;)
January 14, 2022
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "For years, U.S. officials have tiptoed around the question of how much military support to provide to Ukraine, for fear of provoking Russia. Now, in what would be a major turnaround, senior Biden administration officials are warning that the United States could throw its weight behind a Ukrainian insurgency should President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia invade Ukraine. How the United States, which just exited two decades of war in Afghanistan, might pivot to funding and supporting an insurgency from fighting one is still being worked out. But even a conversation about how far the United States would go to subvert Russian aims in the event of an invasion has revived the specter of a new Cold War and suddenly made real the prospect of the beginnings of a so-called great power conflict."
Russia/Ukraine. Natasha Bertrand & Jeremy Herb of CNN: "The US has information that indicates Russia has prepositioned a group of operatives to conduct a false-flag operation in eastern Ukraine, a US official told CNN on Friday, in an attempt to create a pretext for an invasion. The official said the US has evidence that the operatives are trained in urban warfare and in using explosives to carry out acts of sabotage against Russia's own proxy forces. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the Defense Department has credible information indicating Russia has 'prepositioned a group of operatives' to execute 'an operation designed to look like an attack on them or Russian-speaking people in Ukraine' in order to create a reason for a potential invasion. The allegation echoed a statement released by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense on Friday, which said that Russian special services are preparing provocations against Russian forces in an attempt to frame Ukraine. National security adviser Jake Sullivan hinted at the intelligence during a briefing with reporters on Thursday." A Washington Post story is here.
Andrew Kaczynski & Melanie Zanona of CNN: "House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said publicly and privately in the days following the deadly riots at the US Capitol that ... Donald Trump admitted personally bearing some responsibility for the attack -- one of several reasons why the select committee on January 6 wants to hear from the House's top Republican. McCarthy shared the details of his conversation with Trump in a little-noticed local radio interview done a week after the insurrection, in which McCarthy said he supported a committee to investigate the attack and supported censuring then-President Trump.... The radio interview -- in which McCarthy has harsh words for Trump and strongly condemns the violent attack -- provides yet another example of how the California Republican has shifted his tone in the year since the insurrection."
Felicia Sonmez & Donna Cassata of the Washington Post: "Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.) said Friday he will not seek another term in Congress, becoming the third of the 10 Republicans who voted last year to impeach ... Donald Trump to announce their retirement.... In a whiplash-inducing turn last year, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had deputized Katko to negotiate with Democrats on legislation to create an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. Katko, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security panel, reached a deal with the chairman, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), and announced the plan, only to have McCarthy reject it." A CBS News report is here.
TuKKKer Hosted (Alleged) Seditionist. Madeline Peltz of Media Matters: "Fox News' Tucker Carlson has repeatedly hosted alleged Oath Keeper Thomas Caldwell, who was charged on January 13 with seditious conspiracy alongside Oath Keeper leader Stewart Rhodes and nine others in connection to the anti-government militia's plot to violently overthrow the government on January 6, 2021. Carlson has interviewed Caldwell on both his Fox News show and his Fox Nation show. With Carlson's help, Caldwell and his wife cast themselves as victims of overzealous prosecution.... In their discussions Carlson and his guests overlooked some key details while portraying Caldwell, who was first arrested and indicted for his January 6 actions shortly after that day, merely as a 'disabled veteran.' As noted in the indictment, Caldwell was stationed outside Washington, D.C., on January 5, standing ready to distribute weapons to his fellow militia members at the direction of Rhodes." ~~~
~~~ MB: Thus, Fox "News" and the Murdoch boys, who have stood behind TuKKKer & all of his despicable shenanigans, now find themselves supporting an alleged terrorist who helped organize the overthrow of the U.S. government. Rupert, who is chairman, is an American citizen, but his son Lachlan, who is CEO is an Australian citizen. I suggest the U.S. deport him as an undesirable (unless DOJ would rather charge both of them for aiding & abetting an enemy of the U.S.; that would be treason for Rupert -- oh, and for TuKKKer). I'm not kidding.
Virginia. That Time Lincoln Debated Frederick Douglass. Gillian Brockell of the Washington Post: In a bill designed "to ban 'divisive concepts' from being taught in Virginia public schools," Republican freshman Del. Wren Williams inserted some examples of what were proper subjects of discussion. They included "the first debate between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass." Of course Lincoln did not debate the great civil rights leader; rather, he debated Democratic U.S. Sen. Stephen A. Douglas when Lincoln was running to unseat Douglas. (Lincoln lost.) A state agency took responsibility for the bill's error, but Brockell is not convinced. MB: Funny Williams specified including only the first debate. There were four debates, and according to Brockell, Douglas won the first one, while Lincoln won the other three. The main topic of the debates was slavery: Douglas favored allowing new states to decide by popular vote whether or not they would be slave states. Lincoln was against accepting any new slave states. Anyhow, almost makes you think legislators should butt out of trying to dictate school curricula.
~~~~~~~~~~
Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "President Biden plans to nominate three new Federal Reserve officials as he seeks to remake the central bank at a critical economic moment, a White House official familiar with the matter said on Thursday.... The White House plans to nominate Lisa Cook, an economist at Michigan State University who has researched racial disparities and labor markets, and Philip Jefferson, an economist and administrator at Davidson College, to open seats on the Fed's Board of Governors. Both Ms. Cook and Mr. Jefferson are Black. Mr. Biden will also nominate Sarah Bloom Raskin to serve as the Fed's vice chair for supervision, a job created to help police the nation's largest banks after the 2008 financial crisis. Mr. Biden had previously nominated Jerome H. Powell for a second stint as Fed chair and Lael Brainard, now a governor, as vice chair of the central bank. If they are confirmed to their posts, the seven-person Fed board would have four women, one Black man and two white men -- the most diverse team in the Fed;s roughly 108 years of existence.... [Ms. Raskin,] a former deputy secretary at the Treasury Department..., is married to Representative Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat."
** If She's So Smart, Why Does She Pretend She's So Dumb? Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "President Biden's campaign to push new voting rights protections through Congress appeared all but dead on Thursday, after it became clear that he had failed to unite his own party behind his drive to overhaul Senate rules to enact the legislation over Republican opposition. In an embarrassing setback for Mr. Biden, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat of Arizona, stunned her colleagues just hours before the president was slated to make his case to them in person at the Capitol by taking the Senate floor to declare that she would not support undermining the filibuster to pass legislation under any circumstances. The announcement by Ms. Sinema, who had long opposed changing Senate rules, left Mr. Biden and Democrats without an avenue for winning enactment of the voting rights measures, which they have characterized as vital to preserve democracy in the face of a Republican-led drive in states around the country to limit access to the ballot box.... 'Like every other major civil rights bill that came along, if we miss the first time, we come back and try it a second time,' Mr. Biden said after emerging empty-handed from his session with Senate Democrats. 'We missed this time.'... In a last-ditch effort to bring the two on board, Mr. Biden met with Ms. Sinema and [Sen. Joe] Manchin at the White House on Thursday night to discuss the voting rights measures.... Late Thursday night, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, announced that because of health and weather threats, the Senate would put off its consideration of the voting bill until at least Tuesday.... In her remarks, Ms. Sinema said that ... she backed the voting rights legislation her party is pushing...." (This is an update of a story linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: See, Kyrsten, you're not really for something if you vote down measures that would make it possible. Since you seem to like to make "statements" with your clothes, may I suggest a frock in a nice stars-and-bars pattern? ~~~
~~~ Andrea Mitchell said on MSNBC that Sinema "completely embarrassed the leader of her own party" as President Biden was heading up to the Hill to talk with senators about the voting rights bills. Mitchell called Sinema's behavior "remarkable for a freshman senator." Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC called Sinema's speech "contemptuous" of the Senate, of the President & of the American people; also too, full of lies. ~~~
Ending the filibuster would be the easy way out. cannot support such a perilous course for this nation when elected leaders are sent to Washington to unite our country by putting politics and party aside. It is time we do the hard work to forge the difficult compromises that can stand the test of time and deliver on the promise of a brighter tomorrow for all Americans. -- Sen. Joe Manchin (D-ish, W.Va.), in a statement dripping with hypocrisy
~~~ Both Sinema & Manchin Support Future Coup. Mike DeBonis & Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "... two Democratic senators announced they would not support changing Senate rules that have long allowed a minority of senators to block legislation. The fresh statements from Sens. Joe Manchin III (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) came as President Biden traveled to Capitol Hill to deliver a final, forceful appeal for action, putting an exclamation point on their party's long and so far fruitless effort to counter restrictive Republican-passed state voting laws." ~~~
~~~ Fabiola Cineas of Vox talks with election law expert Richard Hasen about President Biden's & other Democrats' failures to push the voting rights laws earlier on and about another problem that these laws don't address: election subversion, "a strategy to would negate legitimate election results by simply refusing to accept them -- like, for example, appointing rogue presidential electors." ~~~
~~~ Craig Mauger of the Detroit News: "Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Thursday she referred to federal prosecutors a probe into Republicans who signed and submitted a certificate falsely claiming Donald Trump won Michigan's electoral votes. The revelation demonstrated the potential seriousness and ongoing nature of the investigation and could have repercussions throughout state politics, as the 16 Republicans in question, include high-ranking members of the state GOP, like Co-Chairwoman Meshawn Maddock. During an appearance on MSNBC's 'The Rachel Maddow Show,' Nessel announced the case's referral to the U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of Michigan. The Democratic attorney general specifically suggested forgery charges could be considered and said the GOP electors in Michigan seemed to be part of a 'coordinated effort.' Similar certificates were created by Republicans in a handful of other battleground states." (MB: Nevada, Georgia, Arizona & Wisconsin) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Maddow noted during her show that the fake documents submitted to the National Archives as genuine certificates from various states "appear to be almost identical -- same font, same spacing, etc." More evidence, then, that these false documents were part of the coordinated effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
** Alan Feuer & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "Stewart Rhodes, the leader and founder of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, was arrested on Thursday and charged with seditious conspiracy for organizing a wide-ranging plot to storm the Capitol last Jan. 6 and disrupt the certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s electoral victory, federal law enforcement officials said. The arrest of Mr. Rhodes was a major step forward in the sprawling investigation of the Capitol attack and the case marked the first time that prosecutors had filed charges of sedition. According to his lawyer, Jonathon Moseley, Mr. Rhodes was arrested at shortly before 1 p.m.... Prosecutors have collected reams of evidence against [the Oath Keepers], including encrypted cellphone chats and recordings of online meetings. They have charged its members not only with forcing their way into the building in a military-style 'stack,' but also with stationing an armed 'quick reaction force' at a hotel in Virginia to be ready to rush into Washington if needed." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Michael Balsamo, et al., of the AP: "Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group, and 10 other members or associates have been charged with seditious conspiracy in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, authorities said Thursday. Despite hundreds of charges already brought in the year since pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol in an effort to stop the certification of President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory, these were the first seditious conspiracy charges levied in connection with the attack on Jan. 6, 2021.... The charges rebut, in part, the growing chorus of Republican lawmakers who have publicly challenged the seriousness of the insurrection, arguing that since no one had been charged yet with sedition or treason, it could not have been so violent.... Among the last successful convictions for seditious conspiracy stemmed from another, now largely forgotten storming of the Capitol in 1954, when four Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire on the House floor, wounding five representatives." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I remember the 1954 attack. I was a child in 1954, and I didn't learn about it (or at least it didn't register) until years later. But when I did read about it, it stuck in my mind because a violent attack within in the U.S. Capitol struck me as so alarming as to render it unforgettable. And now it has happened again, this time at the behest of a U.S president*. While the memory of the January 6 insurrection surely will fade, it will make every U.S. history book -- unless Republicans censor the books. ~~~
~~~ The Justice Department's statement, which is worth a read, is here. It succinctly lays out the case against those indicted Wednesday and of eight other individuals charged in related cases.
Luke Broadwater & Mike Isaac of the New York Times: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol issued subpoenas on Thursday to four major social media companies -- Alphabet, Meta, Reddit and Twitter -- criticizing them for allowing extremism to spread on their platforms and saying they have failed to cooperate adequately with the inquiry. In letters accompanying the subpoenas, the panel named Facebook, a unit of Meta, and YouTube, which is owned by Alphabet's Google subsidiary, as among the worst offenders that contributed to the spread of misinformation and violent extremism. The committee said it had been investigating how the companies 'contributed to the violent attack on our democracy, and what steps -- if any -- social media companies took to prevent their platforms from being breeding grounds for radicalizing people to violence.'"
Mariana Alfaro & Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Thursday continued to defy the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, claiming there was no information he could provide the panel about what ... Donald Trump did that day to stop the attack, although the two men spoke privately. In a contentious news conference, McCarthy repeatedly evaded questions about whether he would defy a subpoena from the committee, and he accused the investigation of being 'pure politics.' The committee's leaders said Thursday that they are considering issuing a subpoena to McCarthy...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Not only did McCarthy avoid answering some of the press's questions about the insurrection during his so-called press conference, Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) said she saw him running through the halls of the Capitol building to avoid the press. ~~~
~~~ Really, Kevin? Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "In refusing to testify to the House select committee examining Jan. 6, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy may well be helping to cover up potential crimes committed by Donald Trump.... McCarthy ... likely has some of the most direct knowledge available of Trump's conduct as the mob rampage continued. That could have criminal implications, if Trump's attempt to subvert the electoral count in Congress amounted to an effort to obstruct an official proceeding." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Washington Post Editors: "The Jan. 6 probe ... represents the country's best chance to compile an authoritative account of how and why a sitting president tried to overturn a free and fair election and, when he failed, spurred a mob to attack Congress as it counted electoral college votes. This review is indispensable ... to bolster the nation's democratic procedures against another attempt to subvert them.... No patriotic American should oppose such a probe. Yet, from the beginning, the minority leader has sought to impede any reasonable inquiry.... He now argues that, because Democrats balked at his efforts to sabotage the committee, it is illegitimate. Mr. McCarthy likely has direct knowledge of then-president Donald Trump's state of mind on and around Jan. 6, as well as details of Mr. Trump's weeks-long effort before the attack to overturn the 2020 election results.... Subpoenaing Mr. McCarthy is more than justified.... His behavior amounts to a dereliction of his oath to support and defend the Constitution...."
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The Republican National Committee is preparing to change its rules to require presidential candidates seeking the party's nomination to sign a pledge to not participate in any debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Republican committee officials alerted the debate commission to their plans in a letter sent on Thursday, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. If the change goes forward, it would be one of the most substantial shifts in how presidential and vice-presidential debates have been conducted since the commission began organizing debates more than 30 years ago. The nonprofit commission, founded by the two parties in 1987 to codify the debates as a permanent part of presidential elections, describes itself as nonpartisan. But Republicans have complained for nearly a decade that its processes favor the Democrats, mirroring increasing rancor from conservatives toward Washington-based institutions." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: One of the RNC's complaints -- that in 2020, all of the debates were held after the first ballots were cast -- sounds reasonable to me. Other complaints sound like the usual GOP waaah, waaah, waaah chorus.
Sam Roberts of the New York Times: "Clyde Bellecourt, a founder of the American Indian Movement who led violent protests in the 1970s at Wounded Knee, S.D., and in Washington over the federal government's grim record of broken treaty obligations, and who later pressured sports teams to expunge their Native American nicknames, died on Tuesday at his home in Minneapolis. He was 85.
The Pandemic, Ctd., Brought to You by the Supreme Court
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here: "The extremely contagious Omicron variant is fueling an enormous coronavirus wave that is pushing hospitals close to their capacity limits in about two dozen states, according to data posted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.... The pressure on I.C.U. capacity comes as the Omicron variant has touched off a nearly vertical rise in infections and hospitalizations. The country as a whole and 26 states have reported more coronavirus cases in the past week than in any other seven-day period." ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Friday are here.
When we are wise, we know not to displace the judgments of experts, acting within the sphere Congress marked out and under Presidential control, to deal with emergency conditions. Today, we are not wise. In the face of a still-raging pandemic, this Court tells the agency charged with protecting worker safety that it may not do so in all the workplaces needed. As disease and death continue to mount, this Court tells the agency that it cannot respond in the most effective way possible. -- Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, dissent of majority decision, NFIB v. OSHA
Marie: You can read the full dissent here. It starts on page 17. (The crap opinion & concurrence, which occupy the first 16 pages, are not worth reading, IMO.) ~~~
~~~ Ariane de Vogue of CNN: "The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked President Joe Biden's vaccine and testing requirement aimed at large businesses, but it allowed a vaccine mandate for certain health care workers to go into effect nationwide. The decision is a huge hit to Biden's attempts to use the power of the federal government to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.... Biden issued a statement praising the ruling on health care workers but criticized the ruling on businesses that will have the much wider effect. 'I am disappointed that the Supreme Court has chosen to block common-sense life-saving requirements for employees at large businesses that were grounded squarely in both science and the law,' Biden said.... Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan issued a blistering dissent." (This is an update of a breaking story linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ ** Update. Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Thursday stopped the Biden administration's vaccination-or-testing requirement on the nation's largest employers, expressing doubt that there is legal authority for such a broad mandate. But the court allowed a different policy, which requires vaccinations for most health-care workers at the facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funds. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh were the only members of the court in the majority of both orders. Essentially, they found Congress had given federal agencies the power to impose the requirement on health-care workers at facilities receiving federal funds, but that there was no authority to impose sweeping requirements in workplaces across the nation.... Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett objected to the health-care worker requirements." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Paul Campos in LG&$: "... John Roberts and the Furious Five have ruled that because in 1970 Congress didn't have the foresight to pass a statute that specifically said that Joe Biden could tell OSHA in 2021 to issue a vaccine mandate because of COVID-19, Joe Biden can't do that. This is a consistent application of the Republican Supreme Court's doctrine that statutes written in general terms to deal with a wide variety of issues can only be enforced by Republican administrations."
Danielle Douglas-Gabriel of the Washington Post: "Student enrollment at colleges fell once again in the fall, a report has found, prompting some to worry whether the declines experienced during the pandemic could become an enduring trend. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center on Thursday said undergraduate enrollment in fall 2021 dropped 3.1 percent, or by 465,300 students, compared with a year earlier. The drop is similar to that of the previous fall and contributes to a 6.6 percent decline in undergraduate enrollment since 2019. That means more than 1 million students have gone missing from higher education in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Clearinghouse.... Experts worry that the unabating declines signal a shift in attitudes about higher education and could threaten the economic trajectory of a generation." ~~~
~~~ Marie: If the "experts" are right, you can blame Republicans for a significant portion of the impending economic loss inasmuch as they've knocked themselves out to extend the life of the pandemic. ~~~
~~~ Michael Gerson of the Washington Post: "When the future judges our political present, it will stand in appalled, slack-jawed amazement at the willingness of GOP leaders to endanger the lives of their constituents -- not just the interests of their constituents, but their lungs and beating hearts -- in pursuit of personal power and ideological fantasies." MB: Worth reading for Gerson's takedowns of Ron DeSantis, Rand Paul & Ron Johnson. Every time I read something by or about the likes of Gerson, I am reminded that mainstream Republicans, despite their many bad & craven political postures, were not, on the whole, batshit crazy.
Australia. Off Again. Michael Miller & Frances Vinall of the Washington Post: "Australian authorities canceled the visa of Novak Djokovic on Friday, reigniting the legal battle over the unvaccinated tennis star's controversial entry into the country and renewing doubt over whether he will be able to pursue a record-breaking Australian Open title. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used his personal power to cancel the Serb's visa for the second time this month, citing health and good order grounds, amid questions over whether Djokovic lied on an immigration form about contracting the coronavirus and his travel in the two weeks before arriving in Australia last Wednesday. The top-ranked men's player apologized earlier this week for what he said was 'human error' on the travel declaration, which he attributed to an agent, and for attending a Dec. 18 interview with a French sports publication despite learning he had tested positive for the virus." The AP's report is here.
Beyond the Beltway
California. Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: "Gov. Gavin Newsom of California on Thursday denied parole to Sirhan B. Sirhan, departing from the recommendation of a state parole panel in August that the man convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy be freed. 'Mr. Sirhan's assassination of Senator Kennedy is among the most notorious crimes in American history,' the governor wrote in his decision, saying he had weighed the recommendation but determined that Mr. Sirhan, 77, who has spent more than 50 years in prison, still poses an unreasonable threat to public safety. 'After decades in prison, he has failed to address the deficiencies that led him to assassinate Senator Kennedy,' the governor wrote. 'Mr. Sirhan lacks the insight that would prevent him from making the same types of dangerous decisions he made in the past.'... Mr. Kennedy's widow, Ethel Kennedy, and six of his nine surviving children said in a statement that they were grateful and 'deeply relieved.'" MB: Me too. The AP's report is here.
Maryland. Alyssa Lukpat & Christine Chung of the New York Times: "Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore's top prosecutor, was indicted Thursday on charges that she perjured herself to obtain money from a retirement fund and made false statements on loan applications to buy two vacation homes in Florida. The charges against Ms. Mosby, 41, who was first elected state's attorney in 2014 and drew national attention the following year for her handling of the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man who died in police custody, came after a monthslong investigation by federal authorities. Ms. Mosby filed two requests in 2020 to withdraw about $90,000 from her city retirement account, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland. She faces two counts of perjury for those requests, which were made through the CARES Act, because she claimed that the pandemic had caused her financial difficulties. But at the time, she was fully employed and making almost $250,000 a year, according to the indictment.... Ms. Mosby used the money she had withdrawn for down payments on the homes, according to the indictment. She did not disclose on her mortgage applications that she owed more than $45,000 in taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. In March 2020, the I.R.S. placed a lien on all the properties belonging to Ms. Mosby. The lien also applied to her husband, Nick Mosby, president of the Baltimore City Council. He is not charged in the case."
New York. Your Tax Dollars Are Going to Slum Landlords Who Neglect Buildings. Peter Whoriskey, et al., of the Washington Post: "The fire on Sunday at the [Bronx Park] complex that left 17 people dead ... has illuminated a striking contrast -- between a group of investor landlords, whose portfolios have flourished with deals based on government incentives, and the residents of a building that, ensuing scrutiny showed, has a record of building code violations for mice, roaches, lead paint and faulty safety doors.... Fire investigators have linked the Bronx fire to a malfunctioning space heater being used in a bedroom, and two interior doors that were left open, allowing the deadly smoke from the apartment to waft through the building.... 'These landlords are making a lot of money off these buildings with all these different subsidies,' said Judith Goldiner, a longtime housing attorney with the Legal Aid Society whose clients include tenants of the Bronx building. They 'should have been making sure this building was safe.'"
Virginia. Emily Davies of the Washington Post: "Outgoing Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring on Thursday announced that he had overturned 58 historic legal opinions that perpetuated racial discrimination, acknowledging that his office once served as 'a key cog in the machinery of oppression.' The opinions, issued between 1904 and 1967, were remnants of a time when the attorney general's office played a role in upholding Jim Crow and maintaining segregation in schools long after it was outlawed. The legal writings have been toothless since the Supreme Court issued rulings that outlawed discrimination on the basis of race. But Herring, who made the announcement along with members of the state's NAACP and Legislative Black Caucus, said he hopes his sweeping order will send a message that Virginia is continuing to reckon with its past."
Wisconsin. Voter Suppression, Ctd. Shawn Johnson of NPR: "A Waukesha County judge has ruled that absentee ballot drop boxes are not allowed under Wisconsin law, a ruling that could potentially remove an option for voting ahead of the state's crucial midterm elections. Ruling from the bench Thursday, Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren ordered the Wisconsin Elections Commission to rescind its guidance to clerks on how to use the drop boxes, saying the WEC had exceeded its authority when it issued the recommendations. 'In looking at the statutes, there is no specific authorization for drop boxes,' Bohren said. Bohren's ruling sided with the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty in its lawsuit against the commission. The ruling is all but certain to be appealed." MB: Another reminder that voters will not have the same protection of the courts in 2022 as they did in 2020. Bohren's ruling is similar to what Paul Campos (linked above) called the Supreme Court's doctrine: "... statutes written in general terms ... can only be enforced by Republican administrations."
Way Beyond
Russia, etc. Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "Russian officials signaled that they could abandon diplomatic efforts to resolve the security crisis surrounding Ukraine, bringing a whirlwind week of European diplomacy to an ominous end and deflating hopes that negotiators could forge a path toward easing tensions in Eastern Europe. One senior Russian diplomat said that talks with the West were approaching a 'dead end,' while another said the Kremlin would wait until it receives written responses next week to its demands from Washington and from NATO before deciding how to proceed. It was clear that Russia's next move would be up to President Vladimir V. Putin...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Ukraine. Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "Hackers brought down several Ukrainian government websites on Friday, posting a message on the site of the Foreign Ministry saying, 'Be afraid and expect the worst.' It was the latest in a long line of cyberattacks targeting the country amid its conflict with Russia. The attack on Friday was ominous for its timing, coming a day after the apparent breakdown of diplomatic talks between Russia and the West intended to forestall a threatened Russian invasion of Ukraine. The message appeared in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish on the foreign ministry website."
U.K. As the Queen Sat Alone. Peter Walker & Harry Taylor of the Guardian: "Staff inside Downing Street held two staff leaving events featuring alcohol, and one with loud music, on the evening before Prince Philip's funeral in April last year, when such social contact remained banned, according to new allegations reported on Thursday. Eyewitnesses told the Daily Telegraph that a combined total of about 30 people took part in what appeared to be social events in different parts of Downing Street, before both gatherings combined in the garden.... Philip's funeral took place in the private chapel at Windsor Castle the next day, Saturday 17 April, with the Queen sitting alone to maintain social distancing. Boris Johnson was not at Downing Street that evening, having gone to the prime ministerial country retreat, Chequers.... The reports were met with fury across the political spectrum as more Tory MPs called for Johnson to be deposed as leader."
William Booth & Karla Adam of the Washington Post: "Buckingham Palace announced Thursday that 'with the Queen's approval and agreement,' all of Prince Andrew's military affiliations and remaining royal patronages have been returned -- a devastating blow for Elizabeth II's second son, who is facing a U.S. civil lawsuit that accuses him of having sex with a teenager trafficked by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew, who denies the allegations, has been mostly out of the public eye for the past year, and many organizations distanced themselves from him after he defended his relationship with Epstein in a disastrous 2019 BBC interview. But he had retained his honorary military roles with multiple British regiments. And the Buckingham Palace website had listed dozens and dozens of schools, hospitals and clubs with which he was still a royal patron.... Andrew will stop using the honorific title 'His Royal Highness,' though he remains a duke and a prince." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
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Reader Comments (7)
To help solve the Ukraine problem, President Biden should make
45 (the former pres. who lost) a special envoy to Russia. He loves
coddling dictators. Maybe he'll like it there so much he won't
come back to the U.S., especially if they give him that big parade
with tanks and all that stuff, and the military saluting his ego.
He'll fit right in with the Russian Mafia.
@Forrest Morris: An interesting idea, but I have a feeling Trump would advise Putin to drop a nuclear bomb (just a little one) on the White House.
KRISTY'S CRISPY CRUMBLE:
Lead in the NYT: Senator Kyristen Sinema said she backed Biden's voting rights BUT––believed a move to weaken the filibuster would foster growing division.
Well, shucks, sweetie, I know it's hard to reason clearly especially when you are sporting a sleeveless dress on one of our coldest days but golly, honey, the fostering of growing divisions have been the problem all along, don't you know? Sometimes we have to junk past practices in order to pass important legislation––it's what we do in order to move ahead. You, I hate to say, are preventing one of the most important voting bills to go forward––it's called democracy, something this country was supposed to be built on. So get yourself together, girl, and cut the crap––put on a sweater, senator, and warm up that cold heart of yours that beats two sizes too small.
And then we have the reasoning of the S.C. When I learned of the decision yesterday, I wept––out of sheer frustration and anger. The descent was powerful but ineffective in changing anything.
And this morning I watched three deer searching for food but findiong nothing.
@PD Pepe: I think what most makes Manchinema so suspect is that most Democrats would swallow their so-called principles to give their own party & their own president a win. In fact, I think Democrats like Tester & Kelly & some others were prepared to do just that. It happens in the House all the time.
Sinema "strongly supports" voting rights, and therefore she will do everything in her power to make sure that those voting rights protections never see the light of day. I guess we know now what she has been talking about when she says she supports the Democratic Party.
Marie:
I have taken the liberty of doing a copy/paste of the two paragraphs relating the false electoral documents produced in Michigan and Wisconsin, and sending it to the local paper here in Wisconsin.
I am sick and tired of reading about those idiots Gabelman and Vos trying to get something, anything, that they can call "fraud."
Rachel has been on this repeatedly and I hope some time it will be picked up by some MSM. Oh who am I kidding.
Thanks for all you do. This is my first stop every morning.
Pat
Good for you, Pat. I am gratified that the maroons who run PA except for the governor's cabinet have apparently lagged behind the other five or six states in forge mastery. Not that they are innocents-- no, the lege is whining about new maps they don't like, as it means one more D could be sent to Harrisburg instead of the ONE who has served our area for 30 years. Our county commissioners are 2 Rs and 1 D, and our district commision just lost most of the Ds, so around here, unilateral decisions are made by disgusting Rs all the time. A police study commission was just dissolved after formation in a restive summer of 2020 because no one lodged any complaints against the po-po, so unnecessary...
Fat Arms Sinema is a piece of crap. Lawrence really blasted her in a voice of total contempt. There is no reasoning with someone so mired in thoughts of her own legacy she has actually imagined she has one. Maybe this IS hers: a minor player wearing inappropriate clothing for her position affecting an entire agenda. I don't know why they are bothering. She is so not-worth-anything. A pig in purple. As for Mansion, he defies all the drivel I hear from his colleagues: oh, he's a great guy, we socialize together (Warner the latest idiot--) he's a good friend...A great guy wouldn't do what he is doing. And he knows he is doing it. I am not sure ditzy Mean Girl is even on this hopeless planet.