;)
April 20, 2023
Afternoon/Evening Update:
** Tyler Pager & Michael Scherer of the Washington Post: "President Biden and his team are preparing to announce his reelection campaign next week, with aides finalizing plans to release a video for the president to officially launch his campaign, according to three people briefed on the plans. Biden and his aides have targeted Tuesday for the release of the video to coincide with the four-year anniversary of his 2020 campaign launch. The people briefed on the plans ... cautioned that the official announcement could be delayed." The NBC News story is here.
Erik Ortiz of NBC News: Klint Ludwig, "one of the grandchildren of Andrew Lester, the Kansas City homeowner who shot Ralph Yarl after the Black teenager had mistakenly gone to the wrong home, believes police should have acted sooner to arrest his grandfather, who he said has been overtaken by conspiracy theories in recent years.... Ludwig ... Lester had become consumed with watching conservative news outlets and following conspiracy theories built on misinformation."
Summer Concepcion of NBC News: "A federal judge in the civil rape trial of ... Donald Trump said that his request for special jury instructions in the case is 'premature' in a filing Thursday. The response from U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, who is presiding over the trial stemming from writer E. Jean Carroll's lawsuit, came a day after Trump's lawyer [Joe Tacopina] sent the judge a letter indicating the former president might take the witness stand in the trial, but it would be too difficult for him to attend the entire trial for logistical reasons tied to his former office." Related story linked below.
(Alleged!) Insurrectionist Shoots at Sheriff's Deputies. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A Texas man who was facing charges for taking part in the storming of the Capitol opened fire on local sheriff's deputies this week as they went to check on him on the day he was scheduled to surrender to the F.B.I., federal prosecutors said on Thursday. The man, Nathan Donald Pelham, of Greenville, Texas, was arrested in connection with the shooting on Tuesday and was charged with an additional count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Last week, Mr. Pelham, 40, was charged in Federal District Court in Washington with four misdemeanors for illegally entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, through a door on the Senate side of the building and remaining inside for a little more than seven minutes. At the time, court papers say, Mr. Pelham was wearing a pair of goggles, a neck gaiter and a baseball hat emblazoned with a logo associated with the Proud Boys, a far-right group."
Julia Jacobs & Graham Bosley of the New York Times: "Lawyers for Alec Baldwin said on Thursday that New Mexico prosecutors were dropping the involuntary manslaughter charges he was facing in the 2021 shooting death of a cinematographer who was killed on the set of the film 'Rust' when a gun he was practicing with went off.... Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office for Santa Fe County, which had brought the charges against Mr. Baldwin this year, declined to comment."
Kenneth Chang of the New York Times: "SpaceX's Starship rocket exploded on Thursday, minutes after lifting off from a launchpad in South Texas. The spacecraft, the most powerful ever to launch, failed to reach orbit, but it was not a total failure for the private spaceflight company. Before the launch, Elon Musk, the company's founder, had tamped down expectations, saying it might take several tries before Starship succeeds at this test flight, which was to reach speeds fast enough to enter orbit before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. But the launch achieved a number of important milestones, with the rocket flying for four minutes and getting well clear of the launchpad before it started to tumble, culminating in a high-altitude blast. The brief flight produced reams of data for engineers to understand how the vehicle performed." This is the pinned item on a liveblog. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Some people might call this an explosion. According to MSNBC, SpaceX calls it a "rapid unscheduled disassembly forced separation."
House Republicans Still Targeting Vulnerable Children. Annie Karni of the New York Times: "House Republicans on Thursday approved legislation that would bar transgender women and girls from participating in athletic programs designated for women, the latest effort in a nationwide push by conservatives to restrict transgender rights as they make culture issues a centerpiece of their political message. The bill, approved entirely along party lines on a vote of 219 to 203, was the latest attempt by House Republicans to take up a potent social issue that has rallied their base and been championed at the state level by Republican lawmakers. The bill has no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate or being signed by President Biden. In a statement of administration policy, the White House said Mr. Biden would veto it if it made its way to his desk. A national ban that does not take into account competitiveness or grade level "targets people for who they are and therefore is discriminatory," the White House said. In a statement of administration policy, the White House said Mr. Biden would veto it if it made its way to his desk. A national ban that does not take into account competitiveness or grade level 'targets people for who they are and therefore is discriminatory,' the White House said."
John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) on Thursday invited Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to testify at a public Senate hearing next month on ethics rules governing the Supreme Court as part of what Durbin said is a needed conversation 'on ways to restore the Court's ethical standards.' Durbin's request -- which would allow Roberts to send a colleague as an alternative -- follows recent revelations about a Texas billionaire taking Justice Clarence Thomas on lavish vacations and buying a Georgia home from Thomas and his relatives where the justice's mother lives. The lack of disclosure has revived concerns about the court's ability to police its own ethics issues. Although the justices say they voluntarily comply with the same ethical guidelines that apply to other federal judges, the lack of an ethics code specific to the Supreme Court became a prominent complaint on Capitol Hill predating the latest reports about Thomas." An NBC News story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: That's a sweet invitation, John; but if you're busy, why not send Clarence to do the honors for you. After all, he's the main guy who got you into this mess.
Jonah Bromwich & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Congressional Republicans who have sought to scrutinize the investigation that led to criminal charges against Donald J. Trump were thwarted on Wednesday by an appeals court that temporarily blocked them from questioning a former prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney's office. The prosecutor, Mark F. Pomerantz, worked on the district attorney's investigation into Donald J. Trump for about a year before resigning in 2022, and published a book about his experience.... Shortly after the charges [against Mr. Trump] were unsealed, Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, subpoenaed Mr. Pomerantz, signaling that he intended to investigate the inquiry into Mr. Trump.... The district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, sued Mr. Jordan in an attempt to stop the interview of Mr. Pomerantz, but a federal judge in Manhattan, Mary Kay Vyskocil, declined to stop the closed-door questioning, which had been scheduled for Thursday.... Mr. Bragg and Mr. Pomerantz both appealed the order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which late Wednesday granted a temporary stay of the interview." Related stories linked below.a of the Washington Post: "
Ha Ha Ha. My Pillow Guy Loses $5MM Dare. Chris Dehghanpoor, et al., of the Washington Post: "MyPillow founder and prominent election denier Mike Lindell made a bold offer ahead of a 'cyber symposium' he held in August 2021 in South Dakota: He claimed he had data showing Chinese interference and said he would pay $5 million to anyone who could prove the material was not from the previous year's U.S. election. He called the challenge 'Prove Mike Wrong.' On Wednesday, a private arbitration panel ruled that someone did. The panel said Robert Zeidman, a computer forensics expert and 63-year-old Trump voter from Nevada, was entitled to the $5 million payout. Zeidman had examined Lindell's data and concluded that not only did it not prove voter fraud, it also had no connection to the 2020 election. He was the only expert who submitted a claim, arbitration records show. He turned to the arbitrators after Lindell Management, which created the contest, refused to pay him." CNN's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: It would be better if the person who disproved Lindell's BS were a 63-year-old Black women who had to wait in line four hours to vote for Joe Biden, but I'm still pretty happy to see someone successfully call Lindell's bluff; now I just hope our wonderful judicial system will force him to pay up.
Florida. Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "Florida will become the state with the lowest threshold for imposing the death penalty under a law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday, which will allow juries to recommend capital punishment without a unanimous vote. The change, which will allow juries to recommend a death sentence with an 8-to-4 vote, was prompted by a Florida jury's decision last year to sentence to life in prison without parole the gunman who murdered 17 people in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The jury had voted 9 to 3 in favor of the death penalty in that case, but state law required a unanimous vote to recommend it."
Missouri. Black Men & Boys Really Scare White Guys. Rachel Hatzipanagos & Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "When Ralph Yarl rang the doorbell of Andrew Lester's Kansas City, Mo., home by mistake last week..., Lester shot through a glass door at Yarl, hitting him in the head and arm.... Lester said the teenager was a 'Black male approximately 6 feet tall'..., according to the criminal complaint. Lester stated that [shooting Yarl] was the last thing he wanted to do, but he was "scared to death' due to the male's size.... [Yarl] is 5-foot-8 and 140 pounds, according to his family.... In multiple studies, people who were asked to judge the size of Black people tended to see Black men as bigger and stronger than they actually were, and gave Black children the attributes of adults. The result is that they are seen as more dangerous, researchers say."
Tennessee. Phil Williams of New Channel 5 Nashville: "A member of GOP leadership in the Tennessee House of Representatives was recently found guilty of sexually harassing at least one legislative intern, likely two, by an ethics subcommittee acting in secret, NewsChannel 5 Investigates has learned. Rep. Scotty Campbell, who serves as vice chair of the House Republican Caucus and who recently voted to expel three Democrats who engaged in a gun violence protest on the House floor, suffered no consequences as a result of his actions. Despite accusations of sometimes extremely vulgar comments and other inappropriate advances, Republicans did not remove the 39-year-old East Tennessee lawmaker from his leadership position nor from his committee assignments. But taxpayers have paid for his actions. NewsChannel 5 has learned that potentially thousands of dollars have been spent to protect one victim, relocating her from the downtown apartment building where she and Campbell both had apartments, shipping her furniture back home in another part of the state and placing her in a downtown hotel for the remainder of her internship.... Confronted with the allegations Thursday as he headed to Capitol Hill, Campbell referenced a second intern who was also involved in the investigation. NewsChannel 5 was previously unaware of that individual's complaint."
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** Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court extended a pause on a lower-court ruling that had sought to limit access to a commonly used abortion pill, ensuring that the drug, mifepristone, would remain widely available for now. In a brief order, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. announced that the court would extend its stay through Friday evening, giving the court more time to consider the case." This is an update of a story linked here earlier today. CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: I don't think this is a good sign. It obviously means a majority of the justices can't agree to throw out the Kacsmaryk misogynist ruling, which should be a no-brainer. But it also suggests that Alito thinks Friday evening would be the best time-frame in which to dump an extremely unpopular opinion on Americans. Hey, maybe no one will notice. ~~~
~~~ She Is Not Amused. Burgess Everett of Politico: "Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted to confirm Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk. And boy, does she regret it. Sure, she disagrees with his decision to try and block access to abortion medication. But a Washington Post report that he switched out his name on an article not disclosed during his confirmation process criticizing Obama administration policies on abortion and transgender people has the Alaska Republican hopping mad. 'You want to talk about the ultimate bait and switch? I feel like I got duped. I feel like voted for somebody based on what had been presented to me. And you do this? That is totally, totally wrong,' Murkowski said in an interview on Wednesday." MB: This is an item in a liveblog. You may have to scroll down to read it, although when I called it up, the page automatically scrolled to the item.
Ah, a Gift for House Republicans. Matt Viser & Jacqueline Alemany of the Washington Post: "An IRS agent who has been overseeing a lengthy, ongoing case involving Hunter Biden's tax returns is seeking whistleblower protection to testify to Congress about what he asserts is political interference and improper handling of the case by the Biden administration. A lawyer for the unnamed IRS criminal supervisory special agent sent a letter to Congress this week saying the agent would like to give information to lawmakers that substantiates his allegations of undue influence.... The letter stated that the agent has already reported information to officials within the IRS that contradicts the sworn testimony of a 'senior political appointee' and also has internally reported lapses that 'involve failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition of the case.'... The letter ... did not identify Hunter Biden.... The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the letter, identified the subject as Hunter Biden.... Rep. Jason T. Smith (R-Mo.), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax matters, said the panel would seek to quickly meet with the agent." CNN's story is here.
Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "House Republican leaders on Wednesday unveiled their proposal to lift the debt ceiling for one year in exchange for spending cuts and policy changes, as they scrounged for the votes to pass the fiscal blueprint in an effort to bring President Biden to the negotiating table. Speaker Kevin McCarthy said in a speech on the House floor that he would put the legislation to a vote next week. He urged his conference to unite around the measure in an attempt to speed up discussions with the White House amid growing anxiety about a looming default deadline, given the United States could run out of money to pay its bills within a few months. Even if Mr. McCarthy can get his own Republican caucus behind the bill, which is not at all guaranteed, it would be dead on arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate." CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Mr. Biden Regrets. Adam Cancryn, et al., of Politico: "President Joe Biden on Wednesday delivered a sweeping rebuke of House Republicans' debt limit proposal, calling it a nonstarter that would impose deep cuts to critical programs across the board. 'That's the MAGA economic agenda: spending cuts for working and middle class folks,' Biden said, while speaking from a Maryland union hall. 'It's not about fiscal discipline, it's about cutting benefits for folks that they don't seem to care much about.'"
Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "Democrats twice sought to strike remarks from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) during a Tuesday hearing, with the House Homeland Security Committee failing to reprimand her for accusing a colleague of an extramarital affair while agreeing to withdraw her comments accusing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of being a liar. It was a rare instance of Republicans agreeing to block Greene from speaking, an action Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) seemed to do unknowingly, appearing not to immediately realize a move to 'take down' her comments ... terminates rights to speak in the hearing. The two comments, relayed just moments apart, came after Greene followed Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) in questioning, with the California Democrat seeming to reference Greene and others in discussing efforts to defund the FBI. Greene criticized Swalwell, calling his criticism rich 'from someone that had a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy, and everyone knows it.' Democrats immediately moved to strike her words..., and Greene declined to withdraw them voluntarily. Greene's comments about Swalwell come following reports in 2020 that he was warned by the FBI that a suspected Chinese spy was aiding with fundraising efforts for his 2014 reelection campaign. Swalwell has denied any improper interaction with the woman, Christine Fang, including an extramarital affair, and the bureau said there was no indication he shared any classified intelligence with her." Read on. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Kara Scannell & Lauren del Valle of CNN: "A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office for a temporary restraining order to stop a House Judiciary Committee subpoena of former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil said Pomerantz must appear for a deposition.... Bragg's office had indicated it would likely ask the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals for a stay if Vyskocil sided with the committee, but did not have an immediate comment." Vyskocil is a Trump appointee. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Erica Orden of Politico: "The district attorney’s office planned to ask an appeals court to intervene quickly and stop the deposition, a spokesperson for the office said." ~~~
~~~ Law & Crime's story, by Adam Klasfeld, is here. The headline in part reads, "Federal judge trolls Manhattan DA." MB: Alex Wagner of MSNBC & an expert she interviewed seemed to agree that Vyskocil's ruling was extremely Trumpy and ignorant of the law, which I suppose is a tautology. Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC pointed out that Vyskocil issued her 8,000-word ruling two hours after hearing the parties' arguments, so the judge obviously wrote most of the opinion before she heard arguments. He said there were only 200 words in the ruling that made reference to the hearing. I'm not sure how unusual it is for judges (or their clerks) to write up their preliminary findings based on the lawyers' pre-hearing filings.
Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump wants to come to a Manhattan trial over allegations he raped a woman nearly 30 years ago, but he may stay away to spare New Yorkers the traffic jams, blocked streets and high security that would inevitably accompany him, his lawyer [Joe Tacopina] said on Wednesday.... Should Mr. Trump not appear in court, Mr. Tacopina said, he would ask that Judge [Lewis] Kaplan instruct the jury that while no litigant was required to appear at a civil trial, Mr. Trump's absence, 'by design, avoids the logistical burdens that his presence, as the former president, would cause the courthouse and New York City.'... [E. Jean] Carroll's lawyer, Roberta A. Kaplan, responded in a letter to the judge late Wednesday..., 'The notion that Mr. Trump would not appear as some sort of favor to the City of New York -- and that the jury should be instructed as much -- taxes the credulity of the credulous.'... If the former president decided not to appear, she added, 'the jury may draw whatever inferences it chooses -- and Mr. Trump has no right to a judicial endorsement of his (flimsy) excuse.'" An NBC News story is here. MB: Aw, I think Tacopina's request shows what a compassionate, considerate person Trump is.
Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Boris Epshteyn, a top adviser to ... Donald J. Trump, is scheduled to be interviewed on Thursday by prosecutors in the office of the special counsel Jack Smith, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest example of the Justice Department's efforts to secure testimony and evidence from current and former close aides to Mr. Trump. It remained unclear what subjects the prosecutors wanted to discuss with Mr. Epshteyn. But given his expansive ties to Mr. Trump, Mr. Epshteyn is in a position to provide information in both of the investigations that Mr. Smith is overseeing: one focused on Mr. Trump's efforts to retain power after losing the 2020 election and the other centered on his handling of classified documents after he left the White House. Until recently, Mr. Epshteyn played a critical role coordinating Mr. Trump's legal efforts in both inquiries." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The Guardian's story, by Hugo Lowell, is here.
Kara Scannell of CNN: "Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, was released from jail on Wednesday after serving roughly four months for his role in a decade-long tax fraud scheme. Weisselberg, who remains loyal to ... Donald Trump, was sentenced in January to five months in jail as part of a plea deal, which involved him pleading guilty to 15 felonies and testifying against his former employer at the criminal tax fraud trial. Two Trump Organization entities were convicted and fined the maximum penalty of $1.6 million." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Dominion v. Fox "News." Sarah Ellison, et al., of the Washington Post relate how settlement talks between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox "News," ordered by Judge Eric Davis, resulted in a last-minute agreement, thanks to the aid of mediator Jerry Roscoe. The AP's story, by David Bauder, is here. CNN's story, by Marshall Cohen & Oliver Darcy is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I heard a couple of interesting tidbits on the teevee about this case. First, a Dominion lawyer revealed how hard the legal team had to fight to extract discovery from Fox. Fox didn't willingly turn over documents, texts, etc., as it is required by law to do. Rather, Dominion had to go back again & again to the special master who was overseeing the discovery phase of the suit to pull the docs from Rupert's little corporations. Second, another Dominion lawyer claimed that Fox began offering settlement terms early on. But as Dominion began succeeding in obtaining damning discovery docs from Fox, it chose not to settle before those documents could see the light of day. Of course revealing the bombshells among the discovery docs was to Dominion's advantage, but it also was to the great advantage of the public to see hard evidence of what a bunch of low-life liars Fox's executives and on-air propagandists are. So, even though many are criticizing Dominion for not forcing TuKKKer to break down on the stand and admit he's a lying liar, Dominion made sure we found that out via its court filings. ~~~
~~~ James Poniewozik of the New York Times: "The lawsuit has revealed what Fox thinks of its viewers and, more important, how much it fears the very audience that it created.... [The discovery documents make] clear what Fox News really is. It's a service provider. That service is the maintenance of a reality bubble and the deference to beliefs that Fox's hosts helped shape. Seen this way, the Dominion case wasn't so much about Fox telling its audience what to believe.... The case cost Fox a lot of money, but it didn't cost it in the ratings. (The lies, of course, on Fox and elsewhere, cost American democracy immensely.)... ... I don't believe that a dramatic moment on the witness stand, à la 'A Few Good Men,' would have made Fox viewers turn away from the channel's hosts in disgust for leading them on." ~~~
Stephen Colbert extracts an apology from Fox "News." If you don't want to watch the whole segment, the "apology" starts at about 4:50 minutes in:
Judge Convicts Zip-tie Guy & His Mom. Michael Kunzelman of the AP: "A Tennessee man and his mother were convicted on Tuesday of charges that they stormed the Capitol, where they brought plastic zip-tie handcuffs into the Senate gallery as a mob attacked the building, court records show. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth convicted Eric Munchel and his mother, Lisa Eisenhart, on all 10 counts in their indictment, including a charge that they conspired to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory on Jan. 6, 2021. The judge is scheduled to sentence both of them Sept. 8. Lamberth decided the case without a jury after a 'stipulated bench trial,' an unusual legal proceeding in which defendants do not admit guilt to charges but agree with prosecutors that certain facts are true. At least three dozen Capitol riot defendants have resolved their cases that way -- which allows defendants to preserve their right to an appeal -- rather than opting for a traditional trial or pleading guilty." MB: But wasn't it sweet that this mom took her boy on a vacation to see the sites in Washington, D.C.? If only they had stuck to the Smithsonian. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "A California man who organized a group of 'fighters' to travel to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6 in response to ... Donald Trump's 'will be wild' tweet pleaded guilty on Wednesday, agreeing to cooperate at an upcoming trial of members of the Three Percenters movement. Russell Taylor pleaded guilty to a count of obstruction of an official proceeding. His attorney, Dyke Huish, said in court that Taylor had met with the government on at least four occasions. Huish told NBC News that Taylor was 'doing the right thing' and was at court to 'take full responsibility' for his actions in the hopes of bringing finality to the case. Prosecutors did not ask a judge to set a sentencing date, saying they should wait until after the Three Percenters trial." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The Thomas-Crow Affair, Ctd. Ed Pilkington of the Guardian: "Earlier this month, the supreme court justice Clarence Thomas put out a statement in which he addressed the storm of criticism that has engulfed him following the blockbuster ProPublica report that revealed his failure to disclose lavish gifts of luxury vacations and private-jet travel from a Texan real estate magnate.... He emphasized that the friend in question [-- Harlan Crow --] 'did not have business before the court'. But a close look at Thomas's judicial activities from the time he became friends with Crow, in the mid-1990s ... reveals that a conservative organization affiliated with Crow did have business before the supreme court while Thomas was on the bench. In addition, Crow has been connected to several groups that over the years have lobbied the supreme court through so-called 'amicus briefs' that provide legal arguments supporting a plaintiff or defendant." Pilkington outlines Crow's prominence in the right-wing Club for Growth, which in 2003 championed an attack on the McCain-Feingold Act, a mild campaign-finance reform law. When a Supreme Court majority upheld the most important elements of McCain-Feingold in December 2003, Thomas "issued a 25-page dissenting opinion that sided heavily with the anti-regulation stance taken by the Club for Growth and its rightwing allies." (In 2010, the Supremes obliterated McCain-Feingold in its infamous Citizens United decision.)
Presidential Race 2024. Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "Top donors to President Biden have received a last-minute invitation to travel to Washington at the end of next week to see Mr. Biden as he gears up for a 2024 campaign, according to more than a half-dozen people.... Invitations are going out to some of the biggest donors and bundlers for Mr. Biden's 2020 campaign -- those who donated or raised at least $1 million, according to one person.... The event, which is not a fund-raiser, is seen as an effort to rally donors before what is expected to be an expensive 2024 run."'>(Also linked yesterday.)
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Antonio Izaguirre of the AP: "The Florida Board of Education approved a ban on classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades on Wednesday, expanding the law critics call 'Don't Say Gay' at the request of Gov. Ron DeSantis as he gears up for an expected presidential run. The proposal will take effect after a procedural notice period that lasts about a month, according to an education department spokesman. The rule change would ban lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity through 12th grade, unless required by existing state standards or as part of reproductive health instruction that students can choose not to take. Florida currently bans such lessons in kindergarten through third grade." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Florida. Brooks Barnes of the New York Times: "On Wednesday, a board appointed by [Gov. Ron] DeSantis to oversee government services at Disney World asked lawyers to prepare a resolution to 'void' a recent development agreement and restrictive covenants that give Disney vast control over expansion at the resort complex for decades to come.... The board asked its lawyers to have nullification paperwork ready for next week's meeting. At the Wednesday session, which lasted four hours, members of the oversight board also vowed to increase taxes on Disney to help pay for a legal battle; fired planning board officials and appointed themselves to replace them; and began to explore the possibility of building low-income housing on land abutting the resort. Part of the meeting was devoted to presentations by state officials who made a case for greater government oversight of certain Disney World operations, including swimming pool inspections.... The board acted as the Florida Legislature, at the urging of Mr. DeSantis, prepared to take up a measure that would nullify Disney's development agreement and restrictive covenants." Politico's story is here.
Iowa. Dickens' America, Ctd. Griffin Wright & Kelly Maricle of WHO-13 Des Moines: "The Iowa Legislature went into session very early Tuesday morning, taking up debate on the bill on youth employment. The session opened at 3:36 a.m. and the vote on SF 542 in the Iowa Senate happened at 4:52 a.m. It passed by a margin of 32 to 17. All Democrats voted against it as well as two Republicans. The bill allows 14-year-olds to work six-hour night shifts, allows 15-year-olds to work in plants on assembly lines moving items up to 50 pounds, and allows 16 and 17-year-olds to serve alcohol.... The bill now moves on to the House." MB: Gosh, why would you schedule a wee-hours session to pass a bill that would make Oliver Twist cry? Maybe for the same reason Sam Alito thinks Friday night is a good time to issue an anti-woman ruling? Just asking.
New York. Patrick McGeehan & Hurubie Meko of the New York Times: "The fatal collapse of a parking garage in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday came less than nine months before New York City's first deadline for such structures to be inspected for hazardous conditions.... At [a] news conference, [Mayor Eric] Adams stressed that the law passed by the City Council in recent years mandating garage inspections puts the onus on building owners to arrange for and carry out the inspections. The building that collapsed, a four-story structure originally built in 1925 and used as a garage for more than 60 years, had not been inspected under the new law, records show. But it had a history of violations and reports of hazardous conditions, including cracked and spalling concrete, city records show." There are no records showing that the violations had been cured, though one report shows that in 2011, some repairs were ongoing.
Oklahoma. Corky Siemaszko of NBC News: "An Oklahoma county commissioner who was secretly recorded reportedly talking about killing reporters and lynching Black residents after a public meeting has resigned, according to the governor's office. McCurtain County Commissioner Mark Jennings delivered a handwritten resignation letter to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt two days after the governor called for his resignation and for the resignations of Sheriff Kevin Clardy and two other sheriff's department employees, a spokesperson for Stitt confirmed." (Also linked yesterday.)
Way Beyond
Canada. Amanda Coletta of the Washington Post: "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has told NATO officials privately that Canada will never meet the military alliance's defense-spending target, according to a leaked secret Pentagon assessment obtained by The Washington Post. The document's anonymous authors say Canada's 'widespread' military deficiencies are harming ties with security partners and allies. The document ... says 'enduring' defense shortfalls led the Canadian Armed Forces to assess in February that it 'could not conduct a major operation while simultaneously maintaining its NATO battle group leadership [in Latvia] and aid to Ukraine' -- and that the situation was not 'likely' to change without a shift in public opinion. The United States and Canada, neighbors and close NATO allies, share responsibility for defending the continent as partners in the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD. Washington has long pressed Ottawa to boost its spending on defense and hasten plans to upgrade military capabilities and infrastructure in the Arctic, where officials of both countries warn that Russia and China are being more assertive."
Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is in Ukraine's capital for a surprise visit, the security alliance confirmed, his first since Russia's invasion. He was seen visiting a memorial for fallen soldiers and viewing military vehicles damaged in the war in central Kyiv. Lawmakers with the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs heard allegations of human rights abuses in Ukraine from witnesses, including the country's prosecutor general, Andriy Kostin.... The Biden administration announced a $325 million security assistance package for Ukraine.... Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) urged lawmakers to enact a crime-against-humanity statute, which would make it easier for the United States to federally prosecute war criminals.... Patriot missile systems sent to Ukraine by Western allies have arrived, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet, thanking the United States, Germany and the Netherlands." ~~~
~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Thursday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.
Yemen. Guardian & Agencies: "A crowd apparently scared by gunfire and an electrical explosion ran in panic at an event to hand out money during Ramadan in Yemen's capital late on Wednesday, with the resulting crush killing at least 78 people and injuring at least 73 others, according to witnesses and Houthi rebel officials. The tragedy was Yemen's deadliest in years that was not related to its long-running war, and came ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan this week. Armed Houthis fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently striking an electrical wire and causing an explosion, according to two witnesses, Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen. That sparked a panic, and people including many women and children, began running, they said."
News Ledes
Guardian & Agencies: "Two teenagers and a 20-year-old man have been arrested and charged with murder in connection with a shooting that killed four people at a Sweet 16 birthday party in Alabama, investigators announced Wednesday. Tallapoosa county district attorney Mike Segrest said two teens -- Tyreese 'Ty Reik' McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, both of Tuskegee -- would be tried as adults. That's automatically required in Alabama for anyone 16 or older charged with murder. Investigators said Wednesday that Wilson LaMar Hill Jr, 20, of Auburn was also arrested on the same charge. Sgt Jeremy J Burkett of the Alabama law enforcement agency announced the latest arrest but declined earlier to discuss specifics of how the shooting unfolded or a possible motive." This is an update to a CNN report linked yesterday. ~~~
~~~ NBC News Update: "A fourth man was arrested Thursday in connection with the shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party in Alabama that left four people dead and dozens more injured, authorities said. Johnny Letron Brown, a 20-year-old resident of Tuskegee, was charged with four counts of reckless murder, according to a statement by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency."
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Reader Comments (15)
Glad to see MTG is getting smarter. Must be the influence of all those Democrats she's been hanging around with on the Homeland Security Committee...
Good to see this time around she got one thing right. As far as I know from other reports, the woman she was accusing Swalwell of having an affair with was Chinese.
One out of three ain't bad.
And what did Murkowki expect? The truth from Kacsmaryk, a Pretender nominee?
More to the point: Will she seek ways to actually do something about this lying wart-brain in robes, other than complain?
THE GREEN DREAM:
What is the matter with Miss Margie Green?
she won't eat her beets and green beans again!
And she called Mayorkas, in a fit of snit, a liar!
She then went further, feathering her nest
with a nasty bit of a sexual mess accusing poor
Swalwell of a hanky-panky with a Chinese spy–-oh my!
Oh, what the hell is the matter with Margie Green?
She needs to be put out to pasture, fenced in with a ten foot screen
never to be seen again!!!!
Hold My Beer, Traitor edition
While it may seem as if the Incroyables and merveilleuses on the right are all locking arms in a Palais Glide of the ghastly, they take pains (and pain is the word) to break up the group’s gallop to Dante-land every so often to flaunt their own personal idiom of idiocy, a kind of “Hold my beer. Watch this!” demonstration of Who Is the Biggest Asshole.
We have a Supreme Court completely corrupted by its right-wing partisans, notably the single most corrupt Justice in US history who is allowed to get away with pretty much any ethical violation he chooses, deigning only to give the most flimsy and laughable excuses for his criminality, excuses that, were they to be offered to him in his role as a judge, he would slap down hard and hit the defendant with a contempt citation to boot.
We have the fascist Florida governor going mano a mano with a mouse, again, after having his authoritarian ass kicked. And in an attempt to prove his manliness now sez only eight out of twelve jurors are good enough to execute someone. Interestingly, this is supposedly in response to the Parkland murderer getting life instead of death (it’s not; it’s all about appealing to the right’s love of vengeance and blood). Funny, though…one would think if the Parkland murders (executed with Republican authorized weapons) were such a great concern, something would be done about gun violence. But no. The gun violence is fine. They just want to be able to kill that guy later.
Over here we have MTG, screaming about a Democrat having SEX WITH A CHINESE SPY!!! Aieeee! Of course, with no evidence. In fact “with no evidence” should be their collective middle name. Actual SEX with underage girls by Matt Gaetz, however, is perfectly fine.
Speaking of Gaetz, he came out the other day sniffing that there should be no assistance for poor people, including help with feeding children, unless these moochers have a job. This from a rich kid who has never had a job and does nothing in the job he has now, bought for him by his rich daddy.
But don’t forget My Kevin’s plan for fiscal sobriety: child starvation. Seems reasonable, right?
And in another Hold My Beer moment, MTG goes to town on supporting an openly racist knucklehead who has given away military security secrets to show off for other racist knuckleheads. MTG sez he’s a hero.
Then there’s Lauren Boebert…yeah…permanently pencilled in under Hold My Beer.
And talking about what passes for heroism on the right, the goobernator of Texas is chomping at the bit to pardon a guy who murdered a BLM protester. Because what’s wrong with killing people who say African-American lives matter?
Gym Jordan, instead of doing his job (as for another fact, NONE of these fucking people EVER does their job), moves his committee to New York for a show trial to help out the most corrupt and criminal president* in US history (seems to be a pattern here with all these Most Evers).
Abortion bans in all red states, going down from 15 days to 6 days, pretty soon it’ll be a half hour. And leave us not forget that abortion is a perfectly legal and often essential medical procedure. These bans are not based on science, medicine, or law. They are 100% the result of the religious beliefs of a single group being forced on the entire country.
And, as Marie points out, one of the other corrupt wingers on the Court is likely getting ready to uphold a blanket ban on mifepristone, probably in the dead of night (another trend) put in place by a Trumpy judge who effectively lied to get his job.
Other Trumpy judges are doing just fine in this Palais Glide of the ghastly. Another one is working hard to help Gym Jordan fuck over Alvin Bragg, because Trump.
In KKK land, Tennessee, black Democrats are expelled for being uppity, a putsch organized by a speaker who himself is embroiled in scandal. But no biggie there. He’s white. And a he.
In Wisconsin, a newly elected Supreme Court Justice is threatened with impeachment before she even takes her seat. Because democracy is just not their cup of tea.
Elsewhere, Party of Traitor stalwarts are giving the big thumbs up to child marriage and the big thumbs down to child labor laws. “Hey! You twelve year old kids! Git married then git to work!” How’s that for grooming?
Books are banned. When people complain, Rs simply defund the entire library system.
It’s a never ending game of Can You Top This? Can you be a bigger asshole than me?
Sure! Hold my beer…
There's Chairman Mao's Little Red Book. We've got the Thoughts of Chairman Xi. I reckon it's time for Effective Government by Ron DeSantis.
As I watch him destroy what was a fairly good educational system I'm reminded more and more of the old Tom and Jerry cartoons. And as I remember, the mouse always won.
Oh PD: thanks for the play on AA Milne's "...oh what is the matter with Mary Jane; she's perfectly well and she hasn't a pain and it's lovely rice pudding for supper again..." But, I didn't really remember it accurately-- sorry! But I loved your rendition. What a horrible "person" Perjury Traitor Greed is. Thank goodness for Dan Goldman, who doesn't let anything go...
Words fail me to speak of Lisa of Alaska, burning in hell for allowing the lizard brains of the unSupreme Court to be voted in based on lies and transgressions no one knows/knew about. Nothing will happen to Fake White Guy Criminal Thomas, Sex Boy Beer Belly Kavenaugh, 17th Century Women-Hating Alito, Freezing Truck Gorsuck, Amy Religious Freak Handmaiden, or Oblivious Hiding No-More-Racism Roberts. They get off scot-free, as does rich criminal liars Fox.
Meanwhile, down in penal colony Floriduh, no one better mention anything ever, and Disney can't relocate due to moving companies unable to haul a castle anywhere and Orlando would dry up and blow away, while more and more reactionary northerners DO relocate. Half of PA is going there. Maybe if more do, PA can be more solidly blue.
Marco Rubio can't understand how "they" can't solve the gasoline shortage in South Florida. He seems to forget that as a U.S. Senator he is a part of the "they". Also forgetting as well that the GOP has total control of Florida government and that he could consider calling the Governor to ask what's going on. But the Governor is up in South Carolina running in his undeclared run for president and doesn't seem concerned at all.
We've seen recently how afraid of the world conservatives are.
"“Anonymous trust” is breaking down
So we are becoming a nation full of a distinct modern form of uncontacted tribes: at once hyperconnected and cut off, addled by propaganda and starved for human contact, convinced that the only good person you don’t know is a dead person you don’t know."
Poniewozik - "I don’t believe that a dramatic moment on the witness stand, à la 'A Few Good Men,' would have made Fox viewers turn away from the channel’s hosts in disgust for leading them on."
And this would be relevant if everyone were Fox viewers, but they are not. Many non-rabid people still think Fox is a "news" channel. Six weeks of coverage of their continuous lies would have had a chance to find and inform a greater number of people that don't follow these things closely. The scandalous nature would appeal to the more casual news consumers. And that could've helped them be better judges of Fox's BS in the future. Not everything in life centers around conservatives. The rest of us also matter and would like fewer ignorant people shaping the lives of the rest of us.
He means what he says, and he says what he means. Not.
Musky man sez his gigantamundo flying stainless steel vibrator suffered a "rapid unscheduled disassembly forced separation." In other words, something else big and expensive he’s blown up.
Funny how right-wingers love to rip on what they consider obscurantist academic jargon, but have no problem employing cryptic crapola to turn “my rocket ship blew up” into “rapid unscheduled disassembly forced separation” in order to cloak their catastrophes into u-phony-us euphemisms.
Granted, NASA, in its early days had beaucoup crashes, but they tended to be described as “launch vehicle failure”, or some such. Not exactly “Our shit blew up”, but not Musky Man’s recondite rendering which is up there with “controlled flight into terrain” (ie, the pilot flew into a mountain, no survivors”).
Older military euphemisms like SNAFU and FUBAR at least had the benefit of humorous and immediately understandable references to disaster.
But since wingers never make mistakes and are never wrong, we get the lexical hippity-hop at the barbershop.
Akhilleus<
Even better than the jargon is the outright alternate truth.
Heard the SpaceX spokeslady describe the launch as "successful." Yeah, like the kid who burst from the starting line, tripped landed on his face, then claimed he'd won the race.
And more on the decline of "Anonymous Trust" (thanks for that RAS):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwzW486AUhw
Most would agree those little girls chasing basketballs into your yard are sure scary...
One other thought…
“rapid unscheduled disassembly forced separation”.
Are there rapid SCHEDULED disassembly thingies going on somewhere in Musky World?
Jesus. Cancel my Tesla order.
@Akhilleus. Good idea. Teslas blow up, too. Or rather, occasionally experience a "rapid unscheduled spontaneous conflagulatory lead-acid accumulator episode."
Marie,
I’m sure the Space X spox who declared today’s disaster a success (medical marijuana or crack?) would probably say of a "rapid unscheduled spontaneous conflagulatory lead-acid accumulator episode” that the rapid part made that episode a success too. “If you’re looking for stuff that is going to catch fire, blow up, and spray you and yours with lead-acid, and you want it fast, Elon is your man!”
Jeanne,
Yeah. C’mon. Murkowski is pissed because she thinks she got jobbed by one of Trump’s theocratic-fascist judges? Seriously? Who did she think he was going to nominate, Solomon? Disingenuous doesn’t even come close. It’s like the guy who takes a tip from a bookie to bet the mortgage on a horse named Glue Factory and is stunned when the nag collapses in a heap after a furlong. Homeless shelter, here we come.
Caveat fucking emptor, Lisa.
Marie wrote:
“That's a sweet invitation, John; but if you're busy, why not send Clarence to do the honors for you. After all, he's the main guy who got you into this mess.”
True, but only partially so. Roberts got himself into this fix. It’s been clear for at least a decade that Thomas was treating his ethical obligations—to the detriment of the court’s reputation—as about important as opening and carefully reading junk mail.
In addition to his other duties as Chief Justice, Roberts is responsible for ensuring the integrity of the court and its decisions. In that regard he has been a monumental failure. He’s like an absentee landlord whose property values plunge after years of neglect. Instead of residing on Park Place, the United States Supreme Court sits on Baltic Avenue, a broken down haunted house.
It’s not clear whether he’s afraid of thugs like Alito and Thomas (he certainly seemed regularly cowed by Scalia), or just looks the other way hoping no one will notice, or just doesn’t give a shit.
Yeah, Thomas and Alito and the other traitors and theocrats have run the place into the ground, but Johnny let it happen.