;)
June 8, 2022
Afternoon Update:
Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "A man with a gun and a knife was detained by police early Wednesday morning near Brett M. Kavanaugh's Maryland home after making threats against the Supreme Court justice, according to federal officials. According to a criminal complaint charging Nicholas John Roske with attempted murder of a federal judge, two U.S. Deputy Marshals spotted Roske get out of a cab in front of Kavanaugh's home at approximately 1:05 a.m. He looked at the marshals and then walked down the street. Not long after, Montgomery County got the call from Roske saying he was suicidal and came to kill Kavanaugh. Montgomery County Police Department officers were dispatched and arrested Roske without incident while he was still on the phone with 911, according to the affidavit. In his suitcase and backpack were a Glock 17 with two magazines and ammunition, pepper spray, a tactical knife, a hammer, a screwdriver, a crow bar, zip ties and duct tape, along with other gear. After his arrest, according to the affidavit, Roske told police he was upset over the leaked draft of an opinion that would overturn the constitutional right to abortion and also over the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Tex. He thought Kavanaugh would support looser gun laws." NPR's story is here.
Nina Totenberg of NPR: "At the Supreme Court, nothing is as usual this term after the leak of Justice Samuel Alito's draft opinion in the biggest abortion case in nearly a half-century. Normally at this time of year, the justices would be exchanging hundreds of pages of draft opinions and working with each other to resolve differences and reach consensus in the most challenging cases of the term. Instead, the court is riven with distrust among the law clerks, staff and, most of all, the justices themselves. The atmosphere behind the scenes is so ugly that, as one source put it, 'the place sounds like it's imploding.'... Justice Clarence Thomas in a speech a few weeks ago seemed to say he no longer trusts his colleagues." An interesting read, particularly the part where it appears CJ John Roberts may be ready to subvert the Fourth Amendment in order to find out who leaked Alito's draft opinion.
Michael Balsamo of the AP: "The Justice Department has named a team of nine people, including an FBI official and former police chiefs, to aid in a review of the law enforcement response to the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the team during a meeting in his office in Washington on Wednesday. The critical incident review is being led by the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. The review will include an examination of police policies, training and communication, along with the deployment of officers and tactics, the Justice Department said. It will also examine who was in command of the incident and how police prepared for potential active-shooter incidents."
CNN is live-updating a House hearing on gun violence. "Dr. Roy Guerrero, a pediatrician in Texas, testified during Wednesday's hearing and recounted a horrifying and disturbing scene he saw at Uvalde Memorial Hospital on the day of the mass shooting.... In a pre-recorded video, 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo described to lawmakers how she survived the Robb Elementary School massacre by smearing her friend's blood over herself and pretending to be dead.
Morgan Chesky & David Li of NBC News: "Embattled school police chief and newly sworn-in City Councilman Pete Arredondo on Tuesday missed what would have been his first meeting as a town lawmaker. Arredondo has kept an incredibly low profile since ... [a gunman] broke into Robb Elementary School on May 24 and killed 19 children and two teachers.... Mayor Don McLaughlin said he couldn't explain Arredondo's absence and didn't question the newly elected member's legitimacy on the council."
Elizabeth Dwoskin of the Washington Post: "After a weeks-long impasse, Twitter's board plans to comply with Elon Musk's demands for internal data by offering access to its full 'firehose,' the massive stream of data comprising more than 500 million tweets posted each day, according to a person familiar with the company's thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the state of negotiations. The move aims to end a standoff with the billionaire, who has threatened to pull out of his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter unless the company provides access to data he says is necessary to evaluate the number of fake users on the platform."
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The New York Times is live-updating Tuesday's primary election results here. The Times' front page currently also has links to Tuesday's results for each state.
CNN's story on the "takeaways" from yesterday's primary election results is here.
Here's a New York Times liveblog of California results.
Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: "Crime, homelessness and Democratic divisions over the issues took center stage Tuesday as a liberal prosecutor in San Francisco was recalled and seven states held primaries that helped mold each party's image heading into November's fight for control of Congress, statehouses and major cities across the country." ~~~
~~~ The recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin (D) -- whom critics called too lenient -- came as angst over liberal leaders' approach to public safety also loomed large in a contest for Los Angeles mayor, where Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and billionaire businessman Rick Caruso are projected to advance to a runoff. Caruso, a former Republican, has pitched himself as a different kind of Democrat who will fix long-simmering crises in the nation's second-largest city. ~~~
~~~ Soaring inflation, gun violence and abortion rights were on voters' minds Tuesday as they headed to the polls in California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota.... [In Iowa, Chuck] Grassley [R] won renomination, the AP projected, and he is favored to keep the seat. In the Democratic race to replace him, retired Navy Vice Adm. Mike Franken defeated former congresswoman Abby Finkenauer, who was also seen as a strong contender.... ~~~
~~~ In New Jersey's 7th Congressional District -- one of many the GOP hopes to flip this year -- Tom Kean Jr. was projected to defeat challengers who attacked him as not conservative enough.... Kean finished just over a percentage point behind incumbent Rep. Tom Malinowski (D) in 2020 and will face Malinowski again this fall under more favorable conditions for Republicans nationwide.... ~~~
~~~ And Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who has clashed with Trump, won renomination, the AP projected.
An AP story on the recall of San Francisco D.A. Chesa Boudin is here.
California. Don Thompson of the AP: "California's Democratic attorney general advanced to the November general election Tuesday and was on pace to face the Republican Party's endorsed candidate in a state that overwhelmingly favors Democrats. Attorney General Rob Bonta, the only Democrat in the five-way primary field, advanced after winning 57% of the vote. The GOP's endorsed candidate, Nathan Hochman, trailed with 17.5% of the votes counted. Hochman is a former federal prosecutor and former assistant U.S. attorney general."
New Mexico. Morgan Lee of the AP: "Republicans picked a seasoned TV broadcaster to take on New Mexico's incumbent Democratic governor [Michelle Lujan Grisham], nominating former network meteorologist Mark Ronchetti on his pledges to rein in state spending, shore up policing and unleash already record-setting oil production.... Separately, the Democratic nomination for attorney general went to Raúl Torrez, a second-term district attorney for Albuquerque and its outskirts. He defeated State Auditor Brian Colón to vie in an open race against Republican attorney and U.S. Marine veteran Jeremy Michael Gay of Gallup."
Kate Sullivan of CNN: "Actor Matthew McConaughey delivered impassioned and at-times emotional remarks at the White House press briefing on Tuesday, telling the stories of those who died in the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and urging more action on gun control. McConaughey, a Uvalde native, said he and his wife, Camila Alves, spent most of the past week with the families of those who were killed in his hometown. He showed pictures of their artwork and brought to the briefing room the green Converse shoes that one girl wore every day that were used to identify her body after the shooting. She had drawn a heart on one of the shoes. He said he needed to tell their stories to show how action needed to be taken to honor the lives of the 19 children and two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School last month." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A New York Times story is here. ~~~
~~~ Video of McConaughey's full remarks is here.
** Libby Cathey of ABC News: "A son of the oldest victim in the Buffalo supermarket shooting, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday in a hearing on domestic terrorism, called on lawmakers to 'yield your positions' if they're unwilling to meet 'the urgency of the moment' in the wake of the apparent racially-motivated attack that left 10 Black people dead, including his 86-year-old mother." (Also linked yesterday.) See also entry below about New York's Carl Paladino.
~~~ In yesterday's Comments thread, we had a discussion about Republican "contributions" to Congressional hearings. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post provides another example of what we were discussing: "Garnell Whitfield was testifying about his 86-year-old mother, Ruth, shot dead last month along with nine other Black people in a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket, allegedly by a white supremacist motivated by the racist 'great replacement' conspiracy theory.... Then, Republicans on the panel answered -- with accounts of violence committed by Black people and antifa. 'The Brooklyn subway shooter was a known Black supremacist who called for racial violence,' said Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.)."... [And so forth.] Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) ... spoke of 2016, when 'two Black racists killed eight police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge,' and of 2018, when 'members of antifa in Philadelphia assaulted two Marines.'... Since 2015, when the recent upsurge in political violence began, the brutality has been overwhelmingly perpetrated by the far right."
Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack is scheduled to hold its inaugural hearing on Thursday and according to the running order obtained by the Guardian, the panel will track the activities of the far-right Proud Boys group before and during the insurrection. At the start of the hearing, the panel's chairman Bennie Thompson and vice-chair Liz Cheney will make a series of opening arguments before outlining a general roadmap of how each of the six Watergate-style hearings are expected to unfold. For the second hour, Thompson and Cheney will hand control of the hearing to Tim Heaphy, the chief investigative counsel for the select committee, who will lead the questioning of two witnesses and walk through the key moments of the Capitol attack. The select committee is expected to start the questioning with testimony from Nick Quested, a British documentary film-maker who was embedded with the far-right Proud Boys group in the days and weeks leading up to January 6 and caught their activities on camera.... Heaphy is expected at that point to have the second witness, US Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards, testify about her recollections of those key minutes during which she was assaulted by another man who had been speaking with the Proud Boy member."
Katherine Faulders & John Fantucci of ABC News: "The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is in active discussions with former White House counsel Pat Cipollone regarding a potential public appearance in one of their upcoming hearings, according to sources familiar with the matter. Cipollone and former deputy White House counsel Pat Philbin previously met with committee investigators for an informal interview in April. Cipollone was one of the few aides who was with ... Donald Trump in the West Wing on Jan. 6. ABC News previously reported that in the days following the attack on the Capitol, he advised Trump that Trump could potentially face civil liability in connection with his role encouraging supporters to march on the Capitol."
Annie Karni & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "... House Democrats plan to use a landmark set of investigative hearings beginning this week to try to refocus voters' attention on Jan. 6, aiming to tie Republicans directly to an unprecedented plot to undermine democracy itself.... Democrats plan to use made-for-television moments and a carefully choreographed rollout of revelations over the course of six hearings to remind the public of the magnitude of Mr. Trump's effort to overturn the election, and to persuade voters that the coming midterm elections are a chance to hold Republicans accountable for it.... The select committee investigating the attack ... says it has approached its work in a sober, apolitical manner and will present its findings as such. But it is clear that the hearings, coming five months before midterm elections in which Democrats are bracing for big losses, carry high political stakes." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Dr. Eastman's actions in these few weeks indicate that his and President Trump's pressure campaign to stop the electoral count did not end with Vice President Pence -- it targeted every tier of federal and state elected officials. Convincing state legislatures to certify competing electors was essential to stop the count and ensure President Trump's reelection. -- District court Judge David Carter, in a ruling Tuesday ~~~
~~~ Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A federal judge Tuesday ordered John Eastman --- the attorney who developed ... Donald Trump's last-ditch strategy to overturn the election -- to disclose a batch of 159 sensitive documents to the Jan. 6 select committee, including another email that the judge said presented evidence of a likely crime. In a 26-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge David Carter also ordered Eastman to provide 10 documents about meetings Eastman held with a secretive pro-Trump group that included a 'high-profile' leader discussing strategies for overturning the 2020 election. The 10 documents in question related to three December meetings held by the group.... The single email that Carter said pertained to a potential crime was an exchange on Dec. 22, 2020, in which an unidentified attorney encouraged Trump's legal team not to pursue a case in court related to the Jan. 6 session of Congress.... The judge also determined that more than 400 of Eastman's remaining emails were legitimately privileged and not subject to disclosure to the Jan. 6 committee."
Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "From the first hours after the riot, Fox News's opinion hosts were spinning the riot as something other than it was -- although they'd just sent text messages to Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, asking him to get Trump to take a firmer hand against the violence. Over the past 17 months, Fox News's hosts (particularly Tucker Carlson) have been at the forefront of casting doubt on the riot and depicting efforts to investigate what happened as partisan. There is a news side at Fox, but it sits under the shadow of the late-night hosts. The effect is that Fox News has unique power to influence Republican politics and the Republican electorate. So of course the network is not going to carry hearings run by the House select committee probing the Jan. 6 attack."
Carol Leonnig, et al., of the Washington Post: "Shortly before pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Secret Service agents scrambled to try to secure a motorcade route so ... Donald Trump could accompany his supporters as they marched on Congress to demand he stay in power.... The hectic events that day followed nearly two weeks of persistent pressure from Trump on the Secret Service to devise a plan for him to join his supporters on a march to the Capitol from the park near the White House where he was leading a rally that he predicted would be 'wild.' The agency had rebuffed Trump's early entreaties, but the rushed effort on Jan. 6 to accommodate the president came as Secret Service personnel heard Trump urge his rally audience of nearly 30,000 people to march to the Capitol while suggesting he would join them.... Around New Year's Eve, Trump aides raised with Tony Ornato, a Secret Service official then temporarily serving as a deputy chief of staff in the White House, the president's desire to ride in a motorcade on Jan. 6 alongside marchers heading to the Capitol...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Let's be clear: Trump planned to ride, not walk alongside his wild supporters, the approximately two miles from the Ellipse to the Capitol building. When I first heard the bones of this story on the teevee, I was skeptical, because a few years before, Trump couldn't walk even 700 yards on pavement in Taormina, Sicily. None of the other G-7 leaders at the time, including Angela Merkel, who was wearing (sensible) heels, had any trouble making the short trek. Presumably, his steed would have been, not a white hourse, but the bulletproof Beast, so I don't quite see why the Secret Service would have found it so dangerous -- unless they had a good inkling of what would happen at the Capitol.
Betsy Swan of Politico: "The Jan. 6 select committee has interviewed the top Secret Service agent on ... Donald Trump's protective detail during the Capitol attack, according to three people familiar with the probe. Robert Engel was the special agent in charge on Jan. 6, 2021, meaning he was responsible for protecting the president from 'socks on to socks off' -- the whole work day. In that role, he rode from the White House to that day's 'Stop the Steal' rally with Trump in the presidential armored car called 'The Beast.' Engel was also backstage at the rally and close to the then-president throughout the day as violence unfolded when thousands of pro-Trump rally participants marched to the Capitol to try to disrupt congressional certification of the 2020 election. Because of that work, Engel has detailed insight on a key select committee focus: how the Secret Service handled the day's chaos. A Secret Service spokesperson said the agency has cooperated fully with the committee probe." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Peter Baker of the New York Times: "No matter how vociferously [Donald] Trump claimed otherwise, neither [Jared] Kushner nor Ivanka Trump believed then or later that the election had been stolen, according to people close to them. While the president spent the hours and days after the polls closed complaining about imagined fraud in battleground states and plotting a strategy to hold on to power, his daughter and son-in-law were already washing their hands of the Trump presidency. Their decision to move on [to Miami & to Kushner's little Middle East money-making project] opened a vacuum around the president that was filled by conspiracy theorists like Rudolph W. Giuliani and Sidney Powell, who relayed to Mr. Trump farcically false stories of dead voters, stuffed ballot boxes, corrupted voting machines and foreign plots.... Mr. Kushner's decision to withdraw from the most consequential moment of the Trump presidency left few effective counterweights to the plotters seeking to subvert the will of the voters to hang on to power.... One of the most striking realizations that emerged from the book research [which Baker & his wife Susan Glasser did] was how many people around Mr. Trump did not believe the election had been stolen but kept quiet or checked out, including White House officials and campaign aides.
Sara Murray of CNN: "Steve Bannon, set to go to trial next month for defying a congressional subpoena, has subpoenaed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection as he builds his defense.... Bannon ... was charged with two counts of contempt of Congress in November 2021 after refusing to testify and produce documents. He has pleaded not guilty. Last week, Bannon's legal team subpoenaed 16 lawmakers and congressional staffers to testify at the July trial and produce documents, according to one of Bannon's attorneys and copies of the subpoenas provided to CNN. The subpoenas were aimed at all nine members of the select committee, three committee staffers and General Counsel for the House of Representatives Douglas Letter. Bannon also subpoenaed House Democratic leadership, including Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Rep. Jim Clyburn.... Historically it has been a challenge to compel members of Congress to testify because their legislative activity is protected under the Constitution's Speech and Debate Clause." ~~~
~~~ Marie: This must be Bannon's idea of a joke: Subpoena me??!! I'll subpoena you.!!
Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "In a new indictment that prosecutors filed against [the Proud Boys]..., members refer to the insurrection as a glorious revival of 1776 again and again, with almost comic predictability.... In the indictment prosecutors disclose highly revealing text exchanges between leaders Enrique Tarrio -- who was not present that day -- and another member later on Jan. 6. The exchanges appear to refer back to a document Tarrio possessed called '1776 returns,' which reportedly contains a detailed scheme to attack government buildings.... Right now the evidence appears strong that Proud Boys members did scheme to thwart a legitimately elected government from taking power with coordinated violence." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
What? Trump Stole Stuff? Unpossible! Zachary Cohen & Kylie Atwood of CNN: "House Democrats are investigating ... Donald Trump's 'apparent failure to account for gifts from foreign government officials while in office' after learning there may be thousands of dollars-worth of items that are either missing or were not tracked properly, according to a new letter sent to the National Archives by the House Oversight and Reform Committee chairwoman.... The committee says it has received information from the State Department that 'indicates the Trump administration "did not prioritize this obligation" and failed to comply with the law that governs foreign gift reporting during President Trump's final year in office,' the letter states. 'As a result, the foreign sources and monetary value of gifts President Trump received remain unknown,' it adds. 'The Department of State also stated that it was unable to determine the identities of some government officials who received foreign gifts during the Trump Administration, as well as the sources of those foreign gifts.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
A Trumpy Juror Causes a Mistrial in a Build-the-Wall Scam Case. Colin Moynihan of the New York Times: "A federal judge declared a mistrial on Tuesday in the case of Timothy Shea, a Colorado man accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a nonprofit group that had collected $25 million to privately fulfill Donald J. Trump's promise to create a barrier between the United States and Mexico. The declaration came after 11 jurors sent a note last week to Judge Analisa Torres of Federal District Court in Manhattan, asking that she remove the 12th, who they said had spoken of a 'government witch hunt' and refused to deliberate based on evidence. The note, which Judge Torres read aloud in court, said the 12th juror had exhibited 'political bias,' claiming fellow jurors were 'liberals' who had reached a verdict before hearing evidence. 'Not true at all,' the others wrote."
Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on Wednesday to host a three-day summit meeting of Latin American leaders, where he hopes to demonstrate his ability to confront the economic and migration issues that fuel the region's most serious challenges. Even before his first meeting, the president is the subject of a boycott by some of the most important heads of state, who have refused to attend because Mr. Biden excluded several dictators in the region. His agenda for the meeting -- which includes a series of lofty-sounding announcements -- is being met with deep skepticism. And a caravan of thousands of migrants is making its way north through Mexico in the hopes of crossing into the United States while Mr. Biden is in California, a small but visible reminder of the problems at the border that have plagued his presidency."
Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: Treasury Secretary Janet "Yellen's role in crafting and selling the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which Congress passed in March [2021], is being parsed amid an intensifying blame game to determine who is responsible for the highest rates of inflation in 40 years.... Ms. Yellen acknowledged last week that she had gotten it 'wrong,' putting the Biden administration on the defensive and thrusting herself into the middle of a political storm.... Ms. Yellen faced tough questions on inflation when she testified before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday and is likely to confront similar queries on Wednesday, when she appears before House lawmakers.... Ms. Yellen said at the hearing on Tuesday that current levels of inflation were 'unacceptable.' She pointed to 'disruptions caused by the pandemic's effect on supply chains, and the effects of supply-side disturbances to oil and food markets resulting from Russia's war in Ukraine' as the primary reasons for high prices." ~~~
~~~ David Lynch of the Washington Post: "The global economy may be headed for years of weak growth and rising prices, a toxic combination that will test the stability of dozens of countries still struggling to rebound from the pandemic, the World Bank warned Tuesday. Not since the 1970s -- when twin oil shocks sapped growth and lifted prices, giving rise to the malady known as 'stagflation' -- has the global economy faced such a challenge. The bank slashed its annual global growth forecast to 2.9 percent from January's 4.1 percent and said that 'subdued growth will likely persist throughout the decade because of weak investment in most of the world.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Edward Wong of the New York Times: "The State Department and the Defense Department have failed to assess civilian casualties caused by a Saudi-led coalition in the catastrophic war in Yemen and the use of American-made weapons in the killings, according to an internal government report. The report from the Government Accountability Office focuses on attacks in recent years by a Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Houthi rebels for control of Yemen. The alliance has carried out deadly strikes using combat jets and munitions that have been supplied and maintained largely by American companies with the approval of the State Department and the Pentagon. The report spans the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations.... [This and an earlier report] cannot be released publicly because the executive branch has determined they contain classified information or 'controlled unclassified information.'"
Alan Suderman & Jim Mustian of the AP: "The FBI has seized the electronic data of a retired four-star general who authorities say made false statements and withheld 'incriminating' documents about his role in an illegal foreign lobbying campaign on behalf of the wealthy Persian Gulf nation of Qatar. New federal court filings obtained Tuesday outlined a potential criminal case against former Marine Gen. John R. Allen, who led U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan before being tapped in 2017 to lead the influential Brookings Institution.... The court filings detail Allen's behind-the scenes efforts to help Qatar influence U.S. policy in 2017 when a diplomatic crisis erupted between the gas-rich Persian Gulf monarchy and its neighbors. 'There is substantial evidence that these FARA violations were willful,' FBI agent Babak Adib wrote in a search warrant application, referring to the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Allen also misrepresented his role in the lobbying campaign to U.S. officials, Adib wrote, and failed to disclose 'that he was simultaneously pursuing multimillion-dollar business deals with the government of Qatar.'" The New York Times story is here.
Ed White of the AP: "Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and dozens of other women who say they were sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar are seeking more than $1 billion from the FBI for failing to stop the now convicted sports doctor when the agency first received allegations against him, lawyers said Wednesday. There's no dispute that FBI agents in 2015 knew that Nassar was accused of assaulting gymnasts, but they failed to act, leaving him free to continue to target young women and girls for more than a year."
Manuel Roig-Franzia of the Washington Post: One Sunday in March 1974, Martha Mitchell called Bob Woodward & invited Carl Bernstein & him to come to her Manhattan apartment & look through the papers in her husband John Mitchell's home office. John had just been indicted for a second time and had left Martha. "'Have at it, boys,' she told [the reporters when they arrived at her Fifth Avenue home]. 'Please nail him. I hope you get the bastard.'... They were there for hours.... The documents provided material that informed The Post's coverage of Watergate, but Woodward can only remember the trip producing one big scoop." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here: "The Omicron subvariants known as BA.4 and BA.5 now represent 13 percent of new coronavirus cases in the United States, up from 7.5 percent a week ago and 1 percent in early May, according to new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The spread of the subvariants adds more uncertainty to the trajectory of the pandemic in the United States, where current case counts are likely to be a significant underestimate. But whether it leads to a major new wave of infections, or spikes in hospitalizations and deaths, remains unclear, scientists cautioned. The new figures, which were released on Tuesday, are based on modeling, and the C.D.C.'s estimates have missed the mark before."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here.
Carolyn Johnson & Laurie McGinley of the Washington Post: "A panel of independent vaccine experts recommended Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration authorize a coronavirus vaccine developed by the Maryland biotechnology company Novavax, paving the way for the fourth shot in the United States. The experts' vote was 21 in favor of authorizing the Novavax vaccine, with one abstention. But it remained unclear when doses will become available. A decision by the FDA is unlikely to happen immediately because a review of data regarding manufacturing remains ongoing. Novavax on Friday submitted updated manufacturing information to support its vaccine authorization."
Florida. Ian Hodgson of the Tampa Bay Times: "Florida's COVID-19 data was so inaccurate, incomplete and delayed during the first months of the pandemic that government officials and the public may not have had necessary information to determine the effectiveness of the state's COVID-19 precautions and the best plan to fight the virus, according to a state report released Monday. Covering the state's pandemic response from March to October 2020, the year-long analysis by the State Auditor General found missing case and death data, unreported demographic details, and incomplete contact tracing as the virus spread across the state. In addition, the report concluded that state health officials did not perform routine checks on the data to ensure accuracy and did not follow up on discrepancies."
Beyond the Beltway
California. I Picked up This Free Chair & All I Got Was $36,000. Cathy Free of the Washington Post: A grandmother, Vicky Umodo, who had moved to San Bernardino County to be near her son's family answered a Craigslist listing for free furniture because her new home was bare. She and her son picked up an upholstered chair, and the owner also gave her some kitchenware & other household supplies. When she was arranging the chair at her new home, she found $36,000 in envelopes stuffed in the seat cushion. She returned the money to the man who had given her the chair. He said his deceased uncle, who had previously owned his house, had told a family member that he had squirreled away cash around the house; the man had previously found $1,000 and figured that was all there was. He gave Umodo a $2,200 reward to buy a refrigerator.
New York Congressional Race. Eric Hananoki of Media Matters: "Carl Paladino, who announced that he's running for Congress, previously shared a post on Facebook which pushed conspiracy theories about the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. The Facebook post portrayed the tragedies as false flag attacks meant to help Democrats 'revoke the 2nd amendment and take away guns' and claimed 'the Texas shooter was receiving hypnosis training' apparently under the direction of the CIA.... Paladino announced on June 3 that he is running as a Republican for New York's 23th Congressional District (which includes part of the Buffalo suburbs) after Republican Rep. Chris Jacobs said that he would drop his reelection bid. Jacobs made the move after he lost party backing for saying he would support gun safety measures. Rep. Elise Stefanik, the third-ranked Republican member of Congress, announced that she is supporting Paladino's campaign.... Donald Trump also recently praised Paladino." ~~~
~~~ Marie: So a former President* & the No. 3 GOP House honcho are supporting a candidate who is either stark staring mad or is purposely exploiting the mass murder of Americans. This is not laughable; it's disgusting.
Utah. Christopher Flavelle of the New York Times: "Climate change and rapid population growth are shrinking the [Great Salt L]ake, creating a bowl of toxic dust.... If the Great Salt Lake, which has already shrunk by two-thirds, continues to dry up, here's what's in store: The lake's flies and brine shrimp would die off -- scientists warn it could start as soon as this summer -- threatening the 10 million migratory birds that stop at the lake annually to feed on the tiny creatures. Ski conditions at the resorts above Salt Lake City, a vital source of revenue, would deteriorate. The lucrative extraction of magnesium and other minerals from the lake could stop. Most alarming, the air surrounding Salt Lake City would occasionally turn poisonous. The lake bed contains high levels of arsenic and as more of it becomes exposed, wind storms carry that arsenic into the lungs of nearby residents, who make up three-quarters of Utah's population." And more. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Perhaps we should ask Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) what to do. In a 2019 Senate floor speech rejecting the Democrat's proposal for a Green New Deal, he had a unique -- and extremely odd -- plan to "solve" the effects of climate change: "The solution to climate change is ... the serious business of human flourishing. The solution to so many of our problems, at all times and in all places, is to fall in love, get married and have some kids.... More people mean bigger markets for more innovation. More babies mean forward-looking adults, the sort we need to tackle long-term, large-scale problems." Those babies and their loving parents had better not live anywhere near the Great Salt Lake, or they'll die from arsenic poisoning way before the babies grow up, become scientists, and find solutions.
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here.: "As Russia continues to pound towns and villages across eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin is trying to deepen its hold on occupied territory in the south, restoring transportation links and other key infrastructure to secure a 'land bridge' from Russia to the Crimean Peninsula. Russia's defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, said on Tuesday that its military, working with Russian Railways, had repaired about 750 miles of track in southeastern Ukraine and set the conditions for 'full-fledged traffic' to flow from Russia, through Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, to occupied territory in Kherson and on to Crimea. He also said that water was once again flowing to Crimea through the North Crimean Canal -- an essential source of freshwater that Ukraine cut off in 2014 after the Kremlin annexed the peninsula, a move that Ukraine and its Western allies have termed illegal.... For Ukrainians, the announcements were a further demonstration that Russia intended to break Ukraine apart and pillage its natural resources.... Russia's foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, held talks on Wednesday with Turkish officials but announced no progress toward allowing grain exports from Ukraine.... The World Bank on Tuesday approved $1.49 billion of additional financing for Ukraine, part of the total support package of over $4 billion. Nearly $2 billion of the funding has already been disbursed."
~~~ The Times' summary of developments Tuesday is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Wednesday are here: "Ukrainian troops are locked in a brutal fight against Russian forces who advanced into Severodonetsk, a city central to the Kremlin's bid to capture eastern Ukraine.... As Russia's blockade of Black Sea ports raised fears of a global food crisis, Ukraine said it was seeking a safe corridor for its agricultural exports. Kyiv wants security guarantees, worried that Moscow could target convoys after a recent attack on a grain depository. Russia said two ports it recently captured have been demined and are ready to ship grain. Western officials accused Moscow of weaponizing food.... Satellite photos from eastern Ukraine show pulverized city blocks and fields freckled with artillery craters. Nearly 800 civilians are reportedly sheltering in bunkers beneath a chemical factory in Severodonetsk. A Ukrainian intelligence agency said Russia turned over the bodies of 210 fighters from the city of Mariupol, most of them killed while making a last stand at the Azovstal steel plant." ~~~
~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Wednesday are here.\
Israel. Betrayal in the Defense of Self-Interest Is No Vice. Patrick Kingsley of the New York Times: "Almost a year after losing power, Israel's former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has finessed a strategy to regain it: voting against his beliefs and those of his strongest supporters. In one of the strangest episodes in Israeli political history, Mr. Netanyahu's right-wing opposition alliance voted on Monday against extending the law that applies Israeli civilian statutes to Israelis in the occupied West Bank. Thanks to Mr. Netanyahu's intervention, the legislation failed to pass, potentially hindering a key part of his electoral base, the West Bank settlers."
U.K. Stiff Upper Lip. Mark Landler & Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried to lift himself off the mat on Tuesday after a stinging rebuke by his Conservative Party. But with a fresh electoral challenge looming and Britain's economy in a downward spiral, there are few easy ways for Mr. Johnson to reverse his fading fortunes. Mr. Johnson's too-close-for-comfort victory in a no-confidence vote on Monday evening left him badly damaged, with plenty of openings for would-be coup plotters. A pair of Parliamentary elections on June 23 could trigger another move against him if, as expected, the Conservatives lose at least one of the seats. Even if Mr. Johnson clings to power, he faces a hard slog, with surging food and fuel prices, and predictions that Britain could slip into a recession. With more than 40 percent of his lawmakers having turned on him, pushing contentious legislation through the Parliament will be no easy feat."
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Reader Comments (17)
Dear Mike Lee (R-Moron),
We already have plenty of “forward looking adults, the sort we need tackle long-term, large scale problems”, thank you very much, and their best solution for solving many of those problems is to get rid of ignorant assholes like you. So, bye now.
When faced with incontrovertible evidence of wrongdoing or pure evil perpetrated by people and ideologies they support, Traitors reflexively go on the attack with a barrage of “But what about, blah, blah, blah?…”, smugly confident that this sort of response, standard for many six year olds, takes care of the problem.
It doesn’t. “What about?…” NEVER answers any questions. And in this instance not only does it not offer any serious responses, it offers even more proof of the original problem, that being guns in the hands of the wrong people.
Here’s how that goes:
“People were murdered by a racist with a high powered weapon!”
“Oh yeah? Well how about other people being murdered by a racist with a high powered weapon? Hmph!”
Normal person reaction to this response: “These idiots are adding additional evidence to the case the first guy is making. Are they morons?”
Gunknobber reaction: “Heh-heh. We sure showed them!”
The simplified version is this: “Yes! You’re right! But shut up, shut up, shut up!”
Wickipedia has a loooong, interesting entry on the 'boogaloo boys.'
They're aligned with the 'proud boys' in that they are calling for a
civil war, or 1776 type revolution. They don't seem to have any
plans beyond the revolution, or at least, haven't let them be known.
I suppose the plan would be to get rid of all liberals and put a
dictator in charge (Trump?) of the remaining conservatives.
You can pick them out of a crowd because of their uniform;
Hawaiian shirts and camo pants.
If I have a garage sale this summer guess what will be in it; the
shirts I bought in Hawaii 30 years ago.
THE JANUS FACE IN THE MEADOWS:
Susan Glasser in an in- depth piece on Mark Meadows says there is no doubt that he "played a double game the likes of which has rarely been seen, even in the swamps of Washington." He told both sides what they wanted to hear. The episode between Meadows and John Boehner is worth your while.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/mark-meadows-was-trumps-matador-for-his-fake-election-lies
I'll be interested to hear how the Jan. 6 gang handles this obvious sly Mongoose whose loyalty was only to himself––no wonder he was the only chief of staff Fatty fancied––for awhile.
Inflation perspective from our neighbor to the north:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-inflation-1.6424388
My, that Biden is one powerful guy.
He's apparently building back better there, too.
Last night on MSNBC Charles Blow ranted about the fact that a film star had to give an impassioned speech at a presser in order to make salient points about gun control as though that would make a difference to those whose fealty is to the gun lobby and/or to their own sick sense of what will grease their Republican wheels. What Blow neglected to say, if indeed he would have said, is that McConaughey was just as angry.
Question:
If you're going to have a big confab with countries to your south, is it a good idea to exclude the three countries whose governments you don't like when doing so causes your biggest trading partner in that geographic array to stay home?
I'm thinking maybe not...
@Ken Winkes: Now that you put it that way, maybe not. It also leaves egg on Kamala Harris' face because she was supposed to be improving relations with South & Central American leaders. Anyway, I hope everybody who shows up gets a nice serape to wear for the group photo.
A student who survived the GOP sponsored mass murder in Uvalde will testify before Congress today. Okay, kids, whadaya think? Will the Traitors listen in respectful silence since their gun lobby sycophancy is at least partially responsible for the carnage, or will they attack this kid for not having the good GOP sense to go to school everyday with a 9mm Glock, a backup piece, plenty of extra clips, and a few flash-bangs packed in their backpack next to the math book, homework papers, Pokémon cards, string cheese and apple sauce for snacks.
Cuz otherwise, they don’t wanna hear it. If third and fourth graders today aren’t smart enough to realize that today could be the day when they have to kill or be killed, well, fuck ‘em. Right?
Let's say Der Trumpenmeister did go with the crowd down to the Capitol on January 6. What do you think he would have done there? What do you suppose he imagined would happen? Did he think the waters would part, pence would drop to his knees & all the representatives of the Great American People would give him a stiff-armed salute & pledge allegiance forevah? I can't quite fathom what he had in mind.
Ken: My understanding is that we have sent certain diplomats into those three countries so it's not as if they are entirely neglected.
So Laura Ingraham has announced the reason that Traitor TV won’t be carrying the Jan. 6 committee hearing, and it’s not what you think.
“Unlike other networks, we cater to our viewers!” So there.
Bet you didn’t think it was gonna be a journalisticy reason, amirite?
The idea is that Traitor TV viewers have been so conditioned to winger lies, Trump conspiracy theories and lies, white supremacy cheerleading, gunknobbing, support for insurrection, and hatred of democracy, that they have no interest in truth or facts.
Cuz “we cater to our viewers”. Is this the golden rule of winger “journalism”? Looks like it.
Marie,
I don’t think he had any real intention of being among the great unwashed. His entire career he’s been careful to plan and instigate bad shit but not to leave fingerprints. He’s the guy who ordered his army of thugs and assassins to show up for a government overthrow, promising it “will be wild”. But when it came to the actual fighting, he was content to retreat to the White House so’s he could have some Egg-Zecutive time, sitting in his bedroom in his XXXL tighty-whities munching on Doritos and jerking off while his minions tried to hang the half-pence.
Yes he’s a liar, a crook, and a traitor, but he’s also a coward.
I have a different take on the Pretender's intentions (tho' I wonder at myself spending any time at all thinking about TFG, now that he's been mostly off stage for a year and a half).
Here it is. I'd guess it was a typical Trumpian theatrical urge, picturing himself there at the head of a crowd of admirers, thrilled once again by the adulation of the masses who love him...little more than that. Just a will o' the wisp, a seeming, like his imaginings about how to bring China or North Korea to their knees...
Like most "thinking" he did and does, that's as far as his plans to accompany his mob to the Capitol went. It's not thinking at all. Just an image.
We know his thinking per se never goes beyond the venal. There is no Pretender thought that doesn't involve immediate personal profit, revenge or spite.
The rest is just Donnie posturing, imagining himself as an heroic figure a part of him knows he is not. In a psyche so stuffed with grandiosity, there's no room left for thought.
I often read RC early, with coffee, and then scan later in the day for updates and comments.
As I did the latter at the end of this morning, I was struck once again by how much work Marie puts into producing such topical, timely and useful information for us fortunate readers.
Thank you, Marie, again, for your perseverance and good editor's eye, and for all the time you put in.
Also ... what was Trump thinking he would do January 6? I believe he lives in a fantasy world, and in that world his followers would have prevailed and burned the EC ballots, and he would have walked out on the balcony to declare martial law until all state lege's reviewed and resubmitted their electors. By January 19. On January 20 at noon he would have declared the election in default because all states had not complied, and he would demand a House vote. All hell would be loose, and for weeks/months MCs would seek a resolution (like in 1876). DiJiT would then seek a SCOTUS award. We would be in deep doodoo, to quote Bush Sr.
I imagined Trump doing is SUV drive by like he did when he was in the hospital with covid and he got his secret service to take him around the block waving and giving thumbs ups to his minions. A lap or two around the Capitol and back to the White House for diet cokes and McDonald's and to see how many tv channels were talking about him.
Climbing the Montaigne for a better view of Fat Trump far below (or should that be bellow?).
Every now and then I re-read one of Michel Eyquem, Seignure de Montaigne’s essays and find that knowledge acquired since the first reading makes the whole thing dance a jig, like you read about. Maybe even a slip jig (6/8 versus 9/8 time signature, hippity-hop, baby!).
Today, here in RC World (Marie Burns, proprietor), there occurred some back and forth bandying about whether or whither Trump, concerning the March to Mayhem on Jan. 6. Would he walk? Lead the invading horde (in his fantasy) like Caesar on a chariot? Or do the Queen Elizabeth wave to his marauding maniacs from the protected confines of a Secret Service SUV?
Montaigne has a few thoughts for our consideration in his essay “On Coaches”.
Monty is not a fan of grandiose kingly conveyances. He mentions, with barely concealed contempt-humor, the various silly contraptions designed by Trump-like narcissists in ages past:
Mark Antony, drawn through the streets of Rome, minstrel girl at his side (natch), by lions harnessed to a coach (cheering crowds a block away from the road, no doubt). Heliogabulus (a teenage emperor of the 3rd C) drawn in ornate carriages by (variously) tigers, dogs, stags, and once, while naked, by four similarly naked slave girls. (The thought of a naked Trump—even riding in a coach—demands a lethal injection of ipecac.) “The Emperor Firmus [known as the 4th C usurper] had his coach drawn by ostriches of such extraordinary size that he seemed to fly rather to roll along” (Style points for Firmus; plus, the plebes didn’t have to hang around long demonstrating obsequious flattering with the guy jetting past at 40 mph. Fatty would not approve.)
Monty also takes time to tear into the obscenely gaudy displays demanded by Trumps in ages past. He points out the disgusting sliminess of those (like Trump) pretending to be generous rich patrons, reminding readers that “It is all too easy to stamp ideas of generosity on a man who has the means of fulfilling them with other people’s money.”
He also points out the migraine inducing, self-aggrandizement inherent in Trumpian displays designed to wow these droolers. “Such [displays], says Aristotle, have an effect only on the lowest of the low [Fox viewers]…no serious man of judgement can hold them in esteem.”
Nuff said.
(Montaigne quotes, from the excellent 1991 M.A. Screech translation.)