;)
August 3, 2022
Afternoon Update:
Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "President Biden signed an executive order Wednesday directing his health secretary to consider actions to assist patients traveling out of state for abortions. The travel-related provision in the order calls on Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to consider inviting states to apply for Medicaid waivers when treating patients who cross state lines for reproductive health services. The executive order, the second Biden has signed on reproductive health since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, follows the administration's call for the Department of Health and Human Services to explore all options to support Americans who live in states that have severely limited abortion access. The president's actions came a day after Kansas voters rejected an effort to strip away their state's abortion protections." A CNN report is here.
That Took A While. Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "Lt. Gen. Michael E. Langley will become the first Black four-star general in the Marines' 246-year history, after the Senate confirmed his promotion this week, the Marine Corps said Tuesday. Langley will formally attain his new rank at a ceremony in D.C. this weekend, the Marines said. He will then become the new head of U.S. Africa Command at its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. There, he will oversee about 6,000 troops. President Biden nominated him in June."
Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "Rep. Jackie Walorski (R- Ind.) was killed in a car accident Wednesday afternoon, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced on Twitter." This is a breaking news story at 4:30 pm ET Wednesday.
Alayna Treene of Axios: "Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) is eyeing changes to Democrats' $740 billion reconciliation bill -- specifically increasing climate funding and restructuring the tax provisions -- as the Senate moves rapidly toward final passage before the August recess, Axios has learned.... Sinema is the one senator potentially standing in the way of Democrats clinching President Biden's longtime goal of passing an ambitious package tackling climate change, health care and taxes -- renamed the 'Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.'"
Stupidest Senator Doesn't Want You to Get What You Paid For for Decades. Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has suggested that Social Security and Medicare be eliminated as federal entitlement programs, and that they should instead become programs approved by Congress on an annual basis as discretionary spending. Those who work in the United States pay Social Security and Medicare taxes that go into federal trust funds. Upon retirement, based on a person's lifetime earnings and other factors, a retiree is eligible to receive monthly Social Security payments. Similarly, Medicare is the federal health insurance program that kicks in for people 65 and older, or for others who have disabilities. In an interview that aired Tuesday on 'The Regular Joe Show' podcast, Johnson, who is seeking a third term in the Senate, lamented that the Social Security and Medicare programs automatically grant benefits to those who meet the qualifications -- that is, to those who had been paying into the system over their working life.... Johnson's comments prompted criticism from the White House and from Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who said Democrats would fight any attempt by Republicans to 'pull the rug out from under our seniors.'" Emphasis added. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Thanks, Ms. Wang for explaining Social Security & Medicare to the Stupidest Senator. But one reason Ron thinks he can get away with eliminating the programs is that reporters keep calling them "entitlement programs."
Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "The news that the Justice Department has subpoenaed former White House counsel Pat Cipollone suggests new perils for Trump.... [According to the New York Times,] 'Mr. Cipollone's appearance has been requested at a time when federal prosecutors are sharpening their focus on the conduct of Mr. Trump, and not simply the people who were advising him....'... Cipollone did testify before the committee, and it was explosive.... A Justice Department investigation would likely be able to prevail on Cipollone to disclose ... communications [for which Cipollone claimed executive privilege], says New York University law professor Ryan Goodman, who closely tracks the Jan. 6 saga at Just Security.... Cipollone perhaps can testify to just how extensively Trump was informed that his schemes might be illegal.... The Justice Department 'will insist there is no shield to his testimony, and if necessary will go to court to force his hand,' [former federal prosecutor Harry] Litman told me...." ~~~
~~~ Katelyn Polantz & Pamela Brown of CNN: "The former deputy counsel to ... Donald Trump has been subpoenaed in the federal criminal probe of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, two sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. Patrick Philbin was subpoenaed for testimony and documents, according to one of the sources. Philbin worked in the White House counsel's office under Pat Cipollone, who also was also subpoenaed for documents and testimony, according to sources."
Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Primary victories in Arizona and Michigan for allies of Donald J. Trump on Tuesday reaffirmed his continued influence over the Republican Party, as the former president has sought to cleanse the party of his critics, install loyalists in key swing-state offices and scare off potential 2024 rivals with a show of brute political force." MB: But will they all get together & hold candlelight vigils outside the federal pen where Donald winds up?
~~~~~~~~~~
The New York Times is liveblogging developments in Tuesday's primary races. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) From the updates:
>I like the women's rights. -- Norma Hamilton (R), aged 90, Lenexa, Kansas, on why she voted to save abortion rights ~~~
"Kansas voters resoundingly decided against removing the right to abortion from the State Constitution, according to The Associated Press, a major victory for the abortion rights movement in one of America's reliably conservative states. The defeat of the ballot referendum was the most tangible demonstration yet of a political backlash against the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that had protected abortion rights throughout the country.... The referendum ... took on added importance because of Kansas' location, abutting states where abortion is already banned in nearly all cases.... Abortion is now legal in Kansas up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.... [The AP story is here.]
Kansas. "Derek Schmidt, the Kansas attorney general, handily won the Republican primary for governor, setting up a marquee general election battle against Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, in a conservative state that nevertheless has a history of electing statewide leaders from both parties....
Kansas. "Scott Schwab, the current secretary of state in Kansas who has rejected claims of widespread fraud in the state, brushed back a challenge from Mike Brown, a former county commissioner who said he was moved to run because Schwab had 'opened the door of opportunity for fraud.' He will be favored in the general election against Jeanna Repass, a Democrat who ran unopposed in the primary....
Arizona. "Blake Masters, a venture capitalist and political newcomer who received enthusiastic backing from ... Donald J. Trump, captured the Republican nomination for Arizona's Senate seat, according to The Associated Press, and will face Mark Kelly, the Democratic incumbent, this fall.... Mr. Masters, who campaigned heavily on militarizing the border, repeatedly claimed that Democrats were trying to bring in more immigrants in an attempt to change the nation's demographics and electorate. He embraced the term 'nationalist' and said that gun violence should be blamed on 'Black people, frankly.'... At one point this spring, Mr. Masters suggested falsely to Republican activists that the F.B.I. had set up the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol....
Arizona. "Mark Finchem, an adamant election denier who protested outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and favors letting state lawmakers appoint their own electors if they believe a presidential vote was tainted by fraud, has won Arizona's Republican nomination for secretary of state.... Mr. Finchem, who has previously identified himself as a member of the right-wing Oath Keepers militia, joins a growing cohort of electoral conspiracy theorists who have clinched the Republican nomination to be the top election official in their states. Republicans have now elevated such candidates -- who are part of an 'America First' coalition of election deniers claiming ... Donald J. Trump was the victim of fraud -- in Nevada, Michigan, New Mexico and Arizona....
Arizona. "Rusty Bowers, Arizona's Republican House speaker, who was censured by his party after testifying in front of the Jan. 6 committee, was defeated by an ally of ... Donald J. Trump in a State Senate primary early Wednesday morning. His opponent, former State Senator David Farnsworth, had racked up endorsements from many top Republicans, including Mr. Trump, with outlandish rhetoric and false claims that Mr. Trump had won the 2020 election. ~~~
Missouri. "Eric Schmitt, the Missouri attorney general, easily captured the Republican nomination for an open Senate seat on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. His decisive victory derailed the political comeback of former Gov. Eric Greitens, whose campaign had been clouded by allegations of domestic abuse, infidelity and corruption. Mr. Schmitt, a former state senator and treasurer, made a turn to the hard-right in order to fend off his top rivals, Mr. Greitens and Representative Vicky Hartzler, a longtime social conservative who was in second place as votes were counted Tuesday night, with Mr. Greitens trailing behind....
Michigan. "Representative Peter Meijer of Michigan, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald J. Trump, conceded his hard-fought primary battle to John Gibbs, a challenger who was backed by the former president and aided by Democrats.... Mr. Meijer's loss -- assisted by Democrats, who poured $425,000 into ads propping up the far-right Mr. Gibbs, betting he would be easier to beat in November -- was a brutal one for establishment Republicans in Michigan.... [MB: Michigan Democrats should be ashamed of themselves.]
Michigan. "Tudor Dixon, a conservative media personality with the political backing of Michigan's powerful DeVos family, won the state's Republican primary for governor on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. She will advance to the general election against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a first-term Democrat who was on the short list to be Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s running mate in the summer of 2020."
~~~ Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: ?'Women in KS are losing their choice on reproductive rights,' [text messages received by Kansans on Monday] warned. 'Voting YES on the Amendment will give women a choice. Vote YES to protect women's health,' [falsely claimed.] The unsigned messages were described as deceptive by numerous recipients, including former Democratic governor Kathleen Sebelius, who also served as health and human services secretary in the Obama administration.... The messages were crafted by a political action committee led by Tim Huelskamp, a former hard-line Republican congressman from Kansas, and enabled by a fast-growing, Republican-aligned technology firm [Alliance Forge], according to people familiar with the matter.... The numbers [from which the messages were sent] were disabled Monday evening, according to a Twilio [communications company] spokesman ... who said the account that had leased them was in violation of the company's policies prohibiting the 'spread of disinformation.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Sebelius appeared on MSNBC Tuesday and claimed that the Roman Catholic Church also helped fund the texts. Where's that verse in the Gospels where Jesus says, "I sayeth unto you, any means to a desirable end passeth the smell test."
Maanvi Singh of the Guardian: "Joe Biden is set to sign a second executive order on Wednesday that aims to protect access to reproductive healthcare after the US supreme court struck down the constitutional right to abortion. Most significantly, the order directs the Health and Human Services agency to consider ways to expand coverage for patients traveling out of state for reproductive healthcare. Biden's order does not detail how this could be achieved.... A senior administration official told the Guardian that HHS will soon have more details on provisions to help women served by Medicaid health coverage cover certain costs of traveling for reproductive care."
** Perry Stein & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department has filed its first lawsuit in the wake of a historic Supreme Court decision allowing states to outlaw abortion, arguing that a near-total ban on the procedure slated to take effect soon in Idaho would violate a federal requirement to provide medical care when the woman's life or health is at stake. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the lawsuit filed Tuesday is aimed at stopping Idaho's 'trigger' ban, which is set to take effect Aug. 25. The Idaho law allows doctors to be criminally prosecuted for providing abortions, Garland said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. He argued it could conflict with federal law that says patients seeking emergency medical treatment at a hospital accepting Medicare funds are entitled to any life-saving treatment." At 2:30 pm ET, this is a developing story. CNN's report is here. MB: Looks as if Garland can walk & chew gum at the same time.
I like presidents who kill terrorists, not play golf with them. -- Forrest M., yesterday's Comments thread
Grand Contested Election for the Presidency of the United States.
Whaling voyage by one Ishmael.
BLOODY BATTLE IN AFGHANISTAN.Ishmael, imagining the "grand programme of Providence," Moby Dick, pub. 1851 ~~~
~~~ A 20-Year War About Nothing. David Sanger of the New York Times: "The killing of Ayman al-Zawahri in Afghanistan -- where planning for the Sept. 11 strikes began more than two decades ago, where the West once seemed poised to remake a fractured nation, and where the terrorist leader could feel comfortable again after the Taliban takeover last summer -- speaks volumes about what America accomplished in a 20-year experiment. It also says a lot about where it failed. On one level, it was a reminder of how little has changed.... On another level, it was a reminder of how surveillance, drones and remote killing have changed the nature of the hunt for the terrorist group's leadership.... If the original objective of going into Afghanistan was running these kinds of operations -- finding the masterminds of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the generation of terrorists who followed -- then maybe it was possible to pursue the mission without trying to remake the country." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Huizhong Wu & Eileen Ng of the AP: "U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late Tuesday, becoming the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the self-ruled island claimed by China, which quickly announced that it would conduct military maneuvers in retaliation for her presence. Taiwan's foreign minister and other Taiwanese and American officials greeted Pelosi on the tarmac at Taipei's international airport. Her visit has ratcheted up tension between China and the United States because China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and it views visits by foreign government officials as recognition of the island's sovereignty. The speaker, who arrived aboard a U.S. Air Force jet, has sought for decades to focus attention on Chinese democracy movements. She traveled to Tiananmen Square in 1991, two years after China crushed a wave of democracy protests." " (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Paul Mozur, et al., of the New York Times: "While the planning for the trip was shrouded in secrecy, the start of it was characterized by more of a carnival atmosphere. Ms. Pelosi arrived to a live video feed, lit-up greetings on Taipei's tallest building, and packs of supporters and protesters in front of her hotel. The mood continued on Wednesday morning, when Ms. Pelosi arrived at Taiwan's legislature with a police escort to meet with a handful of top lawmakers. On one side of the building, a group offering support held up banners welcoming her. On the other, a gathering of pro-China protesters held up signs calling her an 'arsonist' and accusing her of interfering in China's internal affairs. After visiting the legislature, Ms. Pelosi met with President Tsai Ing-wen.... Soon after her arrival, Beijing announced plans for live-fire military drills, some in areas overlapping with the island's territorial waters. In a separate statement, China's People's Liberation Army said that it would begin a series of joint naval and air exercises that would include 'long-range live firing in the Taiwan Strait.'"
~~~ The New York Times is liveblogging developments here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Nancy Pelosi, in a Washington Post op-ed, explains why she is visiting Taiwan: "By traveling to Taiwan, we honor our commitment to democracy: reaffirming that the freedoms of Taiwan -- and all democracies -- must be respected." If you have a WashPo subscription, read the whole essay. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "The Senate overwhelmingly gave the final sign-off Tuesday on legislation designed to aid veterans fighting diseases they believe are linked to toxic exposure, particularly those who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. On a 86-11 roll call, the vote served as a political surrender by Senate Republicans, a week after they blocked consideration of the popular legislation seemingly out of political pique because Democrats announced a party-line deal on an unrelated massive domestic policy bill that could be considered later this week.... 'He [Jon Stewart] just beat the daylights out of them,' [Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer [D-N.Y.] said Wednesday in a celebratory visit to a couple dozen veterans who have set up a vigil on the Capitol's north lawn since last week's failed vote. Democratic leaders allowed Stewart and dozens of veterans, their families and other supporters into the chamber's public gallery for the final series of votes -- something that has happened less than a handful of times since the onset of the global pandemic in March 2020...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I would have linked the NYT story, but it sucked. The reporter, Stephanie Lai, called the aid to veterans "a new entitlement program" in the lede. Republicans call assistance systems like Medicare & Social Security "entitlement" programs to make it seem the recipients are a bunch of good-for-nothing "entitled' slackers who don't "deserve" the benefits. The AP story is here.
Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Senate Democrats on Tuesday raced to ready their health-care, climate and tax legislation for a grueling floor fight as soon as this week, even as some in the party remained fearful about the potential for last-minute political disruptions. Six days after striking a deal to the shock of Washington, Democratic leaders found themselves with much to do in anticipation of a final vote. They needed to shore up support among their own ranks, steel themselves for new Republican attacks and prepare for the possibility that a coronavirus outbreak could rattle even the best-laid plans around the Inflation Reduction Act.... For now, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) has yet to secure the support of one of his caucus members: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.).... Late Tuesday..., Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) took to the chamber floor to call attention to the provisions Democrats had slashed in a bid to win [Sen. Joe] Manchin's vote." ~~~
~~~ The Kyrsten Whisperer. Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) says he is exchanging materials with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) to help her better understand the broad tax reform and climate bill he negotiated with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and says he is open to her suggestions as Democrats seek 50 votes to put the bill on the floor. Manchin finally got a chance to speak to Sinema after lunch Tuesday, when she was scheduled to preside over the chamber. Manchin was tight-lipped about the details of the conversation but made clear that he's willing to consider changes she might want to make to the deal, which would raise $739 billion in new revenue over the next decade and reduce the deficit by more than $300 billion." ~~~
~~~ Sinema Behaving Badly. Again. Burgess Everett of Politico: "Senate Democrats will probably start a climactic series of votes on their party-line energy, tax and health care bill this week with very little public indication of where Sen. Kyrsten Sinema stands. They're willing to risk it. While all of Washington waits on the Arizona Democrat, her previous treatment of high-profile issues shows she's unlikely to make any statement about how she sees the deal written by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer -- at least until it's on the floor. If the past is prologue, she'll also be a wild card on amendments that Republicans may offer in a bid to alter the bill on the Senate floor during votes later this week.... 'I'm going to approach it from the positive side and just say I anticipate Sen. Sinema will be on board,' said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.)." MB: Prima donnas like Sinema & Manchin may love the public attention, but it's mostly negative attention. It's maddening, and it pleases no one. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "A federal grand jury has subpoenaed former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone in its investigation into the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told ABC News. The sources told ABC News that attorneys for Cipollone ... are expected to engage in negotiations around any appearance, while weighing concerns regarding potential claims of executive privilege. The move to subpoena Cipollone signals an even more dramatic escalation in the Justice Department's investigation of the Jan. 6 attack than previously known, following appearances by senior members of former Vice President Mike Pence's staff before the grand jury two weeks ago." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yeah, well, they shoulda asked me. I don't think Cipollone has an executive privilege. (1) Biden, despite what Trump thinks, is the executive, and he didn't invoke it for Cipollone, as far as I know; (2) Cipollone is the White House counsel, not the president's counsel; he worked for us, not for Trump; (3) privilege cannot be invoked to cover up a crime.
Treason in Defense of Trump Is No Vice. Maggie Haberman & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Two Arizona Republicans recruited by allies of former President Donald J. Trump to join an effort to keep him in office after he lost the 2020 election grew so concerned about the plan that they told lawyers working on it that they feared their actions could be seen as treason, according to emails reviewed by The New York Times. Kelli Ward, the chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party, and Kelly Townsend, a state senator, were both said to have expressed concerns to Mr. Trump's lawyers in December 2020 about participating in a plan to sign on to a slate of electors claiming that Mr. Trump had won Arizona, even though Joseph R. Biden Jr. had won the state. The scheme was part of a broader bid ... to falsely manufacture a victory for him by creating fake slates of electors in battleground states who would claim that he had been the true winner.... Kenneth Chesebro, a lawyer working for Mr. Trump's campaign, wrote in a Dec. 11, 2020, email to other members of the legal team [including Rudy Giuliani] that Ms. Ward and Ms. Townsend had raised concerns ... because there was no pending legal challenge that could flip the results of Arizona's election." Ward ultimately became a fake elector; Townsend did not.
The Secret Service Cover-up, Ctd. Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Top officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general's office interfered with efforts to recover erased Secret Service texts from the time of the US Capitol attack and attempted to cover up their actions, two House committees said in a letter on Monday. Taken together, the new revelations appear to show that the chief watchdog for the Secret Service and the DHS took deliberate steps to stop the retrieval of texts it knew were missing, and then sought to hide the fact that it had decided not to pursue that evidence." A February 2022 memo from Thomas Kait, a deputy inspector general, morphed from "[criticizing] the DHS for refusing to cooperate with its investigation" to "instead [praising] the agency for its response to the internal review. The memo went from being a stinging rebuke that said 'most DHS components have not provided the requested information' to saying 'we received a timely and consolidated response from each component', the House committees said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ ** It's Not Only a DHS Cover-up Anymore. Tierney Sneed & Zachary Cohen of CNN: "The Defense Department wiped the phones of top departing DOD and Army officials at the end of the Trump administration, deleting any texts from key witnesses to events surrounding the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, according to court filings. The acknowledgment that the phones from the Pentagon officials had been wiped was first revealed in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit American Oversight brought against the Defense Department and the Army. The watchdog group is seeking January 6 records from former acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller, former chief of staff Kash Patel, and former Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, among other prominent Pentagon officials -- having filed initial FOIA requests just a few days after the Capitol attack. Miller, Patel and McCarthy have all been viewed as crucial witnesses for understanding government's response to the January 6 Capitol assault and ... Donald Trump's reaction to the breach. All three were involved in the Defense Department's response to sending National Guard troops to the US Capitol as the riot was unfolding. There is no suggestion that the officials themselves erased the records." The Washington Post's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: So not only did the person or persons who wiped these phones have to know that the text messages had to be preserved by law and likely contained critical information, they also knew there was at least one FOIA request for the messages they wiped. Even tho the WashPo story relates that the DOD says deleting texts is SOP, it's beginning to appear that the Trump administration ordered the cover-up across departments and agencies.
Ellen Francis of the Washington Post: "The world is just 'one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation. 'That was the dire warning from U.N. Secretary General António Guterres at a global meeting Monday on nuclear weapons. Officials underscored the geopolitical risks from Russia's war in Ukraine and simmering tensions in Asia and the Middle East -- as they review a 52-year-old landmark treaty that sought to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.' MB: A cheery outlook. But I suppose I should point out that this has long been the case. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden named a veteran emergency response official on Tuesday to manage the U.S. government's handling of the monkeypox outbreak as some of the nation's largest states declare states of emergency. The official, Robert Fenton, a regional administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and twice its acting head, will serve as the White House monkeypox coordinator. Alongside him, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the Division of H.I.V. Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will serve as his deputy. An early-morning statement issued by the White House said that the two men would be charged with overseeing the effort 'to combat the current monkeypox outbreak, including equitably increasing the availability of tests, vaccinations and treatments.'"(Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Beyond the Beltway
Wisconsin. Patrick Marley of the Washington Post: In "an extraordinary public statement..., former state Supreme Court justice [Michael Gableman --] hired by Republican lawmakers to probe the 2020 election [-- said in March 2022 that] Wisconsin should take a 'hard look' at canceling Joe Biden's victory and revoking the state's 10 electoral college votes.... But a newly unearthed memo shows that ... Gableman soon afterward offered a far different analysis in private. 'While decertification of the 2020 presidential election is theoretically possible, it is unprecedented and raises numerous substantial constitutional issues that would be difficult to resolve. Thus, the legal obstacles to its accomplishment render such an outcome a practical impossibility,' Gableman wrote to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. The contrasting public and private messages offer a glimpse into the dueling pressures facing Republicans in Wisconsin as they struggle to balance Trump's baseless demands for reversing the election with the legal and political realities on the ground." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
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 Washington Post's live briefings for Wednesday are here: "The Razoni, carrying more than 26,000 metric tons of corn, has arrived in Turkish waters and will head to Lebanon after Wednesday's inspection under a U.N.-brokered agreement with Moscow.... The war, now in its sixth month, has left more than 3.5 million Ukrainian homeless.... The [U.S.] Senate will vote Wednesday to approve Sweden and Finland for NATO membership, Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced. Claire Parker of the Washington Post: "The United States imposed sanctions on ... Vladimir Putin's reported romantic partner Tuesday, part of the latest raft of penalties targeting Kremlin-linked officials and entities in response to Russia's war in Ukraine. Alina Kabaeva, 39, was among 13 Russian nationals added to the Treasury Department's sanctions list. A former star gymnast with two Olympic gold medals, Kabaeva has become better-known in recent years as the 69-year-old Russian leader's rumored girlfriend. The U.S. announcement Tuesday cited Kabaeva's 'close relationship to Putin,' though it did not point to a romantic tie specifically. But the U.S. government holds that Kabaeva is the mother of at least three of Putin's children, the Wall Street Journal reported.... Kabaeva has also served as a lawmaker for Putin's party in the State Duma and currently heads the pro-Kremlin National Media Group, which operates a network of TV and radio stations and publishes newspapers in Russia. Kabaeva was already under E.U. and U.K. sanctions." An AP story is here. The photo accompanying these stories is giggle-worthy. News Lede New York Times: "Vin Scully, who was celebrated for his mastery of the graceful phrase and his gift for storytelling during the 67 summers he served as the announcer for Dodgers baseball games, first in Brooklyn and then in Los Angeles, died on Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 94."
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Reader Comments (13)
Marie.
As is often the case, yes, things would be much simpler if they only asked us. We could tell 'em.
Regarding executive privilege, I'd think a judge deciding whether or not it applies would look first and last at the rationale for legal mantle it provides its claimant.
Whyfor this privilege? Is it to protect the interests of the country the official has given an oath the serve? Or to cover his or her ass? Is the claim about the person or the nation?
In most cases I can think of, it wouldn't seem that hard to sort out.
The difficulty the privilege claim offers is when the person claiming the privilege seems to confuse his (or her). fate with that of the entity he has promised to serve, and that confusion as we have been recently reminded is smack dab on the road to dictatorship.
One would think judges could easily keep that distinction in mind.
With all the news this morning I'm still pondering over Ak not having a credit card–––but then I don't have an i-phone ( although I do have a track phone for emergency purposes since we no longer have a land line plus the mister has "one of them fancy phones" but uses it sparingly.) I have watched over the years how people have become so attached to their phones that even in a sit down conversation those "transitional objects" are right by their side. For teenagers it's been a blessing and a curse. For me, it's superfluous.
Waiting for Sin-a-Ma is like waiting for Godot.
I am so thankful for those in Kansas that voted NO –––don't mess with us is the message and it better mosey over to those other states that think they can dictate what we do with our bodies.
And Nancy did what SHE thought was best.
@P.D. Pepe: I'm with you on the phones. I do have a smart phone, which I had to get because my Tracfone didn't get a signal where I live now, and I really needed it when my power went out or the landline otherwise went down. But my smartphone is so old, it's dumb; it won't do the things it's supposed to do, so I have to get a new one.
I try to remember to bring the phone with me when I go somewhere, because I could have a road emergency, but I'm constantly forgetting.
I see too many people who seem to lead virtual lives. They're always on their phones, and not really living in the moment in which they find themselves. It's as if life would be better if they were somewhere else. That of course is true some of the time; for instance, I've used my phone to read the news when I'm sitting waiting for my car to be serviced. The dealer's waiting room is nice enough, but it's not a place to sit and admire for an hour.
Yet for the people I observe, that virtual pull seems to be on all the time. Nothing like going to dinner in a nice-ish restaurant & seeing that all the other couples are sitting across from each other, supposedly enjoying a pleasant evening together, but they're both on their cellphones, each talking to somebody else!
BTW, readers, if that's you, think about changing your habits. Living in the present moment, at least much of the time, is really okay.
Marie: I also read that these phones have stunted our ability to recall–-you don't have to remember who was in that certain film or who it was that shot whatsit in 1962 or ....wham! you just punch in some data and you get the answers. Of course you can do this with computers but at least it takes a bit more effort.
Your example of couples out at dinner, both looking downward at their phones instead of upward toward each other reminded me of a photo I saw where a large group of American exchange students are sitting around a pool in Paris and all are looking down at their phones and I thought––-such a pity–––and in Paris yet!!!
I don't want any phone that claims to be smarter than I am.
We have one of those cheap flip phones for emergencies because
here the power goes out if a bird sits on the wires (not really). But it
is out a lot so there would be no land line.
The last dinner party I did, a couple of weeks ago, one of the guys
had to have his smart phone next to his plate. Did he think he was
going to get sick and have to call an ambulance?
However, he was able to send a picture to an old army buddy in
San Francisco, Ed Chan, who would occasionally take me home and
his mother would do great Chinese food. It was another of those
strange coincidences. I did sweet & sour pork for dinner, and he was
doing the same. Mine looked better though.
And don't drive and text like that 19 year old who rammed into the
rear end of our 3 row van and made it a 2 row van. I hope he lost
his license for a long, long time. It took 6 months to get a new car
and not much choice, take it or leave it.
@Ken Winkes: Yes to all that. It seems to me that privilege may be dependent upon the form of a question, to recall the famous Jeopardy rule:
(1) Suppose Trump says, "Say, Pat, I've heard that mike pence can refuse to accept certain Electoral College ballots and then they would have to go back to the state legislatures. Is that true?" Here Trump is asking for legal advice, and Pat can give it.
(2) But, more realistically, Trump may have said something like, "Eastman here tells me pence can just reject certain states' Electoral College ballots and that would throw the election to the House. Just write me up how to do it, and I'll get mikey on board."
(3) OR Cipollone may have answered Query No. 1 with, "No way, Mr. President." Then Trump goes on a characteristic tirade in which he claims that he can too just get pence to refuse to certify the ballots & that will overturn the election.
It seems to me if the form of the "question" is more like Queries 2 & 3, there's no privilege whatsoever. But if Trump really just asked a question, as in Query 1, maybe Trump does have some residual privilege. That is to say, there's no harm is asking. But one Trump indicates he will or wants to get pence to go against Cipollone's advice, well, Jeopardy!
I'm just guessing here, but if I were a judge -- heaven forbid -- that might be the way I would look at it.
You want to see smart phone nirvana (or maybe nadir), go to the airport. Almost without fail, when sitting around waiting for the boarding call, I am almost always the only one, out of over one or two hundred people, reading a book. Everyone else is on their phone. People vie with one another to sit by one of those charging stations so they can plug in while surfing around. I’m no Luddite, I have an iPhone, and it’s great for many things, messaging, photos, email, etc. (or checking out RC postings), but with a book, I don’t have to worry about recharging it. Books give me a charge, not the other way around.
Although, funny story about books on public transit. I was once on a bus, reading a new translation of “The Iliad”. A guy got on the bus and made a bee line straight for me. I wasn’t sure what to expect, he looked a little crazed. “Homer!” he shouted. “I never see anyone reading Homer!” He sat down and we had a nice discussion about Ancient Greek literature. Turns out he was a faculty member from a local college. It’s a lead pipe cinch I wouldn’t have had that conversation had I been on my phone. “iPhone! I never see anyone looking at an iPhone!”
I have learned to (sort of) like the Tracfone my wife gave me for Christmas a year and a half ago. I never opened a message mailbox, so if you call me and I don't answer you're out of options. And I assigned two special ringtones, one to family members and the other to people on my contact list from whom I am willing to take a call. If I hear any other ringtone, I ignore it. I never have any messages to check, and automatically delete all failed call lists. People who know me know my landline and know to call that if they want to speak to me or leave a message.
I don't answer, or initiate, any call while driving, no matter the ringtone. I never give out the Tracfone number, giving my landline only when absolutely required. It has Caller ID allowing me to ignore about 75% of calls.
I just now got a (LL) robocall from "Wells Fargo" telling me that it was an anti-fraud alert, that I had just withdrawn $4,000 and to "Press 1" if I had NOT made the withdrawal. I hung up. Spam and robo and fraud calls are so frequent, at least eight a day, that I think there is a "people over 70 years old" list out there for spammers to hit on. Their odds are good that at some point our brains go soft and we'll give them our bank codes.
Anyway ... the Tracfone is a smartphone and comes in handy when I need it. The camera feature is useful, you can take a picture of the broken widget you need to buy and show that to the guy at the parts counter.
But I almost never need it except to carry to ensure that my wife can contact me when I'm away.
And I'm just learning to text.
"Entitlement" is an interesting word, and yes, the Right has succeeded in changing its meaning from something to which one is entitled (like property) because one has paid for it to some kind of ill-defined "freebie," and as you say, Marie, the media's use of the word as if an entitlement were a gift doesn't help a lick.
On another subject, skimmed the Edsall (all I could stand to do) but found a reference to a poison pill intended to kill democracy dead that the previous administration prescribed but didn't manage to administer.
Schedule F. Scary stuff, I thought.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/03/opinion/trump-has-big-plans-for-2025.html
In addition to whatever Webster may say about the word, in appropriations fedspeak "entitlement" means that the USG has to pay a claimant (e.g., a Social Security recipient) under the program if the claimant meets the qualifications. Most importantly, it means the Congress does not need to appropriate the money every year; hence cannot hold the budgetary amount hostage to whatever demand a party or a few MCs want to use the "entitlement/mandatory" leverage to get.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), appropriators and agencies originated and use the word "entitlement," and of course the R's tried successfully to frame the word as indicating give-aways. Except for farm subsidies and tax exemptions, which are of course healthy supports to a healthy economy. You'll hear them speak of "farm support", not "farmers' entitlement," and some Dept of Agriculture programs like school nutrition and food stamps are characterized as supporting poor people, not farmers -- although they certainly subsidize farmers.
Reporters who are sensitive to the impact of their words and consider "entitlements" to be a necessary part of the economy (imagine no Social Security, Blessed Be Perkins' Name) will use the word "mandatories." R's don't like that word, because they still wish the whole New Deal and Great Society and Nixonian Expansion can be temporary and reversible. They won't concede that such programs are a necessary part of making a great nation function. They are idiots.
My simple solution to the smart phone fad: A basic, easily carried flip phone (Verizon out here) that does nothing but call and answer + a good thin linux laptop + an iPod touch that does everything an iPhone does except phone, for streaming music though stereo.
Patrick,
Re: photos to show parts counter guys who think you’re stupid.
I recently had a problem with our riding mower (we have two acres, so the push mowers of my youth don’t make the grade, that is, if you don’t have two full days to push that sum’bitch around the yard).
So, as I usually do, I went to YouTube University to see what I needed. Next stop, the local John Deere dealership. Explaining what I needed to a 22 year old at the parts counter, I learned that once you look old enough to be the kid’s papaw (as they sat down here), they think you’re tetched and don’t know shit. He tried to sell me a $150 gadget I knew I didn’t need. Then I pulled out my secret weapon. An actual PICTURE of the broken part.
$7.50 later, I was back in business.
No apology, natch.
Re: executive privilege.
From what I’ve been reading, privilege does not cover criminal activity. When it became clear that the Tricky One had a cache of secretly recorded tapes (the legality of which itself is questionable), which could have exposed the Watergate break-in and cover up, Nixon tried to exert Egg-zecutive Privilege, much as Fascist Fatty is attempting now.
The Supreme Court (a real one, back then) instructed him, in Nixon v United States, to tell his story walkin’:
“The Court held that neither the doctrine of separation of powers, nor the generalized need for confidentiality of high-level communications, without more, can sustain an absolute, unqualified, presidential privilege.”
You’re a scheming crook? A treasonous snake? You don’t get ‘zecutive priv’lege, no way, no how. Eat shit and die.