June 18, 2022

Late Morning Update:

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times compares Donald Trump's January 6, 2:24 pm tweet further inciting the insurrectionists to "hang Mike Pence" to Henry II's rhetorical question -- "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?" -- prompting his knights to murder Archbishop Thomas Becket.

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times is firmly in the Mike-Pence-Is-No-Hero camp: "Far from resolute against the president's scheme to overturn the election, Pence was originally inclined to help. He even contacted one of his predecessors, Dan Quayle, for advice on what to do.... Here's how [Bob Woodward & Robert Costa ]describe the conversation: 'Over and over, Pence asked if there was anything he could do. "Mike, you have no flexibility on this. None. Zero. Forget it. Put it away," Quayle told him. Pence pressed again. "You don't know the position I'm in," he said. "I do know the position you're in," Quayle responded. "I also know what the law is. You listen to the parliamentarian. That's all you do. You have no power."'... It sounds like a man who did the right thing only after he couldn't find a legal rationale to do the wrong one."

Mike McIntire, et al., of the New York Times: "Gun companies have spent the last two decades scrutinizing their market and refocusing their message away from hunting toward selling handguns for personal safety, as well as military-style weapons attractive to mostly young men. The sales pitch -- rooted in self-defense, machismo and an overarching sense of fear -- has been remarkably successful.... The number of guns is outpacing the population. Women, spurred by appeals that play on fears of crime and being caught unprepared, are the fastest-growing segment of buyers.... Working together, gun makers, advocates and elected officials have convinced a large swath of Americans that they should have a firearm, and eased the legal path for them to do so.... The recurrence of mass shootings has provided reliable opportunities for the industry and its allies."

David Goodman of the New York Times: "A city police officer armed with an AR-15-style rifle hesitated when he had a brief chance to shoot the gunman approaching a school in Uvalde, Texas, because he did not want to hit children, according to a senior sheriff's deputy who spoke to the officer. The fateful decision, which has not been previously reported, represented the second missed opportunity for officers arriving at Robb Elementary School to prevent a massacre by intervening while the gunman was still outside the school."

Julian Kim of NPR: "Mark Shields, the longtime PBS News commentator known for his weekly political analysis, has died Saturday morning at the age of 85, PBS NewsHour confirmed."

~~~~~~~~~~

** You Can't Keep a Bad Man Down. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "A day after the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault illustrated the serious danger that rioters posed to Mike Pence..., Donald J. Trump unleashed a new attack on the man who had served him as vice president, criticizing him for refusing to interfere with the Electoral College certification of the 2020 presidential contest. Speaking on Friday afternoon before a faith-based group, Mr. Trump said that 'Mike did not have the courage to act' in trying to unilaterally reject the Electoral College votes that were being cast for Joseph R. Biden Jr.... Mr. Trump has grown angry watching the hearings, knowing that he lacks a bully pulpit from which to respond, according to his advisers. He used much of his Friday address to repeat his false election claims and to denigrate Mr. Pence." ~~~

     ~~~ Annie Linskey, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump used an evangelical conference [in Nashville, Tenn.,] to ridicule former vice president Mike Pence for upholding the Constitution on Jan. 6, 2021, choosing an audience that represents Pence's political base as a venue to attempt to undermine him.... Pence -- along with other possible presidential contenders -- chose not to attend [the conference]. Aside from Trump, no other speaker mentioned the Jan. 6 proceedings during the conference's initial days.... Pence was invited to address the convention as well, but chose not to, said Ralph Reed, the organization's founder.... Reed said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was also invited but did not attend." A Guardian report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ See also Akhilleus' comment below, which captures the essense of these particular Christianists. ~~~

     ~~~ Trump Looks Forward to Corrupt Second Administration. Caroline Vakil of the Hill: "Former President Trump said on Friday that he would look 'very, very seriously' at pardoning those charged in connection with storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, if he ran for and became president again. Speaking during a Faith and Freedom event in Nashville, Tenn., Trump said the defendants charged in the Capitol riot were 'having their lives totally destroyed and being treated worse than terrorists and murderers,' claiming that most had been 'charged with parading through the Capitol.'" MB: Maybe that's because they were terrorists & murderers, and they would have murdered more people had their plans worked out.

Glenn Thrush & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack could start sharing some transcripts of witness interviews with federal prosecutors as early as next month as Justice Department officials ratchet up public pressure on the panel to turn over the documents. Negotiations between Justice Department officials and Timothy J. Heaphy, the lead investigator for the House panel and a former federal prosecutor, have intensified in recent days, as the two sides wrangle over the timing and content of the material to be turned over, according to several people familiar with the talks but not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.... 'The select committee is engaged in a cooperative process to address the needs of the Department of Justice,' said a spokesman for the committee, Tim Mulvey. 'We are not inclined to share the details of that publicly....'" (Also linked yesterday.)

** The New York Times reconstructs how the Proud Boys white nationalist group planned, organized and led the January 6 attack on the Capitol:

     ~~~ The code for this video failed quite a few times. If it fails again, you can find the video on this NYT page. It's very much worth watching.

I've decided that I should be on the pardon list. -- John Eastman, email to Rudy Giuliani, January 11, 2021 ~~~

~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "The way [John] Eastman made the request [for a pardon] ... was crucial: ... he indicated in the email to fellow Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani that there was a known 'pardon list' circulating. That suggests that the plotters weighed the possible need for pardons in some considerable measure -- that those who led the effort to overturn the election believed they might have enough legal liability that they floated the extraordinary step of obtaining rare, preemptive presidential pardons.... And while by itself it doesn't constitute an admission of guilt, it fills out a fast-crystallizing picture that those involved in the plot knew that what they were doing was, at the very least, potentially illegal. And in the case of Eastman, there is significant evidence that he knew his plot was indeed illegal."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Former Trump White House trade adviser Peter Navarro pleaded not guilty Friday to two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol." The AP's report is here.

Holmes Lybrand, et al., of CNN: "Couy Griffin, a New Mexico county commissioner, ardent election-fraud conspiracy theorist and founder of Cowboys for Trump, avoided more jail time on Friday for his role in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack. He was sentenced to 14 days with time served, fined $3,000 and given one year supervised release with the requirement that he complete 60 hours of community service.... Griffin, an Otero county commissioner, is still relentlessly pushing claims of election fraud, going as far as refusing to certify the recent primary results in his county, which the Justice Department cited to bolster its argument that Griffin should spend several months in jail.... Friday evening, the Otero County Commission voted 2-1 to certify the results, with Griffin voting 'no.'... Griffin told his colleagues on the county commission that he would return for Joe Biden's inauguration with his revolver and rifle."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Simone Gold, the founder of the anti-vaccine group America's Frontline Doctors, to 60 days in prison for trespassing in the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack, blasting her for using her legal woes to raise $430,000 for herself and her organization. U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper said that Gold, who pleaded guilty in March, failed to show remorse or accept responsibility for her actions during the riot. He noted she had claimed in an interview with The Washington Post that 'where I was was incredibly peaceful,' when video showed that the emergency room physician and Stanford-trained attorney did nothing as a mob she was with dragged a police officer to the ground." Worth reading. Cooper cuts through Gold's lies, hypocrisy & corruption.

Holmes Lybrand & Avery Lotz of CNN: "A January 6, 2021, rioter pleaded guilty Friday to carrying a loaded firearm on US Capitol grounds and assaulting police officers with one of their own batons during the insurrection. Mark Mazza, who told federal investigators he regretted not seeing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the riot and that they would 'be here for another reason' if he had, faces a maximum of 20 years for assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon. According to the plea agreement, Mazza, 57, carried a revolver loaded with shotgun and hollow-point rounds in a holster under his shirt during the "Stop the Steal" rally and on Capitol grounds that day. Republican lawmakers and conservative allies have often falsely claimed that no weapons were brought to the Capitol to argue the attack was not the violent insurrection that it was. Mazza lost the weapon on Capitol grounds sometime before walking to the Lower West Terrace tunnel where rioters were battling police officers, according to the plea."

** The Party of Liars. Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "The first three hearings of the House Jan. 6 committee have deeply undercut, if not demolished, the postelection myths repeated incessantly by ... Donald J. Trump and his supporters and embraced and amplified by Republicans in Congress.... Yet the most striking revelation so far may be how deeply Mr. Trump's disregard for the truth and the rule of law have penetrated into the Republican Party, taking root in the fertile soil of a right-wing electorate stewing in conspiracy theories and well tended by their media of choice. The Republican response to the hearings -- a combination of indifference, diversion and doubling down -- reflects how central the lie of a stolen election has become to the party's identity. In Washington, Republicans in Congress have neither broken with Mr. Trump nor expended much energy trying to rebut the investigation's findings. And from Nevada's secretary of state race to Michigan's contest for governor, Republican candidates have embraced the fictional conspiracy in their 2022 campaigns." ~~~

~~~ Thomas Zimmer in the Guardian: "The [January 6] committee's core task is to investigate the January 6 attack on the US Capitol and what led to it, of course. But everyone who believes in democracy needs to recognize that, in a very concrete sense, there is a continuing insurrection that far surpasses Trump. The committee's strategy ... runs the risk of letting too many people besides Trump off the hook.... The group of people who were deeply complicit in Trump's machinations is a lot bigger than Team Crazy.... If anything, Republicans have actually rallied around Team Trump."

Vimal Patel & Mike Ives of the New York Times: "The police at the United States Capitol have arrested members of a production team for the CBS show 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' who were filming a segment featuring a salty canine puppet [-- Triumph the Insult Comic Dog --] voiced by the comedian Robert Smigel. The Capitol Police said on Friday that they had arrested seven people in a hallway of the Capitol Building on Thursday night, at a time when the building was closed to visitors. The people had been told to leave the building earlier in the day, the police said.... At the time of the arrest, the team had finished prearranged interviews with members of Congress and were filming 'final comedy elements' in the building's hallways for an upcoming segment on 'The Late Show.' The seven people were later charged with unlawful entry...." Politico's story is here. ~~~

Hannah Allam of the Washington Post: "The surge in right-wing hate-mongering against LGBTQ people is spilling into violence, with high-profile attacks this month casting fear over Pride celebrations throughout the country.... The attacks have intensified this month during the first big Pride events since pandemic restrictions were lifted.... In recent days, right-wing politicians and preachers have openly called for killing LGBTQ people. On a conservative talk show, Mark Burns, a Donald Trump-allied congressional candidate from South Carolina, called 'LGBT, transgender grooming' a national security threat and proposed using treason laws as the basis for 'executing' parents and teaches who advocate for LGBTQ rights. In Texas last Sunday, a pastor railed against Pride month and said LGBTQ people 'should be lined up against the wall and shot in the back of the head.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: That's not "free speech." It's incitment to murder. Authorities should arrest & charge Burns & that "pastor."

Melina Delkic, et al., of the New York Times: "A tumultuous week on Wall Street, which began with stocks plunging into a bear market for the second time during the pandemic, ended with a small gain on Friday. That was little comfort after a brutal period for investors, who have seen the value of their portfolios and retirement funds lurch downward. The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent on Friday but finished the week with a loss of 5.8 percent, its 10th decline in the past 11 weeks and its worst weekly performance since March 2020 -- when stocks crashed as the coronavirus spread around the world and investors feared for the global economy. This time the selling was fueled by persistently high inflation, which erodes people's spending power and puts a dent in corporate profits, and the growing sense that the Federal Reserve's efforts to beat it back with higher interest rates will choke growth."

Matthew Daly of the AP: "A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a Trump administration finding that the active ingredient in the weed killer Roundup does not pose a serious health risk and is 'not likely' to cause cancer in humans. The California-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to reexamine its 2020 finding that glyphosate did not pose a health risk for people exposed to it by any means -- on farms, yards or roadsides or as residue left on food crops. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, the most widely used herbicide in the world. Pharmaceutical giant Bayer, which acquired the herbicide's original producer Monsanto in 2018, is facing thousands of claims from people who say Roundup exposure caused their cancer."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Lauren Gardner & Katherine Foley of Politico: "The FDA on Friday authorized two Covid-19 vaccines for emergency use in babies, toddlers and preschool-age children, setting the stage for the country's youngest kids to begin receiving shots as soon as next week. The agency's action came two days after its independent advisory panel on vaccines unanimously voted to recommend EUAs for Moderna's and Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccines, which can be administered to children as young as six months." (Also linked yesterday.)

Florida. Ron DeSantis Makes Sure You Know He's Still an Irresponsible Jerk. Renzo Downey of Florida Politics: McClatchy News & the White House indicated the DeSantis administration had changed course & now -- like every other state -- was allowing doctors to order vaccines for the youngest children. "Despite federal officials detailing that Florida providers can now accept orders during the standard ordering phase, DeSantis Press Secretary Christina Pushaw told Florida Politics Florida did not change course. 'The White House (Press Secretary) and (McClatchyDC) are both spreading disinformation. NOTHING has "reversed" or changed. The State of Florida is not placing any orders of (COVID-19) shots for 0-5 year old babies and kids,' Pushaw tweeted. Florida Department of Health (DOH) Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern similarly told Florida Politics the story is false and that nothing has changed.... Although individual providers can order vaccines, Florida is not directing state and public health departments to administer vaccines to children. 'This will specifically leave the most vulnerable underserved children of Florida behind,' [White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Ashish] Jha said." (Also linked yesterday.)

Beyond the Beltway

Michigan Gubernatorial Race. Azi Paybarah of the New York Times: The Republican primary race for governor is a "circus." "One of the Republican candidates, Ryan Kelley, was charged with four misdemeanors related to the Jan. 6 attack on the same day that the House committee investigating the attack opened a landmark series of public hearings. He became the first person running for election in a major state or federal race to be charged in connection with the attack.... Mr. Kelley, a real estate broker who made headlines in 2020 for organizing an armed protest against pandemic lockdown measures at the Michigan Statehouse, said that since the arrest..., he was 'pretty sure' the arrest 'just won me the primary.' Mr. Kelley had edged out a lead over the five candidates who remain on the ballot, according to the Detroit Free Press/EPIC-MRA poll, though not a substantial one.... The best-known candidates ... were among ... five candidates ... dropped from the Aug. 2 ballot because of forged signatures on their nominating petitions." Politico's story is here.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "The United States hopes the West's upcoming surge of military assistance to Ukraine -- along with Russia's increasing isolation on the world stage -- will drain ... Vladimir Putin's will to fight. The danger of Russia swallowing its neighbor and pursuing other revanchist ambitions is so high that Biden administration officials said they are willing to risk the global economic turmoil that could accompany a protracted war. In the devastated eastern city of Severodonetsk, street fighting continued Saturday, along with Russian airstrikes targeting bridges, Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai said. A complete cease-fire is needed to facilitate the evacuation of 568 people trapped in a chemical plant there, regional authorities said.... A former U.S. soldier who disappeared in Ukraine is alive, according to his family members, who have seen a video of him taken after he was believed to have been captured by Russian forces."~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Saturday are here.

Comments

[Akhilleus]

Now did Montana Gov. Thuggy have to go all the way to Italy to find someone new to beat up? I guess, to use one of the Decider’s choice insults, that makes him a sort of “internationalist”.

Just another in the many, many examples of how confederates have zero interest in actual governing, at least in any way that involves competency, skill, or basic humanity.

Their goal is typically twofold: power to stick it to their enemies, and access to public funds, the better to line their own pockets.

[Akhilleus]

Quiet part out loud, pt. 3,621

So I see where some evangelical clambake thingy in Nashville invited a twice impeached inciter of treason and murderous violence, noted adulterer, abuser of women, and alleged rapist to speak at their Jesus event. How very Christian of them. Oh yeah, they also invited authoritarian dictator wannabe, Benito DeSantollini to come dispense his own brand of hate and ignorance.

This is what these people stand for. The whole religious thing is a cover for lust for power and revenge on those who refuse to bow before them.

This is that old line about show me your friends and I can tell you who you are. If your besties are crooks, traitors, and supporters of violence, sexual abuse, and domination for the sake of control, you ain’t St. Francis of Assisi.

Golden Rule? Well, the gold part is accurate: money, money, money. The rule part? These people don’t recognize that any rule binds them. It doesn’t matter what the Bible says, or the Ten Commandments or the Constitution. All that matters is power.

And oh yeah, I was sorry that I used up the last of the ipecac last week listening to the facts of Jesus fave, the Fat Fascist. Any time I see the name Ralph Reed, I feel instantly sick to my stomach. Another hypocritical con man. The essence of the evangelical movement.

[P.D. Pepe]

AK: do you remember the John Birch Society? they in their day informed their followers that Eisenhower was a communist, the Soviet Union had faked the Hungarian revolution, Sputnik was a hoax, and Communists within the US government had planned for the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 to fail in order to help Fidel Castro. This group of nitwits appealed to is many white middle class Americans worried about various changes in the 1950's and 60's such as the civil rights movement and the expansion of the federal government. "Impeach Earl Warren" signs were everywhere.

I'm currently reading about the Birchers and it seems to me that the Republican politicians in those days fretted about the risks of alienating the Birchers in much the same way that Republicans worry about about running afoul of Trump's base.

and yes, Ralph Reed––always thought he looked like a mannequin in an ad for men's wear––is the weasel in the hen house of sick chickens.

[Akhilleus]

PD,

I do remember the John Birch Society. I was too young to remember the society’s heyday, but I recall my dad referring to them as nuts. They always seemed pretty fringey, but they had/have a significant impact on our present day political morass. The Koch family has deep roots in the Bircher movement. Daddy Fred was a big early supporter, which is rich considering the group’s anti-communist bent, when one recalls that he made his first millions working for Uncle Joe Stalin. But hypocrisy is an essential element of Republicanism, especially when there’s money to be made and power to be had, so that’s not at all surprising.

By the way, “weasel in the hen house of sick chickens” is my favorite line of the day.

[Ken Winkes]

In the now I’ve heard everything department:

“My vote to remain a no isn’t based on any evidence, it’s not based on any facts, it’s only based on my gut feeling and my own intuition, and that’s all I need,” Griffin said.

From: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/17/new-mexico-county-weighs-defying-order-certify-election-results/

On second thought, I’m sure I haven’t. At least he didn't say God told him.

[Patrick]

Gee, I wonder of Mr. Griffin plays poker like that. Maybe we should include him in a friendly game. Cash only.

[Patrick]

Conservatives, trying to make a coherent shape of their urges, and writing some of it down, have come up with a manifesto of nationalist conservatism.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/17/national-conservative-manifesto-edmund-burke-foundation-trumpism/

Et voila, they have managed to skip back all the way to the Peace of Augsburg, the catchphrase of which is "whose the rule, his the religion", to avoid repetitions of all those intra-Christian religious wars that killed so many europeans in the 16th century and before.

It didn't work. And as the author of the article notes,
"... self-named National Conservatives are building their house on sand, as the Bible might put it. There are as many views of the Christian mission on Earth as there are readings of the U.S. Constitution. The idea that a more overtly Christian nation would be a more harmonious nation — or even a more peaceful nation — has zero support from the bloody and contentious history of the past 2,000 years. "

Our founders knew lots of things, and one of them was state+religion = deaths. So of course our homegrown strict construction originalists want to recreate one of the really bad ideas (states enforcing religious morals) that we explicitly rejected when setting up the country.

Jesus! ... if you'll pardon the expression.