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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.”
Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”
Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."
If you have a Washington Post subscription, you will want to listen to George Conway's dramatic reading of his Donald Trump-cookies column (August 16). Audio and column here. It's worth reading the very end of the column. (If you don't have a WashPo subscription, you can make due with a dramatic reading by comedian & Trump impersonator J-L Cauvin.)
Sharon La Franiere of the New York Times: "Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Wednesday delivered a sweeping rebuke of her agency;s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it had failed to respond quickly enough and needed to be overhauled. In a meeting with senior staff, Dr. Walensky outlined in broad terms a plan to reorganize the agency's structure to prioritize public health needs and efforts to curb continuing outbreaks, and to put less emphasis on publication of scientific papers about rare diseases. The steps announced on Wednesday grew out of an external review Dr. Walensky had ordered in April, after months of scathing criticism of the C.D.C.'s response to the pandemic. Its public messages on masking and other mitigation measures were sometimes so confusing or abruptly modified that they seemed more like internal drafts than carefully considered proclamations. The public guidance has been 'confusing and overwhelming,' according to a briefing document provided by the agency. Leaders of the agency's Covid team rotated out after only a few months, leaving other senior federal health officials unsure about who was in charge. And important data were sometimes inexplicably released too late to inform federal decisions...."
Alan Feuer & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Former Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday called on Republicans to stop attacking the nation's top law enforcement agencies over the F.B.I.'s search of Mar-a-Lago..., Donald J. Trump's Palm Beach, Fla., home.... Speaking at a political event in New Hampshire, Mr. Pence said that Republicans could hold the Justice Department and the F.B.I. accountable for their decisions 'without attacking the rank-and-file law enforcement personnel.'... Mr. Pence also said on Wednesday that he would consider talking to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol -- the clearest indication to date that he might be willing to participate in the panel's ongoing efforts."
Richard Fausset of the New York Times: Rudy Giuliani ' showed up shortly before 8:30 a.m. to appear before a Fulton County[, Georgia,] special grand jury conducting a criminal investigation into postelection meddling by Mr. Trump and his associates. Local prosecutors informed Mr. Giuliani's lawyers this week that he was a 'target' in that investigation, meaning that his indictment was possible."
Jordan Libowitz & Lauren White of CREW: "The Secret Service knew of a threat to Nancy Pelosi on January 6th days before the insurrection, but did not pass it along until hours after the Capitol had been breached, according to Secret Service emails obtained by CREW. On January 4, Secret Service agents discovered a Parler account, which we've chosen not to name, posting a series of violent threats towards lawmakers.... At 5:55 pm on January 6, after hours of defending the United States Capitol from a violent mob, the United States Capitol Police received the post along with a message from the Secret Service: 'Good afternoon, The US Secret Service is passing notification to the US Capitol Police regarding discovery of a social media threat directed toward Speaker Nancy Pelosi.'"
Paul Kane of the Washington Post: Liz "Cheney used her defiant concession speech Tuesday night, after losing badly in the GOP primary to Trump's handpicked candidate, to promise a sustained campaign against the ex-president and his allies. She surrendered her rising-star status in Congress in a sacrificial manner toward a higher calling to take on the most powerful figure in her increasingly conspiratorial political party.... Congressional historians say ... What Cheney has done, in sacrificing her seat and yet fighting to the finish without wavering, is just not common in this era.... She has gained a level of attention that now dwarfs almost every other member of Congress, commanding a platform that all but a handful of other Republicans in the Capitol have attempted." Video of Cheney's concession speech is here.
Florida. Matt Dixon of Politico: "Ousted Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren on Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit arguing Gov. Ron DeSantis abused his power when suspending him from office over, among other things, a pledge to not prosecute women who violate Florida's new 15-week abortion ban.... Warren's lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida, alleges that DeSantis violated his First Amendment rights by suspending him for signing a pledge to not prosecute women for seeking abortions and his public statements opposing the criminalization of transgender people. He is asking the court to throw out DeSantis' executive order used to suspended him and to rule governors are not allowed to take similar actions moving forward. It also alleges DeSantis overstepped his authority to suspend elected officials from office because he did so with Warren only for signing pledges, rather than in response to an official action."
Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post: "Over the past six months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyhas become an inspiring wartime leader and champion of his country. During an hour-long, wide-ranging interview with The Washington Post at the presidential office, where hallways are kept dark and are lined with sandbags to protect against Russian attack, Zelensky discussed U.S. warnings about Russia preparing to launch a full-scale invasion -- and if he believed them. [This] is a translated and lightly edited transcript of excerpts from the interview. The full transcript will be published at a later date."
~~~~~~~~~~
The New York Timesis live-updating primary election results. "Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming conceded defeat to Harriet Hageman in her Republican primary on Tuesday, handing Donald J. Trump his most prized trophy yet in his long campaign to purge the Republican Party of his critics." MB: What a joke it would be if Democrats in the next Congress made Cheney the next Speaker of the House. (I hope they don't, but for a day or two, it would be great. The speaker need not be a House member.) ~~~
"Former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska and two leading rivals advanced to the November election for Alaska's open House seat, according to The Associated Press. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, and Nick Begich III, a Republican from Alaska's most prominent Democratic political dynasty, advanced along with Ms. Palin. The three are vying to succeed Representative Don Young, who died in March after serving nearly 50 years as Alaska's lone congressman."
Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a centrist Republican seeking a fourth full term in Washington, advanced to the general election along with her chief rival, Kelly Tshibaka, in the state's Senate primary race, according to The Associated Press. Ms. Murkowski and Ms. Tshibaka each earned enough votes to advance to the general election in the fall as part of Alaska's new open primary system. Ms. Murkowski is hoping to fend off a conservative backlash over her vote in the Senate to convict ... Donald J. Trump of inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. With an estimated 50 percent of the vote reported, Ms. Murkowski and Ms. Tshibaka were neck and neck at just over 40 percent apiece. The nearest rival after them was in the single digits." Trump & the Alaska Republican party endorsed Tshibaka.
~~~ Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Tuesday signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, an ambitious measure that aims to tamp down on inflation, lower prescription drug prices, tackle climate change, reduce the deficit and impose a minimum tax on profits of the largest corporations. At a bill signing ceremony in the State Dining Room of the White House, Biden praised the legislation as among the most significant measures in the history of the country. 'Let me say from the start: With this law, the American people won and the special interests lost,' Biden said. His administration had begun amid 'a dark time in America,' Biden added, citing the coronavirus pandemic, joblessness and threats to democracy." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: President Biden begins speaking at about 9:40 min. in. I've left the introductory speeches in because Rep. Jim Clyborn's & Sen. Chuck Schumer's remarks are not bad, either.
Gabrielle Canon & Richard Luscombe of the Guardian & Agencies: "After western US states failed to reach agreements to reduce water use from the beleaguered Colorado River, the federal government stepped in on Tuesday, issuing cuts that will affect two states and Mexico. Officials with the Bureau of Reclamation declared a 'tier 2' shortage in the river basin as the drought continues to pummel the American west, pushing its largest reservoirs to new lows. The waning water levels, which have left dramatic bathtub rings in reservoirs and unearthed buried bodies and other artifacts, continue to threaten hydroelectric power production, drinking water, and agricultural production.... The new cuts will reduce Arizona's water share by 21%, Nevada's by 8% and Mexico's by 7%, but officials are concerned more reductions will be needed." The Washington Post's story is here.
Danielle Douglas-Gabriel of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration said Tuesday it will grant full, automatic forgiveness of $3.9 billion in education debt held by former students of the defunct for-profit chain ITT Technical Institute. The action covers 208,000 people who were enrolled at ITT Tech from Jan. 1, 2005, to its closure in September 2016. Former students are not required to submit an application and will receive a letter from the Education Department informing them of the pending discharge."
It's not theirs, it's mine. -- Donald Trump, to aides attempting to get him to turn over documents to the National Archives ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Pat A. Cipollone and Patrick F. Philbin, the White House counsel and his deputy under ... Donald J. Trump, were interviewed by the F.B.I. in connection with boxes of sensitive documents that were stored at Mr. Trump's residence in Florida after he left office, three people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Cipollone and Mr. Philbin are the most senior people who worked for Mr. Trump who are known to have been interviewed by investigators after the National Archives referred the matter to the Justice Department this year.... Mr. Cipollone and Mr. Philbin were Mr. Trump's representatives to deal with the National Archives.... Mr. Philbin tried to help the National Archives retrieve the material, two of the people familiar with the discussions said. But the former president repeatedly resisted entreaties from his advisers.... Mr. Philbin is among eight people who currently or used to work for Mr. Trump who have been contacted by the F.B.I. since a grand jury was formed this year." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: It's not theirs, it's mine. As Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC pointed out, there's your proof of intent. Trump's advisors, including a former White House counsel, undoubtedly told him it was illegal for him to take and retain documents that were the property of the National Archives, and Trump would not relent. He knew it was against the law, and he did it anyway.
Marie: Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen told Dana Bash of CNN Tuesday night that he thinks the reason Trump stole top-secret documents was to use them to threaten the feds: he would tell the DOJ that if it brought criminal charges against him, he would publish the secrets. Cohen also remarked that whoever revealed to the FBI the exact location of the purloined papers must have had an intimate knowledge of Mar-a-Lago. Therefore, he hypothesized, that person was most likely ... Jared Kushner! I doubt it; I think the most likely person was a grunt: someone assigned to locate a storage place & lug the pilfered papers thereto. The interview was enjoyable nonetheless, if largely because Cohen speaks like a seasoned New York mobster: "For Trump, loyalty is like First Avenue: a one-way street." ~~~
~~~ On the other hand, Cohen's suspicion of Kushner might help explain why staunch Trump ally & all-around jerk Peter Navarro wrote this essay bashing Jared.
Perry Stein & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trumphas called on a judge to unseal the affidavit central to last week's FBI search of his Florida home, believing that any information made public about the investigation ... will electrify his supporters and benefit him politically, according to people he has conferred with in recent days.... Late Monday, in a post on the social media site he started, Truth Social, the former president said that 'in the interest of TRANSPARENCY,' the affidavit should be released without redactions.The Justice Department this week filed a motion to keep the document under seal.... 'It's an advocacy document,' [a former top DOJ official] said.... '... there's no exculpatory information. It's never a good story for the defendant.' Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart has called a hearing for Thursday afternoon. Trump's legal team has until Thursday morning to file a motion with the court if the former president intends to make a formal appeal for its release. His attorneys had not done so as of Tuesday evening." ~~~
~~~ Marie: IOW, this appears to be the usual fake Trump chest-thump. He does not really want the affidavit released (although he would love to know any details about the witnesses the affidavit may cite, the better to find out who the mole(s) is/are and to [promote death threats & such against these new-found enemies). But if his lawyers don't appeal to the court, his Monday-night whine is just another feint. ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE, In Trump's Offices. Daniel Lippman, et al., of Politico: "It was part free-for-all, part fire sale. Souvenirs were kept, records were indiscriminately thrown away. The Oval Office and its adjacent private dining room were only packed up the weekend before ... Donald Trump moved out, former aides said. So-called 'burn bags' were widely present, according to two former Trump White House officials.... Those who observed the process later conceded that it was not entirely clear if documents should have been headed to the National Archives instead of the incinerator. It was in those tumultuous moments that -- investigators allege -- boxes containing classified material were packed and sent to Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.... [The frantic Trump exit] stood in marked contrast to the process put in place by Trump's predecessor. President Barack Obama's administration, facing term limits, knew it was leaving and began the transition in August 2016, according to Neil Eggleston, former Obama White House counsel. Beyond that, they didn't regard the rules around record retention as vague." ~~~
~~~ Marie: This article looks like a set-up for the carelessness excuse. However, even if all those boxes of publicly-owned material went to Mar-a-Lardo "by accident," we still have not heard an explanation as to why Trump retained them once the National Archives notified him they wanted the documents returned to the government.
Isaac Arnsdorf, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump and close aides have spent the eight days since the FBI searched his Florida home rushing to assemble a team of respected defense lawyers. But the answer they keep hearing is 'no.'... Ordinarily, the prestige and publicity of representing a former president ... would attract high-powered attorneys. But Trump's search is being hampered by his divisiveness, as well as his reputation for stiffing vendors and ignoring advice."
Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: "As Mr. Trump sought to hold on to power, two of Mr. Pence's senior aides -- Marc Short, his chief of staff, and Greg Jacob, his counsel -- indexed and boxed all of his government papers, according to three former officials with knowledge of the work. Mr. Jacob spent the bulk of his final few days in government preparing the final boxes, with the goal of ensuring that Mr. Pence left office without a single paper that did not belong to him, one of the officials said." (This is from a story also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: [Mike] "Pence allies are now quietly drawing attention to sharp differences in how [he and Trump] handled their documents as Trump's presidency ended. Sources tell the New York Times that Pence aides scrupulously followed protocol in organizing his government papers -- a contrast obviously intended to reflect badly on Trump.... It's hard to imagine these points being made without at least tacit awareness on Pence's part. So after Trump's endless abuse, Pence allies might be slipping in the shiv at a vulnerable moment." MB: Yeah, pence is slipping the shiv into Trump mighty "quietly." Pence doesn't dare come out & say, "See, I didn't steal public property the way Trump did." Instead, that supposed shiv appears beginning at about Paragraph #20 of a NYT story. How many MAGA maniacs do you suppose will be reading the final grafs of a NYT story?
Luke Broadwater & Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "The Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog, who is under criticism for his handling of an investigation into missing Secret Service text messages around the time of the Capitol attack, is refusing to cooperate with congressional demands, even blocking his employees from testifying before Congress, two top Democrats said on Tuesday. Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney, Democrat of New York and the chairwoman of the Oversight Committee, and Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter to Joseph V. Cuffari, the Homeland Security inspector general [and a Trump appointee], demanding that his office comply with their requests for documents and transcribed interviews.... The clash is the latest development surrounding missing text messages from around Jan. 6, 2021, that were sent and received by Secret Service agents and later erased." CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Kate Brumback of the AP: "Rudy Giulianiis scheduled to appear in an Atlanta courthouse to testify before a special grand jury that is investigating attempts by ... Donald Trump and others to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia. It's unclear how much the former New York mayor and attorney for Trump will be willing to say now that his lawyers have been informed he's a target of the investigation. Questioning will take place behind closed doors Wednesday because the special grand jury proceedings are secret."
She's Got a Ticket to Ride. Kate Brumback of the AP: "A judge in Colorado on Tuesday ordered a legal adviser for ... Donald Trump's campaign to travel to Georgia to testify before a special grand jury that's looking into whether Trump and others illegally tried to influence the 2020 election in Georgia. Judge Gregory Lammons in Fort Collins, Colorado, made the decision after holding a hearing on a request from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to compel testimony from attorney Jenna Ellis. Prosecutors are interested in Ellis's role in helping to coordinate and plan legislative hearings in Georgia and others states where false allegations of election fraud were pushed, according to testimony in court. Fulton County prosecutors have purchased plane tickets and made a hotel reservation in preparation for Ellis to testify on Aug. 25."
Jaclyn Diaz of NPR: "Former California Rep. TJ Coxis facing dozens of federal charges related to allegations the Democrat participated in multiple fraud schemes, including one involving his run for Congress. The Justice Department released details Tuesday of the 15 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, one count of financial institution fraud, and one count of campaign contribution fraud against Cox. He served in the U.S. House for a single term, from 2019-2021. During the 2018 race, he narrowly defeated Republican David Valadao.... Cox lost the rematch against Valadao. According to federal prosecutors, Cox's alleged schemes spanned years, at least from 2013-2018, and involved multiple frauds. Cox allegedly targeted companies, both for-profit and nonprofit entities, he was already affiliated with, according to the unsealed indictment. In two different fraud schemes, Cox illicitly netted more than $1.7 million from diverted client payments as well as company loans and investments that he solicited and later stole, according to prosecutors." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.
Sarag Dadouch of the Washington Post: "Syria denied on Wednesday that it is holding missing U.S. journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in Syria a decade ago at the height of the civil war that has torn the country apart. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry addressed President Biden's claim last week that Tice is being held by the Syrian government, calling it 'invalid accusations against the Syrian government of kidnapping or arresting U.S. citizens, among them Austin Tice, a service member in the U.S. Army.' It added that Tice and others had entered illegally.... 'We know with certainty that he has been held by the Syrian regime,' Biden said in a statement on Aug. 10. 'We have repeatedly asked the government of Syria to work with us so that we can bring Austin home.'"
Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "In states enforcing the most draconian abortion bans since the Supreme Court brutally yanked reproductive rights away from the people relying on them, it's going exactly to plan [Jezebel link]: 'A pregnant woman in Louisiana says she's being forced to choose between carrying a fetus that lacks a skull and the top of its head (as a result of a rare condition called acrania) to term, or traveling several states over for a legal abortion, since Louisiana has banned abortion with very narrow exceptions. "It's hard knowing that I'm carrying it to bury it," Nancy Davis, who's 13 weeks pregnant and is already the mother of one child, told local news station WAFB9 on Monday.'... When Alito said that women had only intangible and not material reliance interests on Roe, he (amazingly enough) meant it."
Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Tuesday threw out the plea agreements for a Maryland couple who had tried to sell submarine secrets to a foreign country, arguing that the prison time for one of the defendants was less than some low-level drug dealers receive. The couple, Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, originally pleaded guilty in February to charges that they took part in a conspiracy to sell submarine secrets. Their plot had started to unravel almost as soon as they put it in motion, when Brazilian intelligence officials turned over to the F.B.I. a letter the couple had anonymously written in 2020, offering to sell nuclear secrets. The disclosure began a lengthy effort to learn the couple's identity and retrieve the secrets they stole. Mr. Toebbe had agreed to a deal that would send him to prison for 12 years, while Ms. Toebbe agreed to serve three years, which would have likely freed her in two years." (Also linked yesterday.)"
Betsy Klein of CNN: "First lady Dr. Jill Bidenhas tested positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, her spokesperson said Tuesday. 'After testing negative for Covid-19 on Monday during her regular testing cadence, the First Lady began to develop cold-like symptoms late in the evening. She tested negative again on a rapid antigen test, but a PCR test came back positive,' said Elizabeth Alexander, her communications director. The first lady, who is double vaccinated and twice boosted, is taking Paxlovid, Pfizer's antiviral drug, per Alexander. The first lady is currently in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, with President Joe Biden, who is due to return to Washington for a bill signing later Tuesday." (Also linked yesterday.)
Roni Rabin of the New York Times: "In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when prevention seemed light years away, several scientists launched trials to see whether a tuberculosis vaccine [-- the Bacillus-Calmette-Guerin vaccine --] developed in the early 1900s might protect people by bolstering the immune system. As new threats like monkeypox and polio re-emerge and the coronavirus continues to evolve, the potential of the old vaccine to provide a measure of universal protection against infectious diseases has gained renewed interest among scientists. Now the results of clinical trials conducted during the pandemic are coming in, and the findings, while mixed, are encouraging." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Sounds like something the Covid scammers would be selling on Fox "News," except for the fact that it might actually provide some protection against Covid-19 & other diseases.
Beyond the Beltway
New York. Jay Root of the New York Times: "Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomowill not have to turn over the proceeds of his $5.1 million book deal, after a judge ruled on Tuesday that a state ethics board had violated Mr. Cuomo's due process in seeking the money. The now-defunct Joint Commission on Public Ethics, known as JCOPE, had initially approved Mr. Cuomo's book deal in 2020, but revoked it a few months after he left office, saying he had obtained the green light under false pretenses, improperly using state resources in writing the memoir...."
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Wednesday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Wednesday are here: "For the second time in a week, Ukraine's special forces struck targets in Russian-occupied Crimea, audacious attacks that demonstrate Kyiv's ability to carry out covert operations deep behind enemy lines. The peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, has been a key military supply hub for Russian forces and remains a popular destination for the country's tourists. The Kremlin claimed the Tuesday explosion, which destroyed an ammunition depot, was an 'act of sabotage,' while a Ukrainian official said the blast was the work of the same Ukrainian special forces team believed responsible for a strike last week on a Russian air base in Crimea."
... Aleem Maqbool of BBC News: "Russia is facing the mass migration abroad of large numbers of its Jewish population, with at least one in eight leaving the country since its war with Ukraine began. The Jewish Agency helps Jews around the world move to Israel. It says an astonishing 20,500 of Russia's estimated total of 165,000 Jews have gone since March. Thousands more have moved to other countries. Undoubtedly the spectre of historical Jewish persecution has loomed large in the minds of many of those who are a part of this sudden mass migration and those still trying to get out of Russia."
Shane Harris, et al., of the Washington Post: "This account, [about the prelude to war against Ukraine] in previously unreported detail, shines new light on the uphill climb to restore U.S. credibility, the attempt to balance secrecy around intelligence with the need to persuade others of its truth, and the challenge of determining how the world's most powerful military alliance would help a less-than-perfect democracy on Russia's border defy an attack without NATO firing a shot. The first in a series of articles examining the road to war and the military campaign in Ukraine, it is drawn from in-depth interviews with more than three dozen senior U.S., Ukrainian, European and NATO officials about a global crisis whose end is yet to be determined."
Now that Marie has informed my of the powers invested in me, I hesitate to leave again, but the canoe calls. Will still be in the state, only hours away, in fact, but definitely off the net.
Don't know if you all should take this as a warning, but thought to let you know just in case.
It's what one does for friends, and I leave knowing I'm leaving punditry in good hands.
Enjoy your canoe trip. My favorite memory of canoes involves a backpacking trip I made with friends to Baxter State Park in upstate Maine. After a week of trekking up mountain trails, we found a lake where we could rent canoes. We decided to race each other across the lake. At one point, one of the guys adopted a Star Trekian approach to calling for more speed from his partner. Hearing him shout “Book factor five!” cracked us all up. It was a great afternoon. A lot of canoeing and a lot of laughs. So have fun off the grid.
In the wake of the FBI’s search for purloined top secret documents secreted at a certain criminal’s gaudy mausoleum in Florida, cries of “Watch out! Law enforcement is coming to get you!” are heard all across the Trumpy spectrum. “It’s police state action. They’re harassing us because of who we are (Trumpbots)!” “Where’s the justice?”
Hmmm…isn’t this what people in many black communities have been saying for years? Are the Lovers of Trump&Treason now WOKE?
It used to be they’d wag their fingers at African-American spokespersons who were complaining about bad treatment from the police. “If you don’t like it, go back to Africa! Hmmph!” or “Police don’t do those things without just cause. You should be more law abiding, like white people!”
But now it’s “Save us from the out of control Justice Department!”
Naturally, as in all other cases, in their very brief time of feeling put upon by law enforcement (and calling for violent retaliation), their experience is far worse than anyone else has ever had it, including families of black men killed just for being who they are.
Look soon for a new addition to school curricula in red states: Critical White Race Theory, all about the historical background of the oppression of white supremacists.
LIZ LOST––---and Ken hasn't even left yet. I can't help thinking of how we viewed Cheney some years back. She is an ultra conservative and voted for Fatty's fatuous failures but then had a change of heart about him and took the high road. So the conservatives in Wyoming who didn't vote for her evidently did so because she spoke the truth about the man they still view as their savior. There is something so cockeyed and distorted about all this it's hard to fathom and yet it has become the lay of the land. When Marie's AC guy spits out his reason for his animosity it's clear we are living in A BAT SHIT UNIVERSE–-just look at who has emerged once again to delight and destroy–-Sarah Palin, the wordsmith of Wasilla––John McCain just rolled over in his grave,
And speaking of oppression…the Don’t Tread on Me crowd that whined constantly about gummint overreach during the Obama years, fighting valiantly against (as they saw it) the state’s attempts to control their lives (ie, get them decent healthcare), are singing a different tune now that they have seized control.
These days, ACTUAL government overreach and control of personal lives is the order of the day in red states, where the state government is offering bounties to snitches for turning in offenders who think they can make decisions about their own lives without permission from the state (which will never be forthcoming anyway).
And if you think you can get an abortion to save your lives, think again. We’ll convene our own state mandated death panels and if doctors and their hospitals think they can decide for themselves how best to treat patients, we’ll pull their licenses, shut them down and fine the shit out of them.
Oh, but don’t call it government overreach. We’re doing this for Jesus.
Ak—. Lived in northern Maine (Houlton) for a time in the early 70s when husband was a college treasurer, and we hung out at Acadia and Baxter a lot. We went full-Maine, buying cross-country skis and coveting Old Town canoes, a sailboat and camping. In fact, our daughter was conceived in Baxter, and we called her that inutero. She was born in Caribou. We loved Maine. Thanks for the memories!
I always loved our trips to Maine. For about ten years in a row we made the trip from Boston up to Baxter to climb Mt. Katahdin. We’d take different routes up the mountain to the Knife’s Edge. A couple of years we got shut out because of early snow and ice on the mountain (we’d usually go in late September) when the park rangers would close the summit unless you had ice axes and pitons. It was a magical place. After the climbing day we’d go off to other trails and smaller mountains, or as we did that one year, off canoeing. We did a winter trip one year. That was wild. Wet and cold for a week but we never cared. Did you eventually name your daughter Baxter? A cool name, especially for a girl.
Our brother-in-law in Eastern Pa is finally out of things to blame President Biden for. He's down to this: All the grass in our area has turned brown because utility prices are so high since Biden got into office (he won't say elected) that no one can afford water, or gas, or electricity. I could swear that utilities are controlled by state governments. Our local water supply is controlled by the township, not Biden.
And I can spot a Republican a mile away (or at least 20 yards). Last evening I went out in the side yard (we have a double lot) to get some tomatoes and basil for salads. Four women had spread out blankets and were having a picnic amongst the garden beds. One asked if I work here, and of course I said yes, I work here almost every day. Well, why aren't there any trash cans in this park then? Because it's my yard and I don't need trash cans other than for what I trim and deadhead. Oh gosh, are we trespassing? It appears you are but finish your picnic and please don't litter. Definitely pushy Republicans. I always think that if I went to their house and did that, I might be shot.
@Forrest Morris: C'mon, Forrest, those were really nice ladies who decided to picnic on your lawn & didn't want to leave trash lying around. How come you were so thoughtless as to fail to provide lovely trash receptacles for them? And a restroom, for pete's sake?
The original driveway to our house in Florida was a shared-access driveway, and that was problematic for a number of reasons, so we cut a new driveway route across another piece of property that we bought for the purpose of having our own driveway. That meant opening the perimeter fence while the new driveway was prepped & poured and a new gate was installed.
Well, that temporary opening gave people the idea that our property was open to the public. More than once in the few short weeks the property was accessible, I had to nicely kick people out for picnicking (I'm not as nice as you are) in our yard and fishing at the seawall.
The topper was the day a young woman came to the door wearing a bathing suit. She informed me she was going swimming in our pool. We didn't need to worry, she said, because she had showered before she came. I threw her out, too, but I'm sorry to say I really confused her because she seemed to have no idea whatsoever of the concept of private property. She definitely thought I had a screw loose for not letting her take a dip on a warm day.
Forest: And speaking of tomatoes: Because of the droughts around the country tomatoes are in short supply. New York Pizza places are having hissy fits over this having to spend much more for their tomatoes or/and not being able to procure them. The price for ketsup and anything else that has a tomato base has risen. So good for you and for us that we grow our own.
As for those ladies that lunch on your property –––so funny! "Wine with your lunch, ladies?" you could have said before letting them know they were trespassing, but you are a kind man; I'm more in tune with Marie's handling of her intruders–-not saying the two of us are unkind, but I'd be more inclined to kick them out––nicely if possible.
;)
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Now that Marie has informed my of the powers invested in me, I hesitate to leave again, but the canoe calls. Will still be in the state, only hours away, in fact, but definitely off the net.
Don't know if you all should take this as a warning, but thought to let you know just in case.
It's what one does for friends, and I leave knowing I'm leaving punditry in good hands.
Back Sunday night.
Ken,
Enjoy your canoe trip. My favorite memory of canoes involves a backpacking trip I made with friends to Baxter State Park in upstate Maine. After a week of trekking up mountain trails, we found a lake where we could rent canoes. We decided to race each other across the lake. At one point, one of the guys adopted a Star Trekian approach to calling for more speed from his partner. Hearing him shout “Book factor five!” cracked us all up. It was a great afternoon. A lot of canoeing and a lot of laughs. So have fun off the grid.
Woke Wingers?
In the wake of the FBI’s search for purloined top secret documents secreted at a certain criminal’s gaudy mausoleum in Florida, cries of “Watch out! Law enforcement is coming to get you!” are heard all across the Trumpy spectrum. “It’s police state action. They’re harassing us because of who we are (Trumpbots)!” “Where’s the justice?”
Hmmm…isn’t this what people in many black communities have been saying for years? Are the Lovers of Trump&Treason now WOKE?
It used to be they’d wag their fingers at African-American spokespersons who were complaining about bad treatment from the police. “If you don’t like it, go back to Africa! Hmmph!” or “Police don’t do those things without just cause. You should be more law abiding, like white people!”
But now it’s “Save us from the out of control Justice Department!”
Naturally, as in all other cases, in their very brief time of feeling put upon by law enforcement (and calling for violent retaliation), their experience is far worse than anyone else has ever had it, including families of black men killed just for being who they are.
Look soon for a new addition to school curricula in red states: Critical White Race Theory, all about the historical background of the oppression of white supremacists.
LIZ LOST––---and Ken hasn't even left yet. I can't help thinking of how we viewed Cheney some years back. She is an ultra conservative and voted for Fatty's fatuous failures but then had a change of heart about him and took the high road. So the conservatives in Wyoming who didn't vote for her evidently did so because she spoke the truth about the man they still view as their savior. There is something so cockeyed and distorted about all this it's hard to fathom and yet it has become the lay of the land. When Marie's AC guy spits out his reason for his animosity it's clear we are living in A BAT SHIT UNIVERSE–-just look at who has emerged once again to delight and destroy–-Sarah Palin, the wordsmith of Wasilla––John McCain just rolled over in his grave,
And speaking of oppression…the Don’t Tread on Me crowd that whined constantly about gummint overreach during the Obama years, fighting valiantly against (as they saw it) the state’s attempts to control their lives (ie, get them decent healthcare), are singing a different tune now that they have seized control.
These days, ACTUAL government overreach and control of personal lives is the order of the day in red states, where the state government is offering bounties to snitches for turning in offenders who think they can make decisions about their own lives without permission from the state (which will never be forthcoming anyway).
And if you think you can get an abortion to save your lives, think again. We’ll convene our own state mandated death panels and if doctors and their hospitals think they can decide for themselves how best to treat patients, we’ll pull their licenses, shut them down and fine the shit out of them.
Oh, but don’t call it government overreach. We’re doing this for Jesus.
Ak—. Lived in northern Maine (Houlton) for a time in the early 70s when husband was a college treasurer, and we hung out at Acadia and Baxter a lot. We went full-Maine, buying cross-country skis and coveting Old Town canoes, a sailboat and camping. In fact, our daughter was conceived in Baxter, and we called her that inutero. She was born in Caribou. We loved Maine. Thanks for the memories!
Jeanne,
I always loved our trips to Maine. For about ten years in a row we made the trip from Boston up to Baxter to climb Mt. Katahdin. We’d take different routes up the mountain to the Knife’s Edge. A couple of years we got shut out because of early snow and ice on the mountain (we’d usually go in late September) when the park rangers would close the summit unless you had ice axes and pitons. It was a magical place. After the climbing day we’d go off to other trails and smaller mountains, or as we did that one year, off canoeing. We did a winter trip one year. That was wild. Wet and cold for a week but we never cared. Did you eventually name your daughter Baxter? A cool name, especially for a girl.
Our brother-in-law in Eastern Pa is finally out of things to blame
President Biden for. He's down to this: All the grass in our area has
turned brown because utility prices are so high since Biden got into
office (he won't say elected) that no one can afford water, or gas,
or electricity.
I could swear that utilities are controlled by state governments.
Our local water supply is controlled by the township, not Biden.
And I can spot a Republican a mile away (or at least 20 yards).
Last evening I went out in the side yard (we have a double lot)
to get some tomatoes and basil for salads. Four women had spread
out blankets and were having a picnic amongst the garden beds.
One asked if I work here, and of course I said yes, I work here almost
every day. Well, why aren't there any trash cans in this park then?
Because it's my yard and I don't need trash cans other than for what
I trim and deadhead.
Oh gosh, are we trespassing? It appears you are but finish your
picnic and please don't litter.
Definitely pushy Republicans. I always think that if I went to their
house and did that, I might be shot.
FLORIDA: Governor DeSantis Has expanded his idea to reduce the teacher shortage. https://floridapolitics.com/archives/547584-ron-desantis-cops-2/
It seems the guv wants everybody teaching except trained teachers.
@Forrest Morris: C'mon, Forrest, those were really nice ladies who decided to picnic on your lawn & didn't want to leave trash lying around. How come you were so thoughtless as to fail to provide lovely trash receptacles for them? And a restroom, for pete's sake?
The original driveway to our house in Florida was a shared-access driveway, and that was problematic for a number of reasons, so we cut a new driveway route across another piece of property that we bought for the purpose of having our own driveway. That meant opening the perimeter fence while the new driveway was prepped & poured and a new gate was installed.
Well, that temporary opening gave people the idea that our property was open to the public. More than once in the few short weeks the property was accessible, I had to nicely kick people out for picnicking (I'm not as nice as you are) in our yard and fishing at the seawall.
The topper was the day a young woman came to the door wearing a bathing suit. She informed me she was going swimming in our pool. We didn't need to worry, she said, because she had showered before she came. I threw her out, too, but I'm sorry to say I really confused her because she seemed to have no idea whatsoever of the concept of private property. She definitely thought I had a screw loose for not letting her take a dip on a warm day.
Forest: And speaking of tomatoes: Because of the droughts around the country tomatoes are in short supply. New York Pizza places are having hissy fits over this having to spend much more for their tomatoes or/and not being able to procure them. The price for ketsup and anything else that has a tomato base has risen. So good for you and for us that we grow our own.
As for those ladies that lunch on your property –––so funny! "Wine with your lunch, ladies?" you could have said before letting them know they were trespassing, but you are a kind man; I'm more in tune with Marie's handling of her intruders–-not saying the two of us are unkind, but I'd be more inclined to kick them out––nicely if possible.
Forrest, the real reason for your BIL's brown grass is Daylight Savings Time. That extra hour of sunlight just burns it right up.
(H/T to some lady who wrote to the Houston Chronicle in 1965 when E. Texas went to DST for the first time in a long time.)