February 13, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "The Biden administration is forming an interagency group with the goal of addressing the recent spate of objects in the skies above North America, the White House announced Monday. 'The president, through his national security adviser, has today directed an interagency team to study the broader policy implications for detection, analysis, and disposition of unidentified aerial objects that pose either safety or security risks,' National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a White House press briefing. 'Every element of the government will redouble their efforts to understand and mitigate these events,' he added."

Luis Martinez of ABC News: "A crane ship on the scene where a Chinese surveillance balloon went down in waters off South Carolina has raised from the ocean bottom a significant portion of the balloon's payload, a U.S. official said Monday. Officials have said the payload measured as much as 30-feet-long and had all of [the] craft's tech gear and antennas.... With regard to other object shot down Friday and over the weekend, the official said the U.S. military continues to look for the remnants from the take out of the sky off the coast of Alaska.... The U.S. wants to pinpoint the exact location before it places personnel in dangerous icy conditions, the official said. A Navy P-8 search plane was in the sky looking for debris. Concerning the object shot down over Canada, the official said, that country's government is taking the lead but has not yet located the debris. And about the object shot down Sunday afternoon over Lake Huron in Michigan, the official said, the U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian authorities are still looking for the debris that landed on water."

Lily Quo of the Washington Post: "China's Foreign Ministry on Monday said the United States has sent at least 10 unsanctioned balloons into Chinese airspace since last year, as the two countries feud over a Chinese airship discovered and shot down by the U.S. military this month. The United States denied the allegation.... Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a press briefing that it was 'common' for U.S. high-altitude balloons to fly into other countries' airspace."

Stephanie Lai of the New York Times: "President Biden on Monday fired J. Brett Blanton, the federal official responsible for the maintenance and operation of the Capitol complex, amid bipartisan calls for his resignation, after an investigative report accusing him of misusing his position and revelations that he avoided the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Mr. Blanton, who was appointed in 2019 as the architect of the Capitol, had been under scrutiny for more than a year after a report by the inspector general of his office in 2021 documented evidence supporting serious allegations against Mr. Blanton, including that he had misused his office vehicle, misled investigators and impersonated a police officer on multiple occasions. But concerns among lawmakers in both parties intensified at a 90-minute hearing on Friday in which Mr. Blanton gave noncommittal and at times contradictory answers about his conduct, including his decision to stay away from the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot. On Monday morning, Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Twitter that Mr. Blanton 'no longer has my confidence to continue in his job,' and should resign or be removed by Mr. Biden." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Don't let that passive voice "was appointed" fool you. Blanton "was appointed" by Donald Trump, although it does not appear he had any relationship with Trump.

Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "A Georgia judge said on Monday that he would disclose parts of a grand jury report later this week that details an investigation into election interference by ... Donald J. Trump and his allies, though he would keep the jury's specific recommendations secret for now. In making his ruling, the judge, Robert C.I. McBurney of Fulton County Superior Court, said the special grand jury raised concerns in its report 'that some witnesses may have lied under oath during their testimony.' But the eight-page ruling included few other revelations about the report, the contents of which have been carefully guarded, with the only physical copy in the possession of the district attorney's office." Politico's report is here.

Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "Poorly trained Russian soldiers captured by Ukraine describe being used as cannon fodder by commanders throwing waves of bodies into an assault.... The New York Times interviewed ... Russians at a detention center near Lviv in Ukraine's west, where many captured enemy soldiers are sent.... The soldiers ... were recruited from penal colonies by the private military company known as Wagner.... Using infantry to storm trenches, redolent of World War I, brings high casualties. So far, the tactic has been used primarily by Wagner in the push for Bakhmut.... Russia's regular army this month began recruiting convicts in exchange for pardons, shifting the practice on the Russian side in the war from the Wagner private army to the military.... On Sunday, the British defense intelligence agency said that over the past two weeks, Russia had probably suffered its highest rate of casualties since the first week of the invasion."

~~~~~~~~~~

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "The United States shot down a fourth flying object over North America on Sunday, this one over Lake Huron in Michigan, U.S. officials said. The Pentagon used an F-16 fighter jet that shot the object with a Sidewinder air-to-air missile. This object was unidentified, as was an object shot down over the Yukon Territory in Canada on Saturday and another shot down over the Arctic Ocean near Alaska on Friday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) CNN's report is here. ~~~

~~~ UFOs Are Still UFOs. Julian Barnes, et al., of the New York Times: "Pentagon and intelligence officials are trying to make sense of three unidentified flying objects over Alaska, Canada and Michigan that U.S. fighter jets shot down with missiles on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.... There are two big questions around the episodes: What were the craft? And why does the United States appear to be seeing more suddenly, and shooting down more? There are no answers to the first question yet. American officials do not know what the objects were, much less their purpose or who sent them. For the second, it is not clear if there are suddenly more objects. But what is certain is that in the wake of the recent incursion by a Chinese spy balloon, the U.S. and Canadian militaries are hypervigilant in flagging some objects that might previously have been allowed to pass.... 'We have been more closely scrutinizing our airspace at these altitudes, including enhancing our radar, which may at least partly explain the increase in objects that we've detected over the past week,' [DOD Assistant Secretary] Melissa Dalton ... said at a news conference on Sunday evening." ~~~

     ~~~ Maybe They're Shapeshifters! Ed Pilkington of the Guardian: "The high-altitude unidentified object, described as an 'octagonal structure' with strings attached to it, was shot down over Lake Huron in Michigan on Sunday." The UFO shot down Saturday over Canada was described as "cylindrical." ~~~

~~~ Chris Buckley of the New York Times: "In 2019..., one of China's top aeronautics scientists made a proud announcement that received little attention back then: His team had launched an airship more than 60,000 feet into the air and sent it sailing around most of the globe, including across North America. The scientist, Wu Zhe, told a state-run news outlet at the time that the 'Cloud Chaser' airship was a milestone in his vision of populating the upper reaches of the earth's atmosphere with steerable balloons that could be used to provide early warnings of natural disasters, monitor pollution or carry out airborne surveillance.... Chinese media reports, academic studies and officials' speeches suggest that Professor Wu has been central to China's balloon development efforts.... Professor Wu has been a founder or major stakeholder in at least three of the six Chinese entities that Washington punished last week for their involvement in what the Biden administration calls Beijing's surveillance balloon program."

The Santos Saga, Ctd. Where Did the Money Go, George? Grace Ashford, et al., of the New York Times: "Representative George Santos has spent his campaign money in plenty of conspicuous ways, from lavish hotel stays in Las Vegas and Palm Beach, Fla., to an unusual slew of payments for exactly $199.99 -- two cents below the threshold where receipts would be required. But deep within Mr. Santos's campaign filings, The New York Times found another eye-catching number: $365,399.08 in unexplained spending, with no record of where it went or for what purpose. The mysterious expenditures, which list no recipient and offer no receipts, account for nearly 12 percent of the Santos campaign's total reported expenses.... The unexplained spending is among a litany of irregularities found in nearly every aspect of how the Santos campaign handled its finances, The Times found.... When the campaign has amended its filings, as it has 36 times, some payments have gone up or simply disappeared. And though other New York candidates list $26,000 in donations from Mr. Santos, the contributions do not appear in his filings at all...."

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "Through witness interviews, subpoenas and other steps, [special counsel Jack] Smith has been moving aggressively since being named to take over the inquiries nearly three months ago, seeking to make good on his goal of resolving as quickly as possible whether [Donald] Trump, still a leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, should face charges.... In addition to the documents and Jan. 6 investigations, Mr. Smith appears to be pursuing an offshoot of the Jan. 6 case, examining Save America, a pro-Trump political action committee, through which Mr. Trump raised millions of dollars with his false claims of election fraud." ~~~

~~~ Marie: This is rich, and it fits neatly into Akhilleus' humorous theories about what Trump does with classified documents: "In an interview with CNN on Sunday, one of Mr. Trump's lawyers, Tim Parlatore, said the Justice Department had issued a subpoena for a manila folder marked 'classified evening summary' after Mr. Trump's aides provided the department with reports on materials they had found after their own searches. He said it was not actually a classified marking, contained nothing and was being used by Mr. Trump to dim a blue light on his bedside phone at Mar-a-Lago that 'keeps him up at night.'"

Shane Harris, et al., of the Washington Post: "Since [former FBI special agent Charles] McGonigal's arrest [and indictment on charges related to his relationships with Albania & sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska], partisans at both ends of the political spectrum have seized his case as evidence of their preexisting views of the FBI. For some, the McGonigal affair confirms that the bureau is the vanguard of a corrupt deep state, a renegade agency that ... Donald Trump for years has said was out to get him. Others see in McGonigal dark suggestions of Russian influence at the highest levels of the U.S. government or even a possible tool used by forces in the FBI to help elect Trump in 2016. Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike have demanded more information on McGonigal from the FBI. GOP critics ask whether he improperly played a role in the opening of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Russia's election interference. And Democrats have wondered whether he inappropriately sought to quash the inquiry. McGonigal's precise role in the investigation remains murky."

Tweet, Tweet, Twiddly Dee. Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "As I predicted, MAGA Republicans in charge of House committees are having a difficult time conducting their inquests into made-up scandals. That's because savvy Democrats are effectively turning the tables to use the committees against Republicans. Consider the House Oversight Committee, which held a hearing on Wednesday featuring former Twitter executives. This hearing stemmed from the GOP's obsession with Hunter Biden.... Not only did Republicans fail to produce any evidence that the government was involved in Twitter's decisions regarding Hunter Biden, but they also showed themselves to be unhinged bullies as they insulted and appeared to threaten former Twitter executives.... Things were no better for Republicans during Thursday's hearing for the subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R- Ohio). As the Associated Press reported, the hearing 'featured partisan and sometimes blatantly inaccurate testimony from some of the most veteran Republicans in Congress. Much of it focused on grievances about actions taken by federal officials when ... Donald Trump was in office.'... Democrats came to these hearings prepared and focused. They not only eviscerated GOP conspiracy theories but also did a bang-up job exposing Republicans as the ones who have 'weaponized' the government." Rubin cites & embeds clips of Democrats owning the loons.

David Edwards of the Raw Story: "ABC host George Stephanopoulos asked Republican House Oversight Chair James Comer (KY) if he would investigate Saudi funds provided to ... Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.... 'It's clear that you're going to be looking at Hunter Biden,' the host said. 'I want to put up a front-page story from the Washington Post detailing Jared Kushner's ties to the Saudis.... Will you be investigating that as well?'... Comer argued that the Republican legislative solution would apply to the Trump family if they returned to the White House.... 'The difference between Jared Kushner and Hunter Biden is that Jared Kushner actually sat down and was interviewed,' Comer said. 'So, he's already been investigated.'... Stephanopoulos pointed out that Kushner's latest Saudi investments were reported in recent days and had not been investigated." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So here's the House GOP blueprint for how to investigate a Trumpie: Q: "Jared, have you ever done anything untoward?" A: "Certainly not." Result: Investigation concluded, witness cleared of wrongdoing.

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Joe Hernandez of NPR: "The College Board is hitting back at top officials in Florida over the state's ban on >a new AP African American Studies course that's being piloted in several states. In a lengthy statement released Saturday, the national education nonprofit said it should have more quickly addressed claims by Florida's Department of Education that the course was indoctrinating students and lacked educational value, which the College Board called 'slander.' The organization also said that Florida's public and private objections had no bearing on changes the College Board made to the final curriculum of the course, which it released earlier this month. 'Florida is attempting to claim a political victory by taking credit retroactively for changes we ourselves made but that they never suggested to us,' the College Board said in a statement. 'While it has been claimed that the College Board was in frequent dialogue with Florida about the content of AP African American Studies, this is a false and politically motivated charge,' the statement said." MB: Why am I skeptical?

Way Beyond

Turkey. Ramon Vargas of the Guardian: "A US resident from Pakistan has anonymously donated $30m to victims of the earthquake that recently killed thousands of people in Turkey and Syria and devastated the countries' infrastructure, according to officials."

Ukraine, et al.

The Guardian's live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. The New York Times' live updates for Monday are here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Monday is here: "NATO is set to host a two-day gathering of defense ministers in Brussels starting Tuesday. It comes amid concerns in some quarters that the West's own stocks of weapons are being depleted after a year of supplying Kyiv. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which is made up of senior military officials from more than 50 nations who have been providing Ukraine with weapons and other aid. While many members of the group represent NATO-aligned nations, it is not affiliated with the military alliance. Kyiv appears hopeful it can win over the West on its request for fighter jets. Ukraine's ambassador to Britain, Vadym Prystaiko, told the BBC on Sunday that allies eventually coalesced around sending long-range weapons and tanks and could also do so on jets: 'Let's wait and see.'"

Susan Blann of the AP: "Russian forces over the weekend continued to shell Ukrainian cities amid a grinding push to seize more land in the east of the country, with Ukrainian officials saying that Moscow is having trouble launching its much-anticipated large-scale offensive there."

Francesca Ebel & Mary Ilyushina of the Washington Post: "Russian President Vladimir Putin's war has set off a historic exodus of his own people. Initial data show that at least 500,000, and perhaps nearly 1 million, have left in the year since the invasion began -- a tidal wave on scale with emigration following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.... In late December, Russia's communications ministry reported that 10 percent of the country's IT workers had left in 2022 and not returned.... There has ... been talk in parliament of punishing Russians who left by stripping them of their assets at home. Putin has referred to those who left as 'scum' and said their exit would 'cleanse' the country.... While Ukrainian refugees were embraced in the West, many countries shunned the Russians, uncertain if they were friends or foes and if, on some level, the entire country was culpable."

News Lede

The Washington Post's live updates of developments in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated parts of Turkey & Syria are here. "One week after devastating earthquakes tore through southern Turkey and northwestern Syria, aid groups say help has been slow to reach the people of Syria, with pressure mounting on global leaders to overcome the logistical and political challenges caused by the country's civil war. The death toll in both countries passed 36,000 on Monday, and tens of thousands of survivors have been left injured or homeless."

Comments

[Akhilleus]

Jack Smith is advised to wrap up his investigation ASAP. No matter how much evidence he amasses concerning Trump’s criminal culpability (something any Junior G-man or amateur Nancy Drew should be able to do without much sweat breaking) it’s still up to Creampuff Casper Milquetoast Garland to make the call on an indictment. And if it’s within a year or so of the election, he’ll squash it.

But say Fatty IS indicted (if DoJ decides to go ahead with it, they’d have to be surer than sure of a conviction). I’m guessing he’d still run. But let’s say, just for laughs, that he was indicted, tried, and convicted. All before the election. This would clear the field for Trump 2.0 (the Fla Fascist). You just know the howls from the right would make Fort Sumter look like a patty cake party.

Election fraud would be rampant. MAGA maggots would vote seven times each, they’d be so pissed that the Dear Leader was finally paying for his many crimes.

But if Garland sits on the evidence and Fatty succeeds (this time) in stealing the election, no charges would ever be brought. Trump would appoint Elon Musk* as AG and they’d indict everyone and his brother.

This is why Garland should have been on this from the get go. Yeah, it’s nice that they took down some scammers in Luxembourg or Somalia or French Guiana or Bongo Bong or wherever, but he could have had an orca on the line instead of a few wiggly minnows.

I just hope all this work Smith is doing isn’t for naught. But the clock is ticking. And it’s almost time again for Merrick’s nappy.

*By the way, did youse guys see who non-partisan Elon was sitting with at the Super Bowl? Fox Daddy himself, ol’ Rupert. Show me who your friends are…

[Ken Winkes]

The well-prepared Democrats on the House committees convened to perpetrate right-wing nonsense are doing a fine job of shooting down the Republican gas bags, one after the other, but no matter how silly, unsupported, even outrageous they show the Republican innuendos, claims, theories, conspiracies to be....

...They will have never penetrate the bedrock on which Republican credulity is most often based: not on the evidence that supports or does not support the claim, but on the will to believe it--and it's those with such irrational will to believe who are the Republicans' intended audience.

I hope that would be no more than thirty percent....

[Forrest Morris]

At the library yesterday I noticed there are lots of books by past
presidents and first ladies.
Got me wondering whatever happened to Melanie. Most first ladies
get busy with charities, speaking engagements, writing books about
their White House experiences.
Nothing from Melanie. Strange.
In case she does write a book, I have the title: 'I Really Don't Care,
Do You?'

[P.D.Pepe]

The following should have been added to Ken's many Sunday Sermons but let's call it Monday Masses or Miscreants. In David Hollinger's book "Christianity's American Fate..." he cites Oklahoma's Republican governor Kevin Stitt during his 2022 reelection speech offering up the state to Christianity:

"Father–-we just claim Oklahoma for you. Every square inch in the name of Jesus we claim it for you. Father, we can do nothing apart from you." and he goes on in this vein until the end when he makes it crystal clear that this Father is in charge of his whole state affairs.

Then Hollinger brings in Kay Ivy of Alabama who also invokes the deity in her speech about abortion. He asks as I have asked when Biden ( and others) do their God blessings after a speech, what has happened to separation of church and state? And why he asks does nobody mention this in their reporting. Here we have in full view a transformation apparently escaping many and in need of debate.

"One might suppose that we live in a world of either/or : either religious ideas are relevant to public policy and thus subject to critical discussion OR they are not relevant and thus
not a topic for debate. But instead we live in a world of both/and: religious ideas are both relevant to public policy AND excluded from critical evaluation."

Forest: I think Melanie has always been "for Melanie" and never gave a rat's ass as to being a first Lady––just the thought of Fatty fondling this fair maiden (in her eyes only) is enough to understand why this gal is in it for the money and the power.

[Ken Winkes]

P. D.

Back in the day when I traveled more often from the beautiful area of my home state where I live into more distant wilds, taking week-long hikes, ascending mountains, visiting many awe-inspiring reaches of our vast country, especially here west of the Mississippi where I'm most at home, I did not shudder when I heard it all called "God's Country."

I do now.

Now even beauty can be creepy, thanks to the Republicans.

[Patrick]

And yet ... frequently, almost every year, God sends monster twisters to Stitt's state, and wet and windy hurricanes to Ivy's. And sometime mixes it up for variety. How have they failed to propitiate their deity? What actions can they take to persuade Her to cease burdening their insurance companies, emergency managers, and God-fearing citizens? It is almost like She is sending them messages they fail to understand.

And ... tempting fate here, I suppose ... why does She not frequently ravage the Washington, D.C. suburbs, where most of the senior "unelected godless bureaucrats" live? If you believe in a God who will answer your prayers by letting your team make that field goal, and therefore One Who pays attention and supports your entreaties, you have to think:
(a) OK and AL are doing something to piss God off; or
(b) OK and AL are among God's favorites and, like Lot, can prove the power of their faith by enduring the worst the devil can throw at them.

Arguments on this subject are hardy perennials in religious training everywhere. The answer, in the end, is that the ways of the Lord are mysterious. Sort of like the Magic 8 Ball.

And finally ... didn't OK have a day of prayer for rain a few years back? How did that go?

[Forrest Morris]

We should henceforth call those UFO thingies 'Unidentified
Floating Objects". They're not Unidentified Flying Objects
unless powered by an engine, or maybe solar.
I don't think one could get from another solar system by floating.
Those extraterrestials are probably smarter than that.

[Akhilleus]

Biden is forming an interagency group to look into these floating objects to understand what they are, where they come from, and what they do, with an eye toward national security implications, if any and to make determinations about how to proceed should others appear. An entirely reasonable project for a responsible administration to undertake.

WWFD?

What Would Fatty Do?

First he’d check to see what fantasies the idiots on right wing extremist web sites are saying. Cuz that’s always his first stop for re-lie-able infamashun.

Then he’d declare this a job for his Flash Gordon space cadets, a job costing tens of millions (all the better for the grift) run by people who have no experience and no real goal other than to find some way of supporting whatever made up shit Trump deems helpful to him and useful for attacking his enemies.

The actual objects in the sky won’t matter at all. The place could look like London during the blitz but if he couldn’t make cash or political capital out of it, fuggedaboutit. It must be Hunter Biden. Or Hillary.

Or—and this is another very real possibility—he’d do…nothing. But use the presence of these objects to go after his perceived enemies using conspiracy theories concocted by morons in their basements cleaning the guns and dreaming of white supremacy Armageddon.

Wait…I’m pretty sure I just described the MO of the GQP house committees investigating investigations and fantasy bullshit.

Funny how that works.