;)
Tuesday
Jun282022
June 29, 2022
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
An Historic Moment for a Court Gone Rogue. Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be sworn in as the Supreme Court's first Black female justice at noon Thursday, just minutes after her mentor Justice Stephen G. Breyer makes his retirement official. Jackson, 51, was chosen for the court by President Biden after Breyer this year announced his plans to retire. She was confirmed April 7 but has been waiting for Breyer to finish out the last term of his four-decade judicial career. Breyer's work on the court will end with release of the term's remaining opinions and possibly with the announcement of some new cases accepted for next term. Jackson will be sworn in at a private ceremony at the Supreme Court that will be live-streamed on the court's website. Breyer and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will administer the oaths Jackson must take. Breyer sent a letter to Biden on Wednesday that said he planned to end his service on the high court at noon."
Stefano Pitrelli & Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a Catholic and vocal supporter of abortion rights, received Holy Communion on Wednesday during a papal Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.... The ceremony at the Vatican stood in marked contrast to the decision by conservative San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone to instruct the priests in his diocese to withhold Eucharist from Pelosi because of her stance on abortion. In September, Pope Francis had said, 'I have never refused the Eucharist to anyone,' although he later added that he had never knowingly encountered during Communion a politician backing abortion rights and reiterated the church position that abortion is 'murder.' But Francis had said that the decision on granting Communion to politicians who support abortion rights should be made from a pastoral point of view, not a political one."
Larry Neumeister of the AP: "Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani who was a figure in ... Donald Trump's first impeachment investigation, was sentenced Wednesday to a year and eight months in prison for fraud and campaign finance crimes by a judge who said fraud had become 'a way of life' for Parnas. Parnas, 50, had sought leniency on grounds that he'd cooperated with the Congressional probe of Trump and his efforts to get Ukrainian leaders to investigate President Joe Biden's son. U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken didn't give Parnas credit for that assistance, which came only after the Soviet-born businessman was facing criminal charges. But the judge still imposed a sentence lighter than the six years sought by prosecutors. The judge also ordered Parnas to pay $2.3 million in restitution." The Washington Post's story is here.
A Bad Week for Sexual Predators. Tom Hays & Bobby Calvan of the AP: "Fallen R&B superstar R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday for using his fame to subject young fans -- some just children -- to systematic sexual abuse."
Jim Mustian of the AP: "The FBI has opened a widening investigation into sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans going back decades, a rare federal foray into such cases looking specifically at whether priests took children across state lines to molest them.... More than a dozen alleged abuse victims have been interviewed this year as part of the probe that's exploring among other charges whether predator priests can be prosecuted under the Mann Act, a more than century-old, anti-sex trafficking law that prohibits taking anyone across state lines for illicit sex. Some of the New Orleans cases under review allege abuse by clergy during trips to Mississippi camps or amusement parks in Texas and Florida. And while some claims are decades old, Mann Act violations notably have no statute of limitations."
Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "President Biden, speaking Wednesday on the second day of a NATO summit, unveiled plans for an increased U.S. military presence in Europe, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The new deployments are to include a permanent headquarters for the U.S. 5th Army Corps in Poland -- a move that ... Vladimir Putin has long resisted -- as well as the movement of two more F-35 fighter jet squadrons to the United Kingdom. Leaders of NATO member states decided Wednesday to invite Sweden and Finland to join the alliance, announcing the move a day after Turkey agreed to drop its opposition to their bids. The addition of the two Nordic countries will bring the alliance to 32 members and underscores how Russia's war in Ukraine is transforming regional security.... Bulgaria says it is expelling 70 Russian diplomats on grounds that they pose a threat to national security. The diplomats must depart by Sunday." ~~~
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday narrowed the sweep of its landmark 2020 decision declaring that much of eastern Oklahoma falls within Indian reservation lands, allowing state authorities to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians on the reservations. The ruling left in place the basic holding of the 2020 decision, McGirt v. Oklahoma, which said that Native Americans who commit crimes on the reservations, which include much of the city of Tulsa, cannot be prosecuted by state or local law enforcement and must instead face justice in tribal or federal courts. The vote on Wednesday was 5 to 4, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was not on the court when the McGirt case was decided, casting the decisive vote."
Nebraska. Marie Paúl of the Washington Post: "Jeff Fortenberry, a former Republican congressman from Nebraska, was sentenced Tuesday to two years of probation after he was found guilty of lying to federal agents about illegal campaign contributions from a Nigerian billionaire. Fortenberry, who resigned this year amid the trial, was convicted in March of one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators -- each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. But while prosecutors were seeking a six-month sentence, U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. sided with the defense, which had requested probation. Noting Fortenberry's 'exceptional character,' Blumenfeld also ordered the politician to pay a $25,000 fine and perform 320 hours of community service.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: That's funny, because Martha Stewart was sentenced to 5 months in prison & 5 months of home detention for lying to federal investigators. Then again, she's only a girl so she couldn't possibly have had Fortenberry's "exceptional character." BTW, Stewart also lost her job as chair of her eponymous media company, so it's not as if she suffered no personal setbacks as a result of her conviction. (NYT link.)
Reuters, republished in Star News: "At least 51 migrants have died after being trapped inside a sweltering truck found abandoned in Texas, authorities say, as two Mexican nationals tied to the smuggling incident were charged in a US federal court. The deceased migrants, 39 men and 12 women, were discovered on Monday on the outskirts of San Antonio in one of the deadliest human trafficking tragedies in recent history. Two suspects identified as Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao and Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez, both Mexican citizens, have been charged with possessing firearms while residing in the United States illegally, according to court documents and US authorities. Investigators traced the truck's vehicle registration to a San Antonio address that they placed under surveillance, and arrested the two men separately when each was seen leaving the residence. A third suspect, described as a US citizen who drove the truck, has also been taken into custody and was expected to be charged, but he remained hospitalised as of Tuesday evening, according to a Mexican official."
~~~~~~~~~~
I don't care that they have weapons. They're not here to hurt me. Take the f'ing mags away. Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here. -- Donald Trump, before his speech at the Ellipse, Jan. 6, 2021 ("mags" refer to magnetotromic metal detectors) ~~~
~~~ Luke Broadwater & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "The first White House aide to testify publicly before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack provided a damning account on Tuesday of how ... Donald J. Trump, knowing his supporters were armed and threatening violence, urged them to march to the Capitol and sought to join them there, privately siding with them as they stormed the building and called for the hanging of the vice president. The testimony from the aide, Cassidy Hutchinson, was extraordinary even by the standards of Mr. Trump's norm-busting presidency and the inquiry's remarkable string of revelations this month. In fly-on-the-wall anecdotes delivered in a quiet voice, she described how frantic West Wing aides failed to stop Mr. Trump from encouraging the violence or persuade him to try to end it, and how the White House's top lawyer feared that Mr. Trump might be committing crimes as he steered the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis."
The New York Times' live updates of Cassidy Hutchinson's startling testimony are here: Luke Broadwater: "... Donald J. Trump knew the crowd he amassed in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, was armed and could turn violent, but wanted security precautions lifted because he said his supporters were not there to attack him, according to a junior White House aide who testified on Tuesday to the House committee investigating the attack. In extraordinary blow-by-blow testimony based on episodes she witnessed in the West Wing of the White House, Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff, revealed that the president had demanded to march to the Capitol with his supporters even as the riot was underway, at one point trying to grab the steering wheel of the presidential limo from a Secret Service agent when he was told he could not go.... As rioters stormed the Capitol, chanting 'Hang Mike Pence,' Mr. Trump endorsed the violence. Ms. Hutchinson testified that Mr. Meadows said of Mr. Trump, 'He doesn't want to do anything,' and 'He thinks Mike deserves it. He doesn't think they're doing anything wrong.'... Inside the White House, Mr. Trump became enraged when he learned that William P. Barr, the former attorney general, had publicly shot down his false allegations of a stolen election. He beat the table and threw dishes, splattering ketchup on the wall, Ms. Hutchinson said, adding that it was not the first time she had seen the president smash crockery in a rage." ~~~
~~~ Katie Benner: "Hutchinson provided many bombshells. The shocking description of Trump wrestling the Secret Service for control of his car on Jan. 6 so he could go to the Capitol. Portraying Meadows, her former boss, as a man who abdicated responsibility to the nation and hoped to be pardoned. And saying Trump knew that his supporters had dangerous weapons when he asked them to march on Congress.... Cheney says that Trump allies have been intimidating committee witnesses in messages that sound more like Mafia warnings than communications with a former president's aides. 'He wants me to let you know he's thinking about you. He knows you're loyal.'" ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman: "Trump, basically a one-man response team for himself, is going after Hutchinson on his social media site, Truth Social. He's using a familiar tack, that he hardly knows 'who this person, Cassidy Hutchinson, is.'" ~~~
~~~ Peter Baker: "To see a retired three-star general [Michael Flynn] who swore an oath to defend the country and the Constitution plead the Fifth when asked if he believed in the peaceful transfer of power in America is another stunning moment today." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates are here. Politico's story, by Kyle Cheney & others, is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) An AP story is here.
You can watch the full hearing on this committee Webpage. If you missed the hearing, you missed a sliver of American history that, should the country eventually right itself, your grandchildren will read about. ~~~~
~~~ OR, if your busy, you can watch Stephen Colbert's recap, which ends with a stirring rendition of the national anthem, as reimagined by former general Michael Flynn, which has, to recommend it, way easier-to-remember lyrics than the old "Star-Spangled Banner":
Peter Baker of the New York Times: "... the breathtaking testimony presented by his former aide, Cassidy Hutchinson, at Tuesday's House select committee hearing portrayed an unhinged commander in chief veering wildly out of control as he desperately sought to cling to power and egged on armed supporters to help make it happen. The president that emerged from her account was volatile, violent and vicious, single-minded in his quest to overturn an election he lost no matter what anyone told him, anxious to head to the Capitol to personally disrupt the constitutional process that would finalize his defeat, dismissive of warnings that his actions could lead to disaster and thoroughly unbothered by the prospect of sending to Congress a mob of supporters that he knew included people armed with deadly weapons.... Mr. Trump, who regularly accuses his critics of being 'crazy' and 'psycho,' bombarded his new social media site during the hearing on Tuesday with posts assailing Ms. Hutchinson and denying the most sensational anecdote she provided to the committee."
Alan Feuer & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "Knowing that his crowd of supporters had the means to be violent when he exhorted them to march to the Capitol -- and declared that he wanted to go with them -- could nudge Mr. Trump closer to facing criminal charges, legal experts said.... The revelations in the testimony to the House select committee by Cassidy Hutchinson ... provided new evidence about Mr. Trump's activities before the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol and chipped away at any potential defense that he was merely expressing well-founded views about election fraud.... Ms. Hutchinson described how [White House Counsel Pat] Cipollone worriedly pulled her aside [January 3, 2021] after learning that Mr. Trump was considering marching with his supporters to the Capitol after his speech near the White House on Jan. 6 -- a decision, he suggested, that could have major consequences. 'We're going to get charged with every crime imaginable,' Mr. Cipollone said, by Ms. Hutchinson's account." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Knowing what he knew, Cippolone still decided weeks later it was okay to defend Trump in his second impeachment trial. As Stephen Gillers laid out in Just Security on January 27, 2021, "A legal ethics rule -- the 'advocate-witness rule' -- says that when a lawyer should be a witness at trial, she cannot also be an advocate in the courtroom. The Senate chamber is not, of course, an ordinary courtroom, but that should make no difference. The goal is the same -- to get the facts and find the truth.... If the impeachment trial were in a courtroom, Cipollone could not head, or even be part of, the defense team." It would be worthwhile to review Cippolone's assertions in the trial to see if he made assertions that contradicted his knowledge as a direct witness. It's no wonder Cippolone refuses to testify.
James Risen of the Intercept: "With her surprise testimony at Tuesday's hearing of the House Jan. 6 ;committee, former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson broke open the inside story of the coup plotting that was underway at the White House before and during the insurrection and in the process suddenly raised Donald Trump's legal jeopardy.... Hutchinson's stunning testimony, the most dramatic since the House hearings started, recalls that of Alexander Butterfield, the White House aide during Watergate who revealed to the Senate Watergate Committee that President Richard Nixon had a taping system in place in the Oval Office.... During Tuesday's hearing, Hutchinson painted a vivid picture of Trump's insane behavior as he sought to prevent Biden from assuming office."
Tim Miller of the Bulwark: "[Tuesday] afternoon a 26-year-old former assistant showed more courage and integrity than an entire administration full of grown-ass adults who were purportedly working in service to the American people, but had long ago decided to serve only their ambition and grievance.... Everything that all of us Enemies of the People had warned about concerning Donald Trump was borne out in her testimony. He was chaotic, reckless, megalomaniacal, fascistic, abusive, cowardly, petulant, anti-American.... What [Cassidy] Hutchinson revealed is something we all privately knew, but now have sworn testimony of every single person around Trump saw what we saw, firsthand. And yet they did nothing.... I hope others learn from her example." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Another person Hutchinson made look really bad was her immediate boss, Mark Meadows, who seemed from her testimony to have busied himself scrolling through his phone on Insurrection Day & did nothing to prevent or even mitigate the catastrophe he had signaled to her was coming. Then he asked Trump for a pardon.
Marie: Hutchinson, who just turned 26, is getting some well-earned praise for her bravery, especially since Liz Cheney offered evidence that Trump & allied thugs were threatening witnesses, Mafia-style & Trump himself called Cassidy's testimony "sick" & "fraudulent" during the hearing. But much praise also should go to Cheney, who appears to have questioned Cassidy in recorded interviews and who did question Cassidy during Tuesday's hearing. Cheney -- and whatever staff assisted her -- engineered the Q&A during the hearing, along with the recorded interjections, into a nearly seamless narrative that rounded out a damning portrait of the dangerous, unhinged lunatic to whom the American people had entrusted the nuclear codes.
Dumb-de-Dumb-Dumb. Drew Harwell of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's supporters online sought to undercut stunning testimony Tuesday to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, seeking to belittle Cassidy Hutchinson's claims that she was told Trump had lunged for the steering wheel of his vehicle and attempted to throttle a member of his security detail when they refused to take him to the Capitol.... The presidential limousine, known as 'the Beast,' is so heavily fortified that they argued it would be 'physically impossible' for Trump to cross from the back cabin to the driver's seat." The problems with their theory: (1) it is possible to reach from the back of the Beast to the front seat; (2) Trump didn't take the Beast that day; "he actually rode in a Secret Service SUV." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I knew (2) because during this part of Hutchinson's testimony the committee rolled video of Trump in the SUV on January 6 while Cheney explained what the video depicted. But the dumbest denier is, not surprisingly, Trump himself, who claimed on social media that it ";wouldn't even have been possible to do such a ridiculous thing." That is, he's so unhinged he doesn't know what vehicle he was in when he attacked the driver & tried to grab the steering wheel.
Tuesday's testimony reminded RAS of Baby Trump. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I'm down with that, but an old novelty song by the Statler Brothers kept running through my mind, though I replaced the top line of the refrain -- "counting flowers on the wall" -- with "tossing ketchup at the wall." Without a doubt, the former POTUS* is just as loony as the subject of the song. (Of course, the Statler Brothers' loon is harmless; Trump is a danger to the entire world.) It helps that in this particular performance at the Grand Old Opry, the group is introduced by a fellow named Archie, who arranged to look a lot like a fellow named Adolf:
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "A lawyer for Virginia Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and a supporter of ... Donald J. Trump's efforts to stay in power after the 2020 election, told the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot that he saw no reason for her to testify before the panel. The letter from her lawyer, Mark Paoletta ... came after the committee made a fresh request to secure an appearance from Ms. Thomas, who had exchanged text messages with the White House chief of staff at the time, Mark Meadows, in which she urged on efforts to challenge Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s victory.... Mr. Paoletta allowed that if the committee revealed additional information, he could reconsider his position."
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "John Eastman, an architect of Donald Trump's last-ditch bid to subvert the 2020 election, has dropped a lawsuit aimed at blocking the Jan. 6 select committee from obtaining his phone records. In a late Tuesday filing, Eastman voluntarily dismissed the suit, claiming that he'd been assured the committee was only seeking his call logs -- not the content of any messages held by his carrier, Verizon. The select committee has long contended that it lacks the authority to obtain message content."
Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "Rudolph W. Giuliani has emerged as a central figure in a Georgia criminal investigation of efforts by Donald J. Trump and his allies to overturn his election loss in the state, with prosecutors questioning witnesses last week before a special grand jury about Mr. Giuliani's appearances before state legislative panels after the 2020 vote, the witnesses said. For Mr. Giuliani, the developments are the latest in a widening swath of trouble.... He also participated in a scheme to create slates of fake presidential electors in 2020 that is now the subject of an intensifying investigation by the Department of Justice.... The crux of his conduct [in Georgia] came during two hearings in December 2020, when Mr. Giuliani appeared before state legislative panels and spent hours peddling false conspiracy theories about secret suitcases of Democratic ballots and corrupted voting machines. He told members of the State House, 'You cannot possibly certify Georgia in good faith.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Dana Rubenstein of the New York Times: "Two days after Rudy Giuliani claimed a worker had assaulted him at a Staten Island supermarket, the once-vaunted former mayor was spending Tuesday morning like many men his age: complaining about his aches and pains. 'My shoulder hurts like hell and I've got a big lump on the back,' he said, smiling incongruously as he spoke.... 'And I don't complain.' Despite the video that quickly emerged showing that the supermarket worker in question had merely tapped Mr. Giuliani on the back, and despite a Staten Island prosecutor's decision to reduce the charges against the man from a felony to misdemeanors, Mr. Giuliani held fast to his narrative.... Little or none of [what he said] appeared to be true." ~~~
~~~ Rudy -- Keeping It Classy. Carl Campanile & Jorge Fitz-Gibbon of the New York Post: New York City “Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday that Rudy Giuliani should be investigated for filing a false police report over an alleged assault at a Staten Island supermarket.... 'I looked at the video and someone needs to remind former Mayor Giuliani that falsely reporting a crime is a crime,' Adams said during an unrelated press conference in East Harlem.... 'Tell Adams to go f--k himself,' he told The Post Tuesday. 'What a f--king scumbag.'"
Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: “As the Justice Department expands its criminal investigation into the efforts to keep ... Donald J. Trump in office after his 2020 election loss, the critical job of pulling together some of its disparate strands has been given to an aggressive, if little-known, federal prosecutor named Thomas P. Windom. Since late last year, when he was detailed to the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, Mr. Windom, 44, has emerged as a key leader in one of the most complex, consequential and sensitive inquiries to have been taken on by the Justice Department in recent memory, and one that has kicked into higher gear over the past week with a raft of new subpoenas and other steps." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The New York Times is live-updating Tuesday's primary election results in several states. Worth scrolling through. The life-threatening slap on the back to his father Rudy did not help Andrew Giuliani, who lost New York's GOP gubernatorial primary to Rep. Lee Zeldin. Tina Peters, indicted friend of MyPillow Guy & election denier extraordinaire, came in third in a three-way race for Colorado secretary of state. Rep. Mary White-Life Miller (R-Ill.) beat out Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) in a newly-gerrymandered district. And most sadly, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) survived a challenge. More on Boebert, world-class Constitutional scholar, below. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of election results are here.
Supremes Again Rule Against Democracy, Black Americans. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday reinstated a congressional voting map in Louisiana that a federal judge had said diluted the power of Black voters. The court's three liberal members dissented. The Supreme Court's brief order, which included no reasoning, blocked the judge's order and granted a petition seeking review in the case. The justices will, the order said, hold the Louisiana case while the court decides a similar one from Alabama in its next term." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) An NBC News story is here.
Chris Hedges on Substack: "The Supreme Court is relentlessly funding and empowering Christian fascism.... Fascists achieve power by creating parallel institutions -- schools, universities, media platforms and paramilitary forces -- and seizing the organs of internal security and the judiciary. They deform the law, including electoral law, to serve their ends. They are rarely in the majority." Whyte O., who recommended Hedges' essay, noted that Hedges can be over the top, but here he has the goods. I agree with Whyte. I think what has happened is not that Hedges has not been over the top but that facts on the ground have caught up with his assertions. As if to offer more evidence ... ~~~
~~~ Boebert Unaware of First Amendment. Adela Suliman & Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who faces a primary election Tuesday, says she is 'tired' of the U.S. separation of church and state, a long-standing concept stemming from a 'stinking letter' penned by one of the Founding Fathers. Speaking at a religious service Sunday in Colorado, she told worshipers: 'The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the church. That is not how our Founding Fathers intended it.' She added: 'I'm tired of this separation of church and state junk that's not in the Constitution. It was in a stinking letter, and it means nothing like what they say it does.'... Gwen Calais-Haase, a political scientist at Harvard University, told The Washington Post that Boebert's interpretation of the Constitution was 'false, misleading and dangerous.' Calais-Haase said she was 'extremely worried about the environment of misinformation that extremist politicians take advantage of for their own gains.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Texas. Ariana Perez-Castells, et al., of the Texas Tribune: "Abortions up to about six weeks in pregnancy can resume at some clinics in Texas for now after a Harris County District Court judge granted a temporary restraining order that blocks an abortion ban that was in place before Roe v. Wade. In the ruling issued Tuesday, Judge Christine Weems ruled that the pre-Roe abortion ban 'is repealed and may not be enforced consistent with the due process guaranteed by the Texas constitution.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.
Hundreds of Auditors Cheated on Their Ethics Exams. Matthew Goldstein of the New York Times: "Ernst & Young, one of the world's largest auditing firms, has agreed to pay a $100 million fine after U.S. securities regulators found that hundreds of its auditors had cheated on various ethics exams they were required to obtain or maintain professional licenses -- and that the firm did not do enough to stop the practice. The penalty, announced Tuesday, is the largest ever imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission against a firm in the auditing business, which occupies a unique ethical perch in the financial world. These firms are in charge of verifying the accuracy of companies' financial statements and issuing warnings to investors if they identify dubious accounting practices." MB: I don't suppose the Ernst & Young honchos appreciate the multiple ironies here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted last year of trafficking young sexual abuse victims to financier Jeffrey Epstein over the course of a decade, on Tuesday was sentenced to 20 years in prison.... [Judge Alison] Nathan said she chose a prison term longer than what she believed the guidelines called for because it was 'important to note [Maxwell's] lack of acceptance of responsibility.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Ted v. the Muppets, a Sequel. Adela Suliman of the Washington Post: "Young Muppet Elmo ... who has been 3½ years old since 1984 ... proudly got his coronavirus vaccine, weeks after the United States made the shots widely available for children under 5.... Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) shared the clip on Twitter -- and blasted the popular PBS/HBO children's show for allowing Elmo to 'aggressively advocate for vaccinating children UNDER 5.' He added: 'You cite ZERO scientific evidence for this.'... In a statement Tuesday, Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, said the public service advertisement featuring Elmo was produced in partnership with the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics." MB: I am personally upset that Elmo didn't give 3-year-olds a scientific seminar on the vaccine.
Beyond the Beltway
Texas. Another Extended Assault on the First Amendment. Arelis R. Hernández & Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "A month after 19 children and two educators were killed at Robb Elementary School..., journalists who have flocked to Uvalde, Tex., from across the country to tell that story have faced near-constant interference, intimidation and stonewalling from ... authorities ... [including] bikers claiming to have police sanction. Journalists have been threatened with arrest for 'trespassing' outside public buildings. They have been barred from public meetings and refused basic information about what police did during the May 24 attack. After several early, error-filled news conferences, officials have routinely turned down interview requests and refused to hold news briefings.... Harassment became so bad that the [San Antonio News-Express]'s photo director told photographers to document their treatment by police."
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "President Biden is leading an effort to manipulate the oil market at a scale the world has rarely seen, embracing cartel-like tactics in an aggressive but risky attempt to undermine Russia's war effort in Ukraine. At the Group of 7 nations meeting this week in the Bavarian Alps, Mr. Biden has attempted to assemble an upside-down version of OPEC ... with the goal of soothing consumers burned at the gasoline pump and ... helping to speed the end of the war. Instead of limiting supply to maximize revenues..., as a cartel does, Mr. Biden is trying to minimize how much one particular seller -- Moscow -- reaps from each barrel. He led his Group of 7 counterparts to agree on Tuesday to a plan that would cap the price of Russian oil, as a way of driving down the revenue President Vladimir V. Putin is deriving from his most important export."
** Steven Erlanger, et al., of the New York Times: "NATO's top official said Tuesday that Turkey had dropped its objections to the membership of Sweden and Finland, two historically nonaligned nations that, alarmed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have asked to join the military alliance. Turkey's reversal is a blow to President Vladimir V. Putin, who in justifying the invasion of his neighbor bitterly protested previous expansions of NATO -- and Ukraine's efforts to join the alliance -- as a threat to his country's security. Should Finland and Sweden be formally adopted into the alliance, as is widely expected, Russia will look across 800 miles of border with Finland at one of NATO's newest members. The announcement came after Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met for four hours with Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and President Sauli Niinisto of Finland, as NATO heads of state gathered in Madrid for an annual summit. The 30-nation alliance operates by consensus, which meant that Turkey effectively held a veto over their membership applications."
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Reader Comments (15)
I’m sure members of the Secret Service go through intensive training (the best places to get into drunken incidents, Seoul, the White House grounds, etc.), but now it looks like they’ll have to begin teaching agents how best to fend off a fat baby president* with tiny hands trying to choke them out from the back seat of a limo. The crazy shit taxpayers are on the hook for…
@Akhilleus: You're right. As Stephen Colbert pointed out, Secret Service agents (drunk, hung-over or sober) are trained to protect the president* or president from dangers presented by others, not to protect themselves from the president*. I expect there is by now a new session titled, "Defensive Driving & Proper Etiquette When the President* Tries to Choke You."
The tiny hands probably saved the agent from any real harm.
I imagine Trump saw himself going to the Capitol thinking of himself as George Washington crossing the Delaware (street) leading the red coats against the hated institutions of his failure.
RAS -- good image, GW on the boat. But don't forget, DiJiT has absolutely no knowledge or understanding of history, or of artistic representation of historic events, unless they are shown on cable TV.
I'm guessing his medulla was cycling something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fjEViOF4JE
I want an itemized bill sent to the former resident *presidents
family for broken china, wall cleaning, wasted ketchup, and all the
stuff they probably took to marred-a-lago to sell in the gift shop.
After all, our taxes paid for all the stuff in the peoples white house,
except for gifts and bribe stuff from foreigners.
"I hardly knew ye"––-the common malarky this miserable piece of blubber says of anyone who, in his estimation, is a turncoat. Cassidy Hutchinson was the perfect person to be interviewed: her view of the "boys in the band" and its leader only a few feet away from her office gave her an ideal lookie-see and in earshot. Her testimony was credible, riveting and revealed once again a man completely off his chump––-looney––-but more seriously, ready to kill with the help of "his people"––-( let's remember he said he was "the chosen one"–-a biblical reference or–- we can look at it as a mob boss boast).
And I don't know about you kids, but if I ever was privy to someone pulling off a tablecloth with food contents and throwing it against a wall, I'd conclude that someone needs to be sent somewhere for deep dish therapy.
Good news about Recep Tayyip––that wily yippy –-I–-O–– Erdogan dropping his objections to Sweden and Finland's Nato membership.
@Forrest Morris: I was thinking along the same lines, but it also occurred to me that this might be the only crime Trump would be charged with: misdemeanor destruction of government property. On the other hand, Trump would probably get off by lying that the dishes he was accustomed to flinging at the wall were his personal property: some china Melanie picked up at Tiffany's or some such place.
@Patrick: pretty sure I found dashcam video of Trump's assault on his SUV driver. Better turn off the audio as it gives "conflicting" information about the circumstances here, but that's probably just part of a Trump White House* cover-up.
After yesterday, I am thinking we are living in a total alternate universe. What kind of chief executive throws the many china services there are at the White House? Maybe he was disgruntled because they preferred their china gold-rimmed, and the Lenox was platinum-rimmed? How is a CE supposed to deal with such a mockery, such a debasement of their tastes as residents? And, forsooth, he WAS the "f***ing president," so he could choke whomever he pleased, having left his beheading sword at home that morning... Alas and alack, there just ain't no respect for a fabulous CE like himself... s/
If someone wrote this stuff for a thriller political novel, it would be too unbelievable. As a friend suggested, we are now officially a banana republic, except "yes, we have no bananas today..."
@Jeanne: We're currently watching that old TV show 'The West Wing.' I keep thinking while watching all the shenanigans that this
stuff couldn't possibly go on in real life.
Boy was I wrong. Trump's White House time outdoes that TV show.
Maybe that was his thinking. "I'll star in a White House sit-com, or
mystery or comedy 'cause when you're a star they'll let you grab it."
Jeanne, etiquette dictates that you serve the KFC with the platinum china and the McDonald's is served on the gold china. To mix them up is a great faux pas.
When I lived in Chicago in the late 1960s, the original Mayor Richard Daley was presiding, and it happened that Queen Elizabeth & her husband came to town. Chicago renamed State Street "Elizabeth II Avenue" for a day and the city held a great banquet to honor the Queen & Prince Philip. As protocol requires, it fell upon Mayor Daley to escort the Queen to her place at the table, and he did so following the dictates his best manners: when the pair reached the place set for Elizabeth, Mayor Daley said gallantly, "Sit here, Queen."
As amusing as I found that, I would not have smiled had I thought that one day we would have a president* whose manners were so atrocious that a host would have to purchase Chinet & ketchup for the occasion of his visit, lest the president* fling the good porcelain at the wall should his chief of staff ring up with some news that displeased him. And woe betides a host whose dining room is adorned with priceless hand-painted murals or some other precious decoration.
Speaking of kings and queens stopping by for a bite, one of my all time favorite presidential anecdotes involves a royal visit to Washington DC in the spring of 1939. All the appropriate trappings of such a visit obtained, and upon departing the District, the royals, King George VI and the Queen Mum (the present queen’s mum, that is) were invited to the Roosevelt “cottage” at Hyde Park where they were served hot dogs. The queen inquired of her host how one managed this peculiarly American comestible. FDR offered his preferred method of shoving the thing in one’s mouth ‘til it was gone. Haha!
After dinner, as night came on, FDR, noticing the king growing sleepy, reached over, patted his leg and said “Young man, I think it’s time for you to get a good night’s sleep”. The king later related that he wished his own ministers would treat him with such kind concern.
Needless to say Roosevelt declined to break any china during the royal visit. And war was on his horizon, not an inconvenient story from the AP.
One shudders to think what George VI would have heard from the Orange Monster. “You’re the king, fuck ‘em all. Grab all the pussy you want!”
That confederates are unfazed by such atrocious vulgarity and unprecedented violence speaks volumes about their immunity to horrible actions as long as it comes from their side.
So the former guy knew his “people” were armed. He wanted to go to the Capitol, and Steve Benen at Maddowblog posits that he was planning to give a speech on the Capitol steps. It might be worth having another conversation with the speechwriters. Like in the movie Class Action: ask the bean counter.
I was wondering about this. If Thomas/Alito/Gorsuch/Kavanaugh/Coney Barrett want to ban vasectomies, will this Monty Python ditty become their theme song?