', with Latin America's biggest economy now careering into a painful second wave.... Despite having the world;s sixth largest population, Brazil has yet to sign a contract with Pfizer and has eschewed the experimental Chinese vaccine CoronaVac for what many suspect are political motives.... Experts fear that strategy could cause thousands of unnecessary deaths by delaying vaccination.... Daniel Dourado, a public health expert and lawyer, agreed Bolsonaro's 'disastrous' reaction warranted immediate impeachment: 'It's one outrage after the next. Dilma Rousseff was removed for so much less.' But, remarkably, the public mood had yet to turn significantly against Bolsonaro[.]" --s

More Real News

David Sanger of the New York Times: "The Trump administration acknowledged on Sunday that hackers acting on behalf of a foreign government -- almost certainly a Russian intelligence agency, according to federal and private experts -- broke into a range of key government networks, including in the Treasury and Commerce Departments, and had free access to their email systems. Officials said a hunt was on to determine if other parts of the government had been affected by what looked to be one of the most sophisticated, and perhaps among the largest, attacks on federal systems in the past five years. Several said a series of national security-related agencies were also targeted, though it was not clear whether the systems contained highly classified material. The Trump administration said little in public about the hack, which suggested that while the government was worried about Russian intervention in the 2020 election, key agencies working for the administration -- and unrelated to the election -- were actually the subject of a sophisticated attack that they were unaware of until recent weeks." ~~~

~~~ Christopher Bing of Reuters: "Hackers believed to be working for Russia have been monitoring internal email traffic at the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments, according to people familiar with the matter, adding they feared the hacks uncovered so far may be the tip of the iceberg. The hack is so serious it led to a National Security Council meeting at the White House on Saturday, said one of the people familiar with the matter." ~~~

~~~ Shelby Grossman & Khadja Ramali of Lawfare: "We are increasingly seeing state actors outsourcing their disinformation operations to [digital marketing firms]. Outsourcing an influence campaign to a private company has benefits for national governments. The primary advantage is that it gives the government a level of plausible deniability. If the operation is uncovered, government actors can claim that it was simply a rogue social media marketing agency, and that they had nothing to do with the activities. Similarly, if one firm gets banned from social platforms, governments can switch to working with a new one.... [M]any of these digital marketing firms are headed by individuals with one foot in the media marketing world and one in the government.... Understanding these practices and the intent behind them is necessary to identify and address them." --s

Martin Shulov of the Guardian: "The Trump administration is facing mounting calls to abandon threats to sanction Houthi rebels in northern Yemen to avoid an imminent danger of extreme famine in the country, where almost two-thirds of the population are in need of food aid. US state department officials are considering designating the Houthis as a terrorist group before the 20 January inauguration of Joe Biden, a move that would complicate the delivery of essential aid in large parts of the country, senior UN officials and NGOs have said." --s

Seung Min Kim & Annie Linskey of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden's decision to fill his White House and Cabinet with longtime colleagues has led to frustration from liberals, civil rights leaders and younger activists, who worry he's relegating racial minorities to lower-status jobs while leaning on Obama-era appointees for key positions. Biden's Cabinet process has also discomforted some allies on the Hill, who say senators from his own party have not been sufficiently consulted about picks, even though Biden will need influential Senate Democrats to help steer nominees through the confirmation gauntlet. Senior Democratic senators have gotten little or no advance warning about the president-elect's selections, according to a half-dozen senior congressional officials and others familiar with the process." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Lauren Lumpkin of the Washington Post: "The incoming second gentleman has landed a new job at the Georgetown University Law Center, school officials announced. Doug Emhoff, husband to Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris, announced last month he would leave his Los Angeles law firm by Inauguration Day.... Emhoff is probably the first vice-presidential spouse to work at Georgetown Law, said Tanya Weinberg, a spokeswoman for the school. His appointment -- along with incoming first lady Jill Biden's decision to return to teaching -- represents a modernization of the roles typically played by first and second spouses. Emhoff will serve as a distinguished visitor from practice when he joins the faculty in January, school officials said in a statement. He'll bring with him nearly three decades of expertise in intellectual property, entertainment and media law."

Real Election Results. Harry Enten of CNN: "One of the most notable early results on Election Night came from Florida's heavily Hispanic Miami-Dade county. President Donald Trump lost it to President-elect Joe Biden by just 7 points, after losing it by 29 points in 2016. A big question was whether Trump's improvement in Miami-Dade would be replicated in other majority Hispanic areas on the electoral map. The answer from coast to coast is a definitive yes. Trump did considerably better than he did in 2016 across an array of Hispanic areas." --s

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Joe Who? John Bowden of the Hill: "President Trump refused to rule out the possibility of skipping his successor's inauguration in January during an interview that aired Sunday on Fox News. 'So would you show up at the inauguration?' [Brian] Kilmeade asked. 'I don't want to talk about that,' Trump responded. 'I want to talk about this. We've done a great job. I got more votes than any president in the history of our country. In the history of our country, right? Not even close -- 75 million far more than Obama, far more than anybody. And they say we lost an election. We didn't lose. If I got 10 million fewer votes, they say I couldn't have lost,' Trump added, repeating baseless claims revolving around election fraud and the 2020 race."

Tweeto. Darlene Superville of the AP: "... Donald Trump offered a new rationale Sunday for threatening to veto the annual defense policy bill that covers the military's budget for equipment and pay raises for service members: China. He did not outline his concerns. Republican and Democratic lawmakers say the wide-ranging defense policy bill, which the Senate sent to the president on Friday, would be tough on China and must become law as soon as possible. Both the House and Senate passed the measure by margins large enough to override a potential veto from the president, who has a history of failing to carry out actions he has threatened. 'The biggest winner of our new defense bill is China! I will veto!' Trump said in a new tweet." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** John Harwood of CNN: "... notwithstanding lies as promiscuous as the ones he tells about election fraud -- Trump will leave office in January with a historically bad record on the economy. That sounds discordant since many Americans believe the economic fable that Trump has repeated relentlessly throughout his term. But placing his bottom-line results alongside those of his predecessors paints a deeply unflattering portrait. Alone among the 13 presidents since World War Two, Trump will exit the White House with fewer Americans employed than when he started. He will have overseen punier growth in economic output than any of the previous 12 presidents. His throwback 'America First' agenda has failed to restore the old economic engine that powered an earlier era's prosperity. On Trump's watch, industrial production has fallen. The Federal Reserve says the manufacturing sector fell into recession in 2019 even before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Last week was the 38th in a row in which at least 700,000 Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment benefits. Holiday-season lines at food banks dramatize the scale of human suffering. More abstract measures, such as the US trade deficit and ratio of government debt to the size of the economy, have also worsened during Trump's term." Read on. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Even very successful businesspeople who have built mega-corporations from scratch usually don't know much about macroeconomics and therefore, how to use the government to improve the economy. Trump, who was a failed businessman (and not even that great a grifter, at least in some cases), knows even less about economics. And since he is incapable of learning on the job, the U.S. economy went from bad to worse, thanks largely to his missteps & erratic, impulsive stunts & threats.

It's the Dopamine! James Kimmel in Politico Magazine: "... brain imaging studies show that harboring a grievance (a perceived wrong or injustice, real or imagined) activates the same neural reward circuitry as narcotics. This isn't a metaphor; it's brain biology. Scientists have found that in substance addiction, environmental cues ... cause sharp surges of dopamine in crucial reward and habit regions of the brain.... Recent studies show that similarly, cues such as experiencing or being reminded of a perceived wrong or injustice -- a grievance -- activate these same reward and habit regions of the brain, triggering cravings in anticipation of experiencing pleasure and relief through retaliation.... The hallmark of addiction is compulsive behavior despite harmful consequences. Trump's unrelenting efforts to retaliate against those he believes have treated him unjustly (including, now, American voters) appear to be compulsive and uncontrollable.... Reports suggest he has been doing this for much of his life. He seems powerless to stop. H also seems to derive a great deal of pleasure from it." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump seemed to recognize early on that he was prone to addiction. It's the reason he doesn't drink. Kimmel says we should have compassion for Trump because he's sick. Sorry, I guess I need to go to WhinersAnon, because I don't feel sorry for Trump. At all.

Marie: Yesterday, Trump did a flyover in Marine 1 to salute his Proud Boy fans, who took a brief break from protesting the election results, stabbing people & burning Black Lives Matter banners in D.C. to cheer on Trump. (Related stories linked yesterday & below.) Akhilleus, in today's Comments, dubs this taxpayer-funded maneuver the "Fat Fuck Flyover." Works for me. For some of us of a certain age, it's impossible not to speculate that Saturday's flyover may be a precursor to Trump's plans for a Grand Finale on January 20:

Washington, D.C. Peter Hermann, et al., of the Washington Post: "Nearly three dozen people were arrested during a night of unrest in downtown Washington that began Saturday with rallies supporting President Trump and descended into chaos and violence as a group with ties to white nationalism roamed the streets looking to fight. One of those arrested was 29-year-old Phillip Johnson of the District, who was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with at least one of four stabbings that occurred." ~~~

~~~ Jack Jenkins of Religion News: "People reportedly affiliated with the hate group Proud Boys tore down Black Lives Matter signs belonging to churches in Washington Saturday night (Dec 12), setting at least one aflame. The damage to the signs came as the city endured a wave of violence after supporters of ... Donald Trump flocked to the nation's capital to protest President-elect Joe Biden's election victory. In a pair of widely-shared Twitter videos, a group of people identified by conservative outlet Daily Caller as Proud Boys can be seen tearing down a Black Lives Matter sign -- which bears the logo of Asbury United Methodist church -- and then setting it on fire. The group of mostly white men, many adorned in the black-and-yellow colors often worn by Proud Boys, then begin to cheer and chant expletive-ridden anthems.... Another Washington church, Luther Place Memorial, claimed in a series of Instagram posts that their Black Lives Matter sign was stolen and replaced three times since Friday, when Trump supporters first began to arrive in the city." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Allison Klein of the Washington Post: "A Black Lives Matter banner and sign were torn from two historic Black churches in downtown D.C. and destroyed during pro-Trump protests Saturday night. D.C. police said they are investigating the events as potential hate crimes." ~~~

~~~ Washington State. Craig Timberg of the Washington Post: "Police in Washington state have arrested an armed right-wing protester on charges of first-degree assault Saturday in Olympia, the state capital, on suspicion of shooting a left-wing protester during demonstrations fueled by baseless claims that President Trump had been wrongly denied reelection. Authorities identified the alleged shooter as a 25-year-old man from Shoreline, a city north of Seattle, but did not release a name. He remains in custody."

David Siders of Politico: "The down-ballot parroting of Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud began right after the election. But in the weeks since, it has evolved into a self-sustaining phenomenon of its own. Republican candidates for House, legislative and gubernatorial races in more than half a dozen states are still refusing to concede. Echoing the president, these candidates are an early sign of what Republicans say will be a sustained, post-Trump effort to tighten voting restrictions and to reverse measures implemented in many states to make voting easier. They also may mark the beginning of a Trump-inspired trend of candidates who never fold -- they just fade away after weeks and months of unsubstantiated allegations of fraud." MB: This is something I missed completely; even candidates who lost by as much as 70 percent! are claiming fraud & "irregularities." As many have observed, the only "real votes" are votes for Republicans. (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: Some conser-vo-tive pundits are beginning to suspect something may be amiss: ~~~

     ~~~ (1) Karl Rove, speaking on Fox "News" Sunday: Trump "is on the edge of looking like a sore loser."

     ~~~ (2) David French: "The frenzy and the fury of the post-election period has laid bare the sheer idolatry and fanaticism of Christian Trumpism. A significant segment of the Christian public has fallen for conspiracy theories, has mixed nationalism with the Christian gospel, has substituted a bizarre mysticism for reason and evidence, and rages in fear and anger against their political opponents -- all in the name of preserving Donald Trump's power."

Georgia. So Much Losing. AP: "... Donald Trump has lost his latest legal challenge seeking to overturn Georgia's election results, with the state Supreme Court's rejection late Saturday of a case from Trump's campaign and Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer. The suit - similar to other Trump team legal challenges, which made baseless allegations of widespread fraud in Georgia's presidential election - was initially filed Dec. 4, then rejected by the Fulton County Superior Court because the paperwork was improperly completed and it lacked the appropriate filing fees. The case was subsequently appealed directly to the state Supreme Court, asking justices to consider the case before Monday's meeting of the Electoral College. In a brief order, justices wrote that 'petitioners have not shown that this is one of those extremely rare cases that would invoke our original jurisdiction.'"

The O'Briens' Excellent European Vacation. Glen Johnson of Axios: "National security adviser Robert O'Brien is taking his wife on a holiday tour of the romantic Mediterranean and European capitals, including seeking a private tour of the Louvre despite it being closed because of coronavirus restrictions, people familiar with the trip tell Axios.... The White House announced the Paris stop shortly after an inquiry from Axios, but the entirety of the trip -- which also includes stops in Tel Aviv, Rome and London -- is causing consternation among O'Brien's hosts and questions about the need for his wife to tag along. The White House announced today that O'Brien would be traveling to Paris on Monday to lead a U.S. delegation to the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Convention. The release did not detail that O'Brien's wife, Lo-Mari, would be joining him."

Ramsey Touchberry & Naveed Jamali of Newsweek: "An investigation from the independent government watchdog that oversees the Department of Veterans Affairs concluded Thursday that a Republican member of Congress was involved in an orchestrated campaign by V.A. Secretary Robert Wilkie to disparage the reputation of a female veteran who alleged she was sexually assaulted at a V.A. facility. The 68-page report...stated that three witnesses said ... that Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) gave him information about the female veteran that could erode her credibility. Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, served in the same unit as the female veteran, Andrea Goldstein.... [Furthermore] V.A. Inspector General Michael Missal characterized the handling of Goldstein's allegations by Wilkie, an appointee of President Donald Trump, and other senior agency officials as 'troubling.'" --s

Georgia Senate Race. Sarah Polus of the Hill: "Sen. Kelly Loeffler's (R-Ga.) campaign on Sunday condemned the white supremacist with whom she took a photo and said the senator didn't know who he was at the time, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ... reported.... The photo in question, which was taken at a campaign event Friday, depicts the senator smiling next to Chester Doles, a reported former leader of the Klu Klux Klan who was sentenced to prison for the 1993 beating of a black man, according to The Baltimore Sun. The AJC reported that Doles also has ties to the Hammerskins, also known as Hammerskin Nation, defined as the 'best organized, most widely dispersed and most dangerous Skinhead group' by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Progressive Jewish advocacy group Behind the Arc ... shared the image to Twitter and condemned Loeffler. 'This is who @KLoeffler is proudly appealing to,' the group wrote alongside the photo."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha. Marc Tracy of the New York Times: "The editorial page editor of The Wall Street Journal [Paul Gigot] accused strategists for President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. of instigating a coordinated response to an op-ed article published Friday evening that called on Jill Biden, Mr. Biden's wife, to refrain from referring to herself as 'Dr. Biden' because she is not a medical doctor, but rather holds a doctorate in education.... 'My guess is that the Biden team concluded it was a chance to use the big gun of identity politics to send a message to critics as it prepares to take power. There's nothing like playing the race or gender card to stifle criticism.'" MB: If confederates had a whining contests, like kindergarters, they would all get prizes. Maybe we should ask the brain-study guy James Kimmel if wingeritis is an early sign of grievance addiction .~~~

AND What About This, Paul? Zachary Petrizzo of Mediaite: “Wall Street Journal higher education reporter Melissa Korn ripped into her own publication's opinion side on Saturday, following the WSJ running an op-ed critical of soon-to-be First Lady Dr. Jill Biden using 'Dr.' ahead of her name. 'I cannot bring myself to include a link, because why give it more air? But that op-ed belittling Jill Biden, urging her to drop the Dr., mocking her research on community college, likening her degree to an honorary doctorate, is disgusting,' Korn stated via Twitter." MB: Wow! Biden isn't even president yet; still, he can make reporters cower, diss their own rag & do his bidding. Trump couldn't seem to do that when he was president*.

Beyond the Beltway

David Waldstein & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "Following years of protests from fans and Native American groups, the Cleveland Indians have decided to change their team name, moving away from a moniker that has long been criticized as racist, three people familiar with the decision said Sunday. The move follows a decision by the Washington Football Team of the N.F.L. in July to stop using a name long considered a racial slur, and is part of a larger national conversation about race that magnified this year amid protests of systemic racism and police violence. Cleveland could announce its plans as soon as this week, according to the three people.... Cleveland spent much of the year before the 2019 season phasing out the logos and imagery of the cartoon mascot Chief Wahoo. One option that the team is considering, two of the people said, is moving forward without a replacement name -- similar to how the Washington Football Team proceeded -- then coming up with a new name in consultation with the public."

Way Beyond

China. Sky News (Australia): "A major leak containing a register with the details of nearly two million CCP [Chinese Communist Party] members has occurred -- exposing members who are now working all over the world, while also lifting the lid on how the party operates under Xi Jinping, says Sharri Markson[, a Sky News host]. Ms Markson said the leak is a register with the details of Communist Party members, including their names, party position, birthday, national ID number and ethnicity. 'It is believed to be the first leak of its kind in the world,' the Sky News host said.... Ms Markson said the leak demonstrates party branches are embedded in some of the world's biggest companies and even inside government agencies.... Ms Markson said the leak is a significant security breach likely to embarrass Xi Jinping.... Ms Markson said the data was extracted from a Shanghai server by Chinese dissidents, whistleblowers, in April 2016, who have been using it for counter-intelligence purposes." --s

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Saturday
Dec122020

The Commentariat -- December 13, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Some Are More Equal Than Others. Annie Karni & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "White House staff members who work in close quarters with President Trump have been told they are scheduled to receive injections of the coronavirus vaccine soon, at a time when the first doses of the vaccine are being distributed only to high-risk health care workers.... The hope is to eventually distribute the vaccine to everyone who works in the White House, but will begin with some of the most senior people who work around the president, one of the people said.... While many Trump officials said they were eager to receive the vaccine and would take it if it were offered, others said they were concerned it would send the wrong message by making it look like Trump staff members were hopping the line in order to protect a president who already had the virus and has bragged that he is now 'immune.'"

Seung Min Kim & Annie Linskey of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden's decision to fill his White House and Cabinet with longtime colleagues has led to frustration from liberals, civil rights leaders and younger activists, who worry he's relegating racial minorities to lower-status jobs while leaning on Obama-era appointees for key positions. Biden's Cabinet process has also discomforted some allies on the Hill, who say senators from his own party have not been sufficiently consulted about picks, even though Biden will need influential Senate Democrats to help steer nominees through the confirmation gauntlet. Senior Democratic senators have gotten little or no advance warning about the president-elect's selections, according to a half-dozen senior congressional officials and others familiar with the process."

Tweeto. Darlene Superville of the AP: "... Donald Trump offered a new rationale Sunday for threatening to veto the annual defense policy bill that covers the military's budget for equipment and pay raises for service members: China. He did not outline his concerns. Republican and Democratic lawmakers say the wide-ranging defense policy bill, which the Senate sent to the president on Friday, would be tough on China and must become law as soon as possible. Both the House and Senate passed the measure by margins large enough to override a potential veto from the president, who has a history of failing to carry out actions he has threatened. 'The biggest winner of our new defense bill is China! I will veto!' Trump said in a new tweet."

It's the Dopamine! James Kimmel in Politico Magazine: "... brain imaging studies show that harboring a grievance (a perceived wrong or injustice, real or imagined) activates the same neural reward circuitry as narcotics. This isn't a metaphor; it's brain biology. Scientists have found that in substance addiction, environmental cues ... cause sharp surges of dopamine in crucial reward and habit regions of the brain.... Recent studies show that similarly, cues such as experiencing or being reminded of a perceived wrong or injustice -- a grievance -- activate these same reward and habit regions of the brain, triggering cravings in anticipation of experiencing pleasure and relief through retaliation.... The hallmark of addiction is compulsive behavior despite harmful consequences. Trump's unrelenting efforts to retaliate against those he believes have treated him unjustly (including, now, American voters) appear to be compulsive and uncontrollable.... Reports suggest he has been doing this for much of his life. He seems powerless to stop. He also seems to derive a great deal of pleasure from it." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump seemed to recognize early on that he was prone to addiction. It's the reason he doesn't drink. Kimmel says we should have compassion for Trump. Sorry, I guess I need to go to WhinersAnon, because I don't feel sorry for Trump. At all.

Yesterday, Trump did a flyover in Marine 1 to salute his Proud Boy fans, who took a brief break from protesting & stabbing people in D.C. to cheer him on. (Stories linked below.) For some of us of a certain age, it's impossible not to speculate that Saturday's flyover may be a precursor to Trump's plans for a Grand Finale on January 20:

David Siders of Politico: "The down-ballot parroting of Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud began right after the election. But in the weeks since, it has evolved into a self-sustaining phenomenon of its own. Republican candidates for House, legislative and gubernatorial races in more than half a dozen states are still refusing to concede. Echoing the president, these candidates are an early sign of what Republicans say will be a sustained, post-Trump effort to tighten voting restrictions and to reverse measures implemented in many states to make voting easier. They also may mark the beginning of a Trump-inspired trend of candidates who never fold -- they just fade away after weeks and months of unsubstantiated allegations of fraud." MB: This is something I missed completely; even candidates who lost by as much as 70 percent! are claiming fraud & "irregularities." As many have observed, the only "real votes" are votes for Republicans.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here: "The first of nearly three million doses of the first Covid-19 vaccine were packed in dry ice and put on trucks at a Pfizer plant in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Sunday morning, destined for hundreds of distribution centers in all 50 states, the most ambitious vaccination campaign in American history. Workers applauded as the first shipment left the plant for loading on the trucks.... The first injections are expected to be given by Monday to high-risk health care workers.... The total number of U.S. cases [is] more than 16 million, by far the most in the world, less than a week after the country surpassed 15 million."

Frances Sellers, et al., of the Washington Post: "The initial distribution of 2.9 million doses, a sliver of what was initially anticipated and intended only for health care workers and residents and staff of long-term care facilities, will arrive at hospitals battling climbing case counts and mounting deaths. Immunization in its early phases will not curtail intensifying outbreaks, experts cautioned, underscoring the need for continued public-health precautions. But the vaccine's clearance on Friday night from the FDA, followed by backing on Saturday from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory group, set into motion one of one of the most complicated logistical missions in U.S. history, marking a new phase of the pandemic." ~~~

~~~ Lena Sun & Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "A federal advisory panel voted overwhelmingly Saturday to recommend the nation's first coronavirus vaccine for people 16 and older.... The advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has been shown to be 95 percent effective at preventing illness after two shots, far outweighed side effects, including sore arms, fatigue, headaches, muscle pain and chills that resolved within a few days.... The vote was 11 in favor, with three members not voting because of conflicts of interest.... While [the panel's chairperson Beth] Bell applauded the huge scientific achievement of developing a vaccine, she and others noted the stark imbalance between the $10 billion of taxpayer money used to fund vaccine development and the lack of funding -- only 'hundreds of millions' -- for the enormously complicated and challenging distribution and vaccination effort rolling out across the country during the next year.... 'We are not going to be able to protect Americans if we don't have a way to deliver the vaccine to them.'" MB: IOW, Trump demands "credit" for developing a vaccine he didn't develop, but actually getting shots in arms was not his concern.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here: "At a news conference on Saturday, Gen. Gustave F. Perna, the chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, the federal effort to bring a vaccine to market, said that boxes [of Pfizer's vaccine] were being packed at Pfizer's plant in Kalamazoo, Mich., and would be shipped to UPS and FedEx distribution hubs, where they would be dispersed to 636 locations across the country. Pfizer said shipping would start early Sunday morning. Mr. Perna specified that 145 sites would receive the vaccine on Monday, 425 on Tuesday and 66 on Wednesday." (Also linked yesterday.)

Florida. Kirby Wilson of the Tampa Bay Times: "A White House Coronavirus Task Force report about the state of the pandemic in Florida made public Saturday urges state leaders to take immediate action to slow the virus' spread. Officials should close or severely limit indoor dining, limit capacity at bars and issue stronger policies around mask wearing, the report states. Those are the same public health measures that Gov. Ron DeSantis has publicly assailed for months as ineffective. While he was making the case for no new business restrictions, DeSantis' office refused to publicize reports from the task force which recommended a more robust public response.... Earlier this week, the Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel sued the governor's office to release the reports. The governor's office had not released any of the weekly reports issued during the month of November, the suit alleged."

Ronald Shafer in the Washington Post on the time in 1776 when future First Lady Abigail Adams had herself & her four children inoculated against smallpox. "... the procedure was considered so dangerous that a number of states eventually banned it."


Michael Balsamo & Eric Tucker of the AP: "A subpoena seeking documents from Hunter Biden asked for information related to more than two dozen entities, including Ukraine gas company Burisma, according to a person familiar with a Justice Department tax investigation of President-elect Joe Biden's son. The breadth of the subpoena, issued Tuesday, underscores the wide-angle lens prosecutors are taking as they examine the younger Biden's finances and international business ventures." ~~~

     ~~~ Molly Jong-Fast in Vogue: "The rebirth of the Hunter Biden story made the right wing media giddy.... But is Hunter Biden the presidential offspring we really need to worry about? How about those two grifters-in-chief, Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner? Hunter Biden is no Boy Scout.... But he had no official role in his father's campaign. He will not join his father's administration in any capacity. Ivanka and Jared, on the other hand, work in the White House!"

Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite: "A Wall Street Journal op-ed Saturday drew swift backlash for not just criticizing soon-to-be First Lady Dr. Jill Biden for using the title denoting her doctorate, but for what many viewed as a condescending and sexist tone. The piece, written by Joseph Epstein..., kicks off the insults right away. 'Madame First Lady -- Mrs. Biden -- Jill -- kiddo,' is how Epstein began his written tirade encouraging Biden to abandon the honorific that she earned. '"Dr. Jill Biden" sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic.' He also demeans her dissertation topic.... Unsurprisingly, Epstein's view met with some fierce criticism.... Many commenters criticized Epstein for the sexist tone, and CNN's Jake Tapper also highlighted a passage where Epstein complained about Black women receiving honorary doctorates." A New York Times story is here.

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Anti-Democracy Republicans Plot to Overturn Election. Nicholas Fandos & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "... as the president continues to refuse to concede, a small group of his most loyal backers in Congress are plotting a final-stage challenge on the floor of the House of Representatives in early January to try to reverse Mr. Biden's victory.... The looming battle on Jan. 6 is likely to culminate in a messy and deeply divisive spectacle that could thrust Vice President Mike Pence into the excruciating position of having to declare once and for all that Mr. Trump has indeed lost the election.... The effort is being led by Representative Mo Brooks, Republican of Alabama, a backbench conservative. Along with a group of allies in the House, he is eyeing challenges to the election results in five different states -- Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and Wisconsin.... Under rules laid out in the Constitution and the Electoral Count Act of 1887, their challenges must be submitted in writing with a senator's signature also affixed. No Republican senator has yet stepped forward to say he or she will back such an effort, though a handful of reliable allies of Mr. Trump, including Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rand Paul of Kentucky, have signaled they would be open to doing so.... Once an objection is heard from a member of each house of Congress, senators and representatives will retreat to their chambers on opposite sides of the Capitol for a two-hour debate and then a vote on whether to disqualify a state's votes. Both the Democratic-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate would have to agree to toss out a state's electoral votes -- something that has not happened since the 19th century."

Toluse Olorunnipa & Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: "President Trump's push to overturn his election loss has been repeatedly defeated and rebuffed by the courts.... But the campaign has also served another purpose -- rallying Republicans across the country to back Trump's assault on democratic principles and further cementing his control over the party even as he prepares to leave the White House.... Through public displays of support and lengthy silences, the vast majority of elected Republicans chose to back Trump. Nearly two-thirds of House Republicans and 18 state attorneys general signed their names to the failed Supreme Court lawsuit seeking to have justices overturn the will of voters in multiple states. Others have gone on television to parrot the president's baseless conspiracy theories about vote-rigging. Some are using rhetoric reminiscent of the Civil War to express their fealty to the president's cause." ~~~

~~~ Jim Rutenberg & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court repudiation of President Trump's desperate bid for a second term not only shredded his effort to overturn the will of voters: It also was a blunt rebuke to Republican leaders in Congress and the states who were willing to damage American democracy by embracing a partisan power grab over a free and fair election.... Much of the G.O.P. leadership now shares responsibility for the quixotic attempt to ignore the nation's founding principles and engineer a different verdict from the one voters cast in November.... With direct buy-in from senior officials like Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and the Republican leader in House, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the president's effort required the party to promote false theory upon unsubstantiated claim upon outright lie about unproved, widespread fraud -- in an election that ... officials agreed was notably smooth given the challenges of the pandemic. And it meant that Republican leaders now stand for a new notion: that the final decisions of voters can be challenged without a basis in fact if the results are not to the liking of the losing side, running counter to decades of work by the United States to convince developing nations that peaceful transfers of power are key to any freely elected government's credibility." (Also linked yesterday.)


Hailey Fuchs, et al., of the New York Times: "Incensed by a Supreme Court ruling that further dashed President Trump's hopes of invalidating his November electoral defeat, thousands of his supporters marched in Washington and several state capitals on Saturday to protest what they contended, against all evidence, was a stolen election. In some places, angry confrontations between protesters and counterprotesters escalated into violence. There were a number of scuffles in the national capital, and the police declared a riot in Olympia, Wash., where one person was shot. In videos of a clash in Olympia that were posted on social media, a single gunshot can be heard as black-clad counterprotesters move toward members of the pro-Trump group, including one person waving a large Trump flag. After the gunshot, one of the counterprotesters is seen falling to the ground, and others call for help. In one video, a man with a gun can be seen running from the scene and putting on a red hat.... A spokesman for the Washington State Patrol, said that one person was in custody in connection with the episode.... Mr. Trump flew over the protesters in Marine One on his way to attend the Army-Navy football game at West Point." ~~~

~~~ Emily Davies, et al., of the Washington Post: "Thousands of maskless rallygoers who refuse to accept the results of the election turned downtown Washington into a falsehood-filled spectacle Saturday.... The crowds cheered for recently pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn, marched with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and stood in awe of a flyover from what appeared to be Marine One. But at night, the scene became violent. At least four people were stabbed near Harry's Bar at 11th and F streets NW, a gathering point for the Proud Boys, a male-chauvinist organization with ties to white nationalism.... In helmets and bulletproof vests, Proud Boys marched through downtown in militarylike rows.... They became increasingly angry as they wove through streets and alleys, only to find police continuously blocking their course with lines of bikes." The Guardian's story is here.

Andrew Solender of Forbes: "Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) on Friday urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to refuse to seat any of the 126 Republican House members who signed an amicus brief supporting a lawsuit aimed at overturning the results of the presidential election.... Pascrell cites Section 3 of the 14th amendment -- which states that anyone who 'engaged in insurrection or rebellion' cannot serve in federal office -- claiming the lawsuit seeks to 'obliterate public confidence in our democratic system' and that those who signed it committed 'unbecoming acts that reflect poorly on our chamber.'... Pelosi herself has signaled firm opposition to the Trump-backed effort, calling it 'an act of flailing GOP desperation, which violates the principles enshrined in our American Democracy' in a letter to Democratic colleagues."

Maggie Haberman & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "President Trump on Saturday excoriated Attorney General William P. Barr, castigating him on Twitter for not violating Justice Department policy to publicly reveal an investigation into President-Elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s son.... Mr. Trump benefited from [the DOJ's] policy [of not discussing ongoing inquiries] himself in 2016, when officials kept quiet the inquiry into possible conspiracy between his campaign and Russian officials.... In the weeks after the election, Mr. Barr refused to refute Mr. Trump's specious claims of widespread voter fraud. But this month, after Mr. Trump raised the prospect that the Justice Department and F.B.I. may have been involved in tipping the election to Mr. Biden, Mr. Barr ... said that he saw no examples of widespread voter fraud that could have meaningfully affected the election." (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

~~~ Kevin Liptak of CNN: "... Donald Trump raised the prospect of firing Attorney General William Barr in a meeting on Friday, but it's unclear whether he'll choose to dismiss Barr before the end of his term next month. A person familiar with the matter told CNN that Trump was furious in the meeting with advisers at the White House that Barr had worked to keep the federal investigation into Hunter Biden's taxes from becoming public before the November election. Trump was also upset at reports Barr was considering departing the administration before January 20, believing the leaks to be self-serving. Trump told officials he is serious about replacing Barr, but whether he actually goes ahead with the move remains in question. He has been encouraged by advisers over the past several months not to do so." (Also linked yesterday.)

Tweets So Bad.... Celine Castronuova of the Hill: "Twitter on Saturday prevented users from liking and replying to a series of tweets from President Trump in which he repeated false claims that he won the election and that the race was 'stolen' from him, though the company later reversed the move. In three separate tweets Saturday morning, Trump responded to the Supreme Court's decision to throw out a lawsuit from Texas aiming to nullify President-elect Joe Biden's win in Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania..... 'This is a great and disgraceful miscarriage of justice,' Trump wrote. 'The people of the United States were cheated, and our Country disgraced. Never even given our day in Court!' In separate tweets limited by Twitter, the president claimed that he 'won the election in a landslide' and that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) allowed votes to be 'stolen' from him." (Also linked yesterday.)

Wisconsin. Another Trump-Appointed Judge Tosses a Trump Lawsuit. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A federal judge in Milwaukee on Saturday tossed out President Trump's latest effort to overturn the election results in Wisconsin, dismissing the case and ruling that it had failed 'as a matter of law and fact.' In a strongly worded decision, Judge Brett H. Ludwig, a Trump appointee who took his post only three months ago, shot down one of the president's last remaining attempts to alter the results of a statewide race.... Judge Ludwig's ruling was especially significant because after the Supreme Court's terse decision Friday night, Mr. Trump complained that courts around the country have thrown out dozens of his lawsuits based on technicalities, and have not given him a chance to fully present his legal arguments. Judge Ludwig, however, held a daylong hearing on Thursday and still found that Mr. Trump's claims were lacking. He dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning Mr. Trump cannot refile it in the same court."

Ronald Shafer in the Washington Post on how Southerners plotted to overturn the 1960 presidential results and deprive the winner, John Kennedy, of the presidency. Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

News Lede

Guardian: "John le Carré, who forged thrillers from equal parts of adventure, moral courage and literary flair, has died aged 89. Le Carré explored the gap between the west's high-flown rhetoric of freedom and the gritty reality of defending it, in novels such as The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Night Manager, which gained him critical acclaim and made him a bestseller around the world." The New York Times obituary is here.

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