;)
January 9, 2023
Afternoon Update:
Marie: I gather the House will meet tonight to vote tonight on establishing rules for this Congress.
Richard Fausset & Danny Hakim of the New York Times: "A special grand jury investigating ... Donald J. Trump and his allies for possible election interference in Georgia after the 2020 contest has concluded its work, according to Judge Robert McBurney of the Superior Court of Fulton County, who oversaw the grand jury.... The report has not been publicly released, so it is not clear what the grand jury recommended [or].... A hearing will be held on Jan. 24 to determine whether the report will be made public, as the grand jury is recommending, according to the judge's order. Any criminal charges would have to be sought from one of the regular grand juries that consider criminal matters in the county." CNN's story is here.
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Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Sunday made his first trip to the southern border since his election two years ago, seeking to blunt criticism that his immigration policies have been ineffective and increasingly less humane than he promised.... On Sunday, Biden toured enforcement operations and spoke with border patrol agents at [El Paso's] busiest crossing. He walked along a border fence and then met with local officials, faith leaders and aid groups at a migrant services center. Asked what he's learned during the trip, he said: 'They need a lot of resources. We're going to get it for them.' The president traveled with several members of Congress and a coterie of local and federal law enforcement officers." The Guardian's story is here.
Hope Yen & Lisa Mascaro of the AP: "After an epic 15-ballot election to become House speaker, Republican Kevin McCarthy faces his next big test in governing a fractious, slim majority: passing a rules package to govern the House. The drafting and approval of a set of rules is normally a fairly routine legislative affair, but in these times, it's the next showdown for the embattled McCarthy.... Promises [McCarthy made to far-right extremists] -- or at least some of them -- are being put into writing to be voted on when lawmakers return this week for their first votes as the majority party. On Sunday, at least two moderate Republicans expressed their reservations about supporting the rules package, citing what they described as secret deals and the disproportionate power potentially being handed out to a group of 20 conservatives.... Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., a strong McCarthy supporter, said she currently is 'on the fence' about the proposed rules.... Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, was an outright 'no' against the rules package...." A related New York Times story is here.
Let the "Investigations" Begin. Charlie Savage & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: &"Newly empowered House Republicans are preparing a wide-ranging investigation into law enforcement and national security agencies, raising the prospect of politically charged fights with the Biden administration over access to sensitive information like highly classified intelligence and the details of continuing criminal inquiries by the Justice Department. The House plans to vote this week on a resolution to create a special Judiciary subcommittee on what it calls the 'weaponization of the federal government,' a topic that Republicans have signaled could include reviewing investigations into ... Donald J. Trump. The panel would be overseen by Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, who is also poised to become the Judiciary Committee’s chairman."
As If Wells Fargo Weren't Bad Enough. Bryan Pietsch & Karishma Mehrotra of the Washington Post: "An executive at Wells Fargo's operations in India was fired and is being held following allegations that he urinated on an elderly woman during a flight from New York to New Delhi. The man, Shankar Mishra, was arrested in Bangalore by New Delhi police on Saturday, said Suman Nalwa, a police spokeswoman. A judge in New Delhi ordered him to be held in prison for 14 days because he was considered a flight risk, Nalwa said." ~~~
~~~ Marie: This story was linked in a number of places on the WashPo's front page Sunday. One was in the Travel section. I guess it's sort of a Tips for Travelers thing. Not sure if the message is (a) don't piss on your seatmate; you could get fired from your job; or (b) bring an extra outfit in your carry-on in case your seatmate pisses on you. Good advice in either case.
The Pandemic, Ctd. Fenit Nirappil & Laura WeberWashington Post: "Three years after the novel >coronavirus emerged, a new variant, XBB.1.5, is quickly becoming the dominant strain in parts of the United States because of a potent mix of mutations that makes it easier to spread broadly, including among those who have been previously infected or vaccinated. XBB.1.5, pegged by the World Health Organization as 'the most transmissible' descendant yet of the omicron variant, rose from barely 2 percent of U.S. cases at the start of December to more than 27 percent the first week of January, according to new estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 70 percent of cases in the Northeast are believed to be XBB.1.5." This article is free to nonsubscribers.
Beyond the Beltway
Colorado. Lauren Sforza of the Hill: "Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) announced Sunday that his state will stop sending migrants to New York City and Chicago after those cities' Democratic mayors told Polis they were becoming overwhelmed with the number of people arriving in their jurisdictions.... Polis' office said he had 'productive' conversations with New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and informed them that no more chartered migrant buses would be heading from Denver to Chicago or New York after tomorrow. Adams and Lightfoot wrote to Polis the day before asking him to halt busing migrants to their respective cities because they are 'over capacity,' Politico reported."
Florida. Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post: "Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Friday moved to turn the state's progressive public liberal arts honors college into a bastion of far-right conservatism like Hillsdale College in Michigan, a small but influential Christian school whose leader is aligned with ... Donald Trump. Three days after declaring that Florida is 'No. 1 in public higher education,' DeSantis appointed six new members to the board of the New College of Florida in Sarasota -- which is ranked fifth in 'top public schools' by U.S. News & World Report and which prides itself on educating 'free thinkers.' Its website says that the school community 'celebrates diversity, encourages individual expression, and values openness, kindness and mutual respect' and that the private college that was its predecessor was 'founded on principles of equality and inclusion.' That doesn't seem to be what DeSantis has in mind.... Christopher Rufo, one of the six appointments, tweeted on Jan. 4: 'Gov. DeSantis is going to lay siege to university "diversity, equity and inclusion' programs.'" MB: Nice.
Way Beyond
Brazil
Anthony Faiola & Mariana Dias of the Washington Post: "Thousands of radical backers of far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro breached and vandalized Brazil's presidential office building, congress and supreme court Sunday in scenes that hauntingly evoked the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of ... Donald Trump. The attack -- the most significant threat to democracy in Latin America's largest nation since the 1964 military coup -- came a week after the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to succeed Bolsonaro. It suggested a spreading plague of far-right disrupters in Western democracies, as hard-liners radicalized by incendiary political rhetoric refuse to accept election losses, cling to unfounded claims of fraud and undermine the rule of law.... Images broadcast by Globo TV showed smashed glass and protesters roaming the halls of the Planalto Palace, the office of the president. In an echo of the behavior of the U.S. insurrectionists, videos shared on social media showed bolsonaristas taking trophies." The AP's report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's liveblog of developments Sunday is here. The Post's liveblog for Monday is here. ~~~
~~~ Tom Phillips & Andrew Downie of the Guardian: "Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has toured the wreckage of his presidential palace after an extraordinary day of political violence in the capital, Brasília, saw thousands of far-right extremists run riot through the country's democratic institutions in a failed attempt to overthrow his week-old government.... Lula was not in Brasília at the time of the attack but he gave an angry speech blaming Bolsonaro for the chaos and promising that 'anyone involved will be punished'. Calling those who took part in the attacks 'vandals, neo-fascists and fanatics', Lula ordered a federal intervention in the capital, bringing policing under the control of the central government." ~~~
~~~ Jack Nicas & Ana Ionova of the New York Times: "The Brazilian authorities are investigating one of the worst attacks on the country's democracy in the 38 years since the end of the military dictatorship, after thousands of supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's far-right former president, stormed government buildings in the capital, Brasília, on Sunday to protest what they falsely claim was a stolen election. Brazil was also bracing for the possibility of further unrest on Monday as the authorities started to dismantle tent cities outside military headquarters, where Bolsonaro supporters have been camping out since October's election." This is part of a liveblog posted Monday. ~~~
~~~ Jack Nicas & André Spigariol of the New York Times: "Thousands of supporters of Brazil's ousted former president, Jair Bolsonaro, stormed Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices on Sunday to protest what they falsely claim was a stolen election, the violent culmination of years of conspiracy theories advanced by Mr. Bolsonaro and his right-wing allies.... For years, Mr. Bolsonaro had asserted, without any proof, that Brazil's election systems were rife with fraud and that the nation's elites were conspiring to remove him from power. [Brazil's President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva] said Sunday that those false claims had fueled the attack on the plaza...." This is part of a liveblog posted Sunday. ~~~
~~~ Marie: As much as Brazilian wingers may have hoped to emulate Wingnuts of the U.S.A., one major difference between the two insurrection attempts is that the Brazilian institutions were not open for business on the day of their insurrection.
Olivia Olander & Nahal Toosi of Politico: "The Biden administration on Sunday condemned the attacks by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil on the country's congress, supreme court and presidential palace. 'I condemn the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil,' President Joe Biden tweeted Sunday evening after a visit to El Paso, Texas. 'Brazils democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined.'"
Lauren Sforza of the Hill: "Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) called on the Biden administration and local authorities in Florida on Sunday to send back to Brazil its former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, whose supporters stormed the country's Congress and Supreme Court. '[Bolsonaro] should be extradited to Brazil,' Castro said to CNN's Jim Acosta. 'In fact, it was reported that he was under investigation for corruption and fled Brazil to the United States. He's a dangerous man, they should send him back to his home country, Brazil[.]' Bolsonaro flew to Florida in late December as he faced multiple investigations from his time in office, according to the New York Times."
Blame It on the Bosso Viejo. Mike Wendling of the BBC: "The scenes in Brasilia looked eerily similar to events at the US Capitol on 6 January two years ago - and there are deeper connections as well.... The [Brazilian presidential] race was heading towards a run-off and the final result was not even close to being known. Yet [Steve] Bannon, as he had been doing for weeks, spread baseless rumours about election fraud. Across several episodes of his podcast and in social media posts, he and his guests stoked up allegations of a 'stolen election' and shadowy forces. He promoted the hashtag #BrazilianSpring, and continued to encourage opposition even after Mr Bolsonaro himself appeared to accept the results. Mr Bannon ... was just one of several key allies of Donald Trump who followed the same strategy used to cast doubt on the results of the 2020 US presidential election.... The links between Mr Bolsonaro and the Trump movement were highlighted by a meeting in November between the former president and Mr Bolsonaro's son at Mr Trump's Florida resort.... A number of prominent Brazilian Twitter accounts which spread election denial rumours were reinstated after the election and acquisition of the company by Elon Musk, according to a BBC analysis."
Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Monday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Monday is here: "Russian forces struck a market in a village southeast of Kharkiv, killing two women, regional governor Oleh Synyehubov reported on Telegram Monday morning. At least four more people, including a child, were injured, Synyehubov and the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office said. Images on social media appeared to show a building on fire and emergency workers sifting through rubble.... The fiercely contested eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut is holding out 'against all odds,' President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address, despite conflicting claims about the pace of Russian gains in the area, on the front lines of the 10-month-old conflict.... Russia deployed 'the most professional Wagner units' in its efforts to capture Soledar, [Ukrainian Col. Gen. Oleksandr] Syrsky said while visiting troops defending the area, according to the Ukrainian Military Media Center Telegram channel."
U.K. Marie: There have been many, many stories about an HBO special featuring Price Harry & his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, any many, many more stories about leaked copies of a book by Harry titled Spare, and about his book tour interviews -- like this one. In most of these stories, we find out Harry, or Harry & Meghan, have dished on the other British royals: Prince William physically attacked Harry, King Charles was jealous of the attention Harry & Meghan received, & Queen Camilla leaks negative stories about the young couple. And so forth. Sorry, but you're on your own on these. I'm not saying the stories aren't newsworthy, but unless they particular hit on politics, I don't think they're particularly relevant here.
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The coming “investigations” are sure to make benghazi, Benghazi, BENGHAZI! look like a sober and serious inquiry. Of course the difference will be that back then, after 16 separate hearings, and tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, even Trey (Weird Hair) Gowdy was forced to conclude that there was no there there.
Not so this time around. Negative findings will not deter Gym Jordan and the rest of the traitors from bowling that immediate and draconian action must be taken to ensure authoritarianism! Impeach everyone!! Aieeee!
Can’t wait.
(Unfortunately, this is not hyperbole…)
CORPORATIONS ARE SLYLY FUNDING ELECTION DENIERS ALL OVER AGAIN:
Here's a piece from H.P. with links to two other sources of the same. Maybe Gymmy Jordan can hold a couple hearings on these Corporate heads as soon as he changes his shirt and puts on a jacket.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/corporations-again-funding-election-deniers_n_63b8eb30e4b0ae9de1be5231
One of the more sardonic discoveries to come out of the J6 committee hearings was the revelation that the Fat Fascist was hot to trademark the term “Rigged Election!”, complete with unnecessary capitalizations and exclamation point, ubiquitous adolescent markers that mar all of Trump’s printed screeds.
So while the rank and file Trumpy traitors sought to weaponize this phrase, Trump himself sought, as usual, to monetize it. Another rationale for demanding sole rights to the phrase may have been to prevent Democrats and the media from using it to label Republican and Trump efforts to steal elections, actions they and he were actively engaged in at the time.
There’s no apparent end to the invidious schemes, perfidious behavior, criminal machinations, and appallingly unethical worldview emanating from this mountain of self-serving blubber.
Interestingly, he tasked another self-regarding scapegrace to look into this particular scheme, his pocket-padding, feckless son-in-law, Mr. 666 Real Estate Fuck-up, Jared. And who did Jared call for help? Eric the Imbecile. A perfect circle of shitheads. This family of farcical frauds makes the Three Stooges look like Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle.
One of the more sardonic discoveries to come out of the J6 committee hearings was the revelation that the Fat Fascist was hot to trademark the term “Rigged Election!”, complete with unnecessary capitalizations and exclamation point, ubiquitous adolescent markers that mar all of Trump’s printed screeds.
So while the rank and file Trumpy traitors sought to weaponize this phrase, Trump himself sought, as usual, to monetize it. Another rationale for demanding sole rights to the phrase may have been to prevent Democrats and the media from using it to label Republican and Trump efforts to steal elections, actions they and he were actively engaged in at the time.
There’s no apparent end to the invidious schemes, perfidious behavior, criminal machinations, and appallingly unethical worldview emanating from this mountain of self-serving blubber.
Interestingly, he tasked another self-regarding scapegrace to look into this particular scheme, his pocket-padding, feckless son-in-law, Mr. 666 Real Estate Fuck-up, Jared. And who did Jared call for help? Eric the Imbecile. A perfect circle of shitheads. This family of fuck-ups makes the Three Stooges look like Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle.
And for the daily Santos controversy, apparently he flashed a white power symbol while he was during one of the 15 votes for speakership. Got to shore up the base.
Akhilleus,
I'm certain that per some of my ancestors, one only a generation removed, Santos would not qualify as "White."
He likely knows that and is simply adding one more unsubstantiated claim to his already generous oeuvre of bullshit--like his employment history and bank account.
Oops. Make that RAS....
@Akhilleus: The Trump Family Idiots' attempt to trademark "Rigged Election!" only goes to show that the Trump Family Idiots are a family of idiots. In general, one cannot trademark a common word, phrase or idiom. That's why you so often see car models with "misspelled" or oddly-spelled names -- you can trademark "Altima" or "Acura." But the Trump Family Idiots might as well try to trademark "Mother!" or "Apple Pie!" Can't do it.
Since Trump so often misspells words by accident, I don't see why he doesn't just go for "Wrigged Elekshun" or something like that.
The other funny part of the trademark attempt is Trump's toddler-eque belief that if he thinks he's never heard of a word or phrase, it didn't exist before he said it. Thus, he has boasted that he invented the term "fake news."
Morning Joe devoted a period to have Kattie Kay, or however she spells her name, discuss how disgusted the UK residents are with the absent royals-- gosh...
I watched the thing, finished it last night. I come down squarely on the side of the CA couple. Did not watch Harry on 60 minutes and don't plan to read the book unless it appears on my library shelf months from now, but they come through as genuine and sincere and I think the media (probably including ole Kattie--) gruesomes have been horrible gossips, stalkers and liars. I had no idea that each branch of the family has its own "PR firm" and they are vicious competitors for the tabloids. Including the "reputable" press. I don't care what the naysayers have to say about Harry and Meghan-- they got a raw deal. The royals are parasites, and it is no wonder H and M did not fit in. But-- there were lots of fun hats being worn... Okay, enough about that-- sorry, Marie...
I am also boycotting any R speaking on anything. I look forward to hearing if the GA or DOJ cases actually make a some forward movement and indict the MAIN CULPRIT!!!!! Not holding my breath.
I've been tempted to translate "Woke" in the mouths of Rightists as "not masculine or tough enough."
Certainly masculinity seems to be an issue for the Tuckers C.'s and the Josh Hawley's. Kinda feel sorry for them, uncertain as they seem to be of their identity.
But just maybe, they have some reason to be frightened. Look at what powerful woman have done to them and their party's leader in the last few years...Liz Cheney, Nancy Pelosi, Letitia James, the Fulton County prosecutor whose name I've forgotten... They have all kicked ass.
So...Jack Smith, in the interests of manhood, if for no other reason, please start kicking some ass of your own.
What he said...