;)
March 17, 2022
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Maegan Vazquez & Nikki Carvajal of CNN: "Speaking at the annual Friends of Ireland Luncheon on St. Patrick's Day at Capitol Hill, [President] Biden said Putin is 'a murderous dictator, a pure thug who is waging an immoral war against the people of Ukraine.'"
** Forget Our Votes; Follow Our Tweets. Mariana Alfaro & Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "More than two dozen Senate Republicans are demanding that President Biden do more to aid war-torn Ukraine and arm its forces against Russia's brutal assault, after voting last week against $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine.... '"We should send more lethal aid to Ukraine which I voted against last week" is making my brain melt,' tweeted Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).... 'They voted to exonerate Trump for this specific reason, which was to withhold aid from Zelensky, and here they are again, opposing aid to Zelensky,' Schatz said. 'So now they're doing it twice.'"
Kathy McCormack of the AP: "New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said Thursday that he will veto a GOP-backed redistricting plan that would tilt the state's 1st Congressional District toward Republicans while solidifying the Democrats' advantage in the 2nd District, shortly after legislators passed the bill.... The Senate's 13-11 vote in favor of the plan on Thursday followed House passage of the bill in January on a vote of 186-164. Republicans lead by a narrow majority in the Legislature. Overturning a veto requires a two-thirds majority in both bodies."
The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Rescuers on Thursday began pulling some survivors from the wreckage of a theater in the besieged port city of Mariupol, an adviser to the city's mayor said, a day after an attack destroyed the building where hundreds of people were believed to be taking shelter. The extent of casualties was unknown as Russian forces continued to shell the area, he said, hampering recovery efforts. In an overnight address, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine alleged that a Russian aircraft had 'purposefully dropped a huge bomb' on the theater.'... Cease-fire talks between the Russians and Ukrainians were expected to enter their fourth day on Thursday, but increasingly harsh comments by ... Vladimir V. Putin ... were a dim portent for progress, despite conciliatory public statements by negotiators from both sides.... His statements came amid an increasingly brutal war of attrition unfolding on the ground and in the air, with fierce battles raging in the suburbs of Kyiv, Ukrainian forces claiming to have shot down more Russian aircraft, and Russian warships on the Black Sea launching missiles at towns around the southern city of Odessa.... British intelligence reports say that Russian forces have 'made minimal progress on land, sea or air in recent days,' and that they 'continue to suffer heavy losses.' Still, Russian forces have taken control of large sections of Ukraine, particularly in the east and south. The battle for the skies above Kyiv raged overnight on Thursday, with the Ukrainian military claiming to have shot down 10 Russian planes and missiles. The remnants of one rocket tore through a residential high-rise and killed at least one person, officials said."
Andrea Rosa of the AP: "Rescuers searched for survivors Thursday in the ruins of a theater blown apart by a Russian airstrike in the besieged city of Mariupol, while a ferocious bombardment left dozens dead in a northern city over the past day, authorities said. Hundreds of civilians had been taking shelter in the grand, columned theater in central Mariupol after their homes were destroyed in three weeks of fighting in the besieged port city. Nearly a day after the airstrike, there were no reports of deaths. With much of the city cut off from the flow of information, there were also conflicting reports on whether anyone had emerged from the rubble. 'We hope and we think that some people who stayed in the shelter under the theater could survive,' Petro Andrushchenko, an official with the mayor's office, told The Associated Press. He said the building had a relatively modern basement bomb shelter designed to withstand airstrikes." ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE. Michael Luciano of Mediaite: Sen. Rand Paul appeared on a Newsmax show where he opined that Ukraine should pay for the military aid the U.S. is sending them. But, hey, Paul does "have sympathy for Ukraine." MB: Thanks to Akhilleus for the lead, and do see his commentary in today's thread. How is it that Li'l Randy is so dense he doesn't understand that Ukrainians are fighting our war? Ukrainians of every age are the missile fodder that is protecting the people of all Western countries. I believe President Zelensky explained that to, you know, members of Congress yesterday. I feel guilty that all I'm doing is sending money & supplies when little children are dying in this war on the West. And all Randy wants is a check. Oddly enough, it never occurred to him that the check he wants should come from Russia, not Ukraine.
Jacob Knutson of Axios: "President Biden will speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping Friday as 'part of our ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication between the United States and the PRC,' press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Thursday. Biden and Xi will in part discuss Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine after reports indicated that Moscow had asked China's government for military equipment and other assistance to support its war."
Elisha Fieldstadt of NBC News: "American basketball star Brittney Griner's detention in Russia has been extended until May, the Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing the Khimki Court of the Moscow Region.... Griner has been detained for weeks after Russian officials said they found vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis in her luggage at the Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here.
Michael Shear & Sheryl Stoldberg of the New York Times: "Jeffrey D. Zients, an entrepreneur and management consultant who steered President Biden's coronavirus response through successive pandemic waves and the largest vaccination campaign in American history, plans to leave the White House in April to return to private life, President Biden said in a statement. Mr. Zients will be replaced as the White House coronavirus coordinator by Dr. Ashish K. Jha, the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and a practicing internist who has urged an aggressive approach to the pandemic in frequent television appearances. Dr. Jha will coordinate the government's Covid-19 response from inside the White House, officials said." An NBC News story is here. ~~~
~~~ President Biden's statement, via the White House, is here.
~~~~~~~~~~
Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine continued Wednesday, as an airstrike hit a theater in the besieged port city of Mariupol where hundreds of residents were sheltering.... On the square near the destroyed theater, the word 'children' was written in large Russian lettering, satellite photos show. And in the northern city of Chernihiv, where heavy fighting has been ongoing for weeks, 10 people were killed by Kremlin forces while waiting in line for bread, U.S. and Ukrainian officials said.... The attacks come as President Biden for the first time publicly called ... Vladimir Putin a 'war criminal.'"
Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: "... according to American intelligence estimates..., more than 7,000 Russian troop[s have been killed in Russia's war on Ukraine]..., greater than the number of American troops killed over 20 years in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.... And the Russian military has also lost at least three generals in the fight, according to Ukrainian, NATO and Russian officials.... It is a staggering number amassed in just three weeks of fighting, American officials say, with implications for the combat effectiveness of Russian units.... 'Losses like this affect morale and unit cohesion, especially since these soldiers don't understand why they're fighting,' said Evelyn Farkas, the top Pentagon official for Russia and Ukraine during the Obama administration.... One recent [Pentagon intelligence] report focused on low morale among Russian troops and described soldiers just parking their vehicles and walking off into the woods." ~~~
~~~ For Example. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Wall Street Journal chief foreign affairs correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov has written a lengthy new report illustrating the serious setbacks Russia is facing in its invasion by focusing on the small city of Voznesens'k, which the reporter writes has 'dealt Russian forces one of the most humiliating defeats of the war.' Although Voznesens'k is a small city of only around 35,000 people, it is located in a strategically important area that could have given Russian forces a back door to assault the key port city of Odessa.... 'Russian survivors of the Voznesensk battle left behind nearly 30 of their 43 vehicles -- tanks, armored personnel carriers, multiple-rocket launchers, trucks -- as well as a downed Mi-24 attack helicopter, according to Ukrainian officials in the city,' [Trofimov] writes. 'Russian forces retreated more than 40 miles to the southeast, where other Ukrainian units have continued pounding them. Some dispersed in nearby forests, where local officials said 10 soldiers have been captured.'... Read the full report here." ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE. Tim Lister, et al., of CNN: "A theater where hundreds of people had taken shelter in Mariupol was bombed on Wednesday, according to local authorities, as hundreds of thousands of people remain trapped in the coastal Ukrainian city that has been encircled for weeks by Russian forces.... Military strikes also hit a building that houses the Neptune Pool, just over four kilometers (approximately 2.5 miles) from the theater, according to videos shared by a local official. Its authenticity has been confirmed by CNN. Maxim Kach, a Mariupol city government official, said the building was for civilians, with only women and young children hiding within it and not military personnel.... A Ukrainian official accused Russian troops of holding some 400 people captive at Mariupol's Regional Intensive Care Hospital." Included is a satellite image showing the word "children" spelled out in large Russian letters in empty parking lots on two sides of the Drama Theatre.
Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "The Treasury Department on Wednesday gave a new international body a list of 50 Russian elites that the United States views as its top priorities for enacting new sanctions, as global law enforcement steps up its hunt for the assets of oligarchs tied to the Kremlin. Treasury officials provided the list to the Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs (REPO) task force, a new multinational body involving the United States and more than a half-dozen allied nations, for the group's first meeting. The task force will pool the resources of the countries' law enforcement divisions to track down the assets of Russian oligarchs stashed overseas, a difficult task complicated by the opaque or complicated financial instruments frequently used by Russian financial elites to hide their holdings from public view. Treasury publicly released 28 of the 50 names on the list, including ... Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian mega-billionaire Alisher Usmanov...."
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post suggests a fairly easy way for Americans to help Ukraine's war effort: boycott products made by companies that are funding Russia's war. Milbank lists a number of them, and it's likely you have purchased some of these products. (I have.) Milbank advises, "Go to Jeffrey Sonnenfeld's website via Yale's School of Management to make sure you aren't funding the businesses that are funding Putin's war machine -- and reward the vast majority of companies that share Zelensky's belief that peace is more important than profit.
Raphael Minder & Michael Forsythe of the New York Times: "Spain, which has pledged to seize the suspected superyachts of Russian oligarchs targeted for sanctions..., on Wednesday impounded the third such vessel, one of the world's biggest superyachts, in Spanish territorial waters this week. The ship was impounded in the Spanish port of Tarragona, pending an inspection to establish its exact ownership, Spain's transport ministry said in a statement. The ship, called the Crescent, was registered in the Cayman Islands.... The Crescent, valued by the SuperYachtFan website at $600 million, appears to be the sister ship of the slightly larger, slightly more expensive Scheherazade, a 459-foot superyacht that U.S. officials said could be associated with ... Vladimir V. Putin...."
The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "... President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine delivered an urgent, impassioned plea to Congress on Wednesday for more military aid to defeat Russia, describing the threat his nation faces as an attack on the democratic values championed by the United States.... In a remarkably direct appeal by a wartime leader to policymakers in Washington, Mr. Zelensky addressed lawmakers on a large screen in a movie theater-style auditorium under the Capitol, invoking the memories of Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks -- when the United States came under attack -- as he pleaded for support saying, 'we need you right now.'" Includes reporters' comments on President Zelensky's speech. Missing: the usual snark attacks. (Also linked yesterday.)
Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "President Biden explicitly called ... Vladimir Putin a 'war criminal' Wednesday, after weeks of avoiding the term and at a time when his administration is still determining whether that label officially applies. Biden made the dramatic accusation seemingly off the cuff, in response to a reporter's shouted question.... 'I think he is a war criminal,' Biden said, after delivering comments on the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.... [Press Secretary Jen] Psaki depicted it as a heartfelt remark. 'The president's remarks speak for themselves,' she said. 'He was speaking from his heart and speaking from what we've seen on television, which is barbaric actions by a brutal dictator through his invasion of a foreign country.' She reiterated Wednesday that the State Department is conducting a legal review to determine whether the actions in Ukraine are war crimes."
Kaitlin Collins, et al., of CNN: "President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine.... 'The world is united in our support for Ukraine and our determination to make (Russian President Vladimir) Putin pay a very heavy price,' Biden said before signing a presidential memorandum at the White House to deliver the military assistance.... 'This could be a long and difficult battle. But the American people will be steadfast in our support of the people of Ukraine in the face of Putin's immoral, unethical attacks on civilian population.' According to the White House, the $800 million in security assistance will provide Ukraine with: 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 100 drones, 'over 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenade launcher and mortar rounds,' 25,000 sets of body armor, 25,000 helmets, 100 grenade launchers, 5,000 rifles, 1,000 pistols, 400 machine guns, 400 shotguns, as well as "2,000 Javelin, 1,000 light anti-armor weapons, and 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The Pentagon will expand the size and scope of weaponry being rushed to Ukraine, the Biden administration said Wednesday, including for the first time armed drones capable of inflicting significant damage to Russian ground units while U.S. officials continue to search for sophisticated antiaircraft systems owned by European allies.... The new aid package approved Wednesday includes 100 Switchblade drones, small unmanned aircraft packed with explosives that crash into targets in 'kamikaze' fashion, said a U.S. official.... The administration has declined to detail what specific additional European surface-to-air missiles could be sent to Ukraine, but [President] Biden said Wednesday that the United States has identified and is helping Ukraine acquire additional 'longer-range antiaircraft systems and the munitions for those systems.'"
Rick Noack of the Washington Post: "Russia was ordered to halt its invasion of Ukraine by the United Nations' top court Wednesday, in a preliminary decision that appeared to have largely symbolic significance. Ukraine initiated the case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague to contest ... Vladimir Putin's official explanation for entering the country as an effort to end a 'genocide' of pro-Russian separatists. The court voted 13 to 2 in favor of ordering Russia to 'suspend' military operations in Ukraine and to prevent armed units that are directed or supported by Russia from taking further action. Of the two judges in opposition, one was from Russia, the other from China." (Also linked yesterday.)
AP: "The Council of Europe on Wednesday expelled Russia from the continent's foremost human rights body in an unprecedented move over Moscow's invasion and war in Ukraine. The 47-nation organization's committee of ministers said in statement that 'the Russian Federation ceases to be a member of the Council of Europe as from today, after 26 years of membership.'... Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted Wednesday that it would have left the body regardless." MB: You can't fire me. I quit. (Also linked yesterday.)
Adela Suliman, et al., of the Washington Post: “Officials from both Russia and Ukraine expressed cautious optimism Wednesday that peace talks were making progress toward ending almost three weeks of fighting across Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address overnight Tuesday that negotiations with Moscow were heading in a 'more realistic' direction, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that there is 'hope for reaching a compromise.' However, both sides also stressed that the talks were difficult, with differences remaining over what neutrality, or security guarantees, for Ukraine would look like." An AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: I suppose it won't happen, but I think Russia should have to fix what they broke, as much as that is possible. They should pay to repair or replace all the structures they damaged or toppled, and they should pay reparations to people they wounded & to the families of those they murdered. This is not the same as bringing Germany to its knees after WWI. Russia has plenty of oil to pay for damages. In the meantime, since China claims it's ever-so dedicated to preserving the peace, President Biden should ring up President Xi & ask China to enforce no-fly zones, at least over humanitarian corridors throughout Ukraine.
Steve Inskeep of NPR: U.S. "Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that merely stopping the invasion of Ukraine may not be enough for Russia to gain relief from Western economic sanctions. The U.S. also wants an assurance that there will never be another such invasion. In an interview with NPR, Blinken spoke of Western sanctions that cratered the Russian ruble, led global firms to shutter their Russian operations, and closed the Moscow stock market. He said the unplugging of much of Russia's economy from the West is beginning to wreak long-term effects that are 'growing over time.' He insisted that U.S. sanctions against Russia are 'not designed to be permanent,' and that they could 'go away' if Russia should change its behavior. But he said any Russian pullback would have to be, 'in effect, irreversible.'..." (Also linked yesterday.)
Christian Shepherd & Lily Kuo of the Washington Post: "Three weeks into the largest military clash in Europe since World War II, China's effort to displease neither Russia nor the international coalition imposing sanctions on Putin is looking increasingly untenable. A disconnect is growing between the image of neutrality Beijing wants to project and President Xi Jinping's long-term strategy of fostering ties with Russia as a critical partner in the standoff with the United States and its allies. Pressure from Western governments -- and from pockets of Chinese academia and public opinion -- is mounting on the Chinese leadership to use its economic ties with Russia to force a cease-fire. But to do so is a risk for Chinese leaders, who have little experience dealing with geopolitical crises far from their shores." (Also linked yesterday.)
I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award. -- Hillary Clinton, reacting to Russia's sanctioning her, in a tweet
Lisa Mascaro of the AP: “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cited Pearl Harbor and the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 on Wednesday as he appealed to the U.S. Congress to do more to help Ukraine's fight against Russia, but acknowledged the no-fly zone he has sought to 'close the sky' over his country may not happen. Livestreamed into the Capitol complex, Zelenskyy said the U.S. must sanction Russian lawmakers and block imports, and he showed a packed auditorium of lawmakers an emotional video of the destruction and devastation his country has suffered in the war." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Counterprogramming. Paul Shinkman of US News: "... Vladimir Putin put forward a comprehensive, if disjointed, defense of Russia's bloody assault on Ukraine three weeks after it began in an apparent recognition of growing international outrage at the brutality of the campaign. In lengthy remarks Wednesday..., Putin lobbed familiar claims at growing international condemnation for the military campaign he launched..., while also appearing to shift some of the responsibility for it. He offered, for example, that the character of the military assault -- ... originated within the Russian military and the general staff.... And, seemingly acknowledging new political fronts he faces at home, he put forward troubling language about the need for 'cleansing of the nation' against those who do not support the Kremlin's policies.... Putin's lengthy remarks took place while ... Volodymyr Zelenskeyy simultaneously addressed the U.S. Congress...." ~~~
~~~ Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "... Vladimir V. Putin on Wednesday referred to pro-Western Russians as 'scum and traitors' who needed to be removed from society, describing the war in Ukraine as part of an existential clash with the United States and setting the stage for an ever fiercer crackdown at home and even more aggression abroad. Comparing the West to Nazi Germany, the Russian leader laced his speech with derision for the 'political beau monde' in Europe and the United States, and for the 'slave-like' Russians who supported it...."
Paul Kirby of BBC News: "When Marina Ovsyannikova burst into Russian living rooms on Monday's nightly news, denouncing the war in Ukraine and propaganda around it, her protest highlighted a quiet but steady stream of resignations from Russia's tightly controlled state-run TV. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked her, appealing to anyone working for what he calls Russia's propaganda system to resign. Any journalist working in what he calls the fourth branch of power risks sanctions and an international tribunal for 'justifying war crimes', he warns."
Marie: Something I think about every day: what if Trump were still president*? ~~~
~~~ Joyce Vance, in an MSNBC column: “The first impeachment [of Donald Trump] is pivotal to understanding the current war in Ukraine, and how narrowly we escaped an American presidency that could have readily aligned itself with Russia over our NATO allies.... Before the [infamous call between Trump & Ukraine's new president Volodymyr Zelensky], Trump had asked his chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to hold back the aid [Congress had allocated to Ukraine. Despite attempts by the White House Office of Legal Counsel & Bill Barr's DOJ to bury the content of the call], the inspector general for the intelligence community, Michael Atkinson (subsequently fired by Trump, in April 2020) advised the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that the director of national intelligence was sitting on a credible whistleblower complaint.... Trump now takes credit for the aid Ukraine received and suggests that if he were president, Ukraine would be better off. Indeed, 62 percent of Americans believe Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if Trump were president.... Had he won [the 2020 election], Trump could have fully denuded NATO and entered into once discussed joint cyber agreements with Moscow. We could have had a president who wouldn't protest Putin's Ukraine ambitions; after all, as Trump said originally, they were 'smart.'"
Maria Sacchetti & Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "The Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday that it will grant temporary protected status, or TPS, to Afghan nationals living in the United States without permanent legal status, adding them to a long list of immigrants waiting for the same protection under the law. Approximately 74,500 Afghans are eligible to apply for the status, which grants them protection from deportation for 18 months and eligibility for a work permit. Afghans residing in the United States as of March 15 are eligible to apply, and they must pay a fee and pass a background check. For most Afghans, the protection is redundant: The vast majority were paroled into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome and allowed to apply for work permits free of charge. DHS said in a statement that this additional protection will mainly affect approximately 2,000 foreign nationals who were not evacuated -- such as international students -- and whose visas could expire and leave them in legal limbo." CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Katie Benner, et al., of the New York Times: "In the year after he disclosed a federal investigation into his 'tax affairs' in late 2020, President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, paid off a significant tax liability, even as a grand jury continued to gather evidence in a wide-ranging examination of his international business dealings, according to people familiar with the case.... As recently as last month, the federal grand jury heard testimony in Wilmington, Del., from two witnesses, one of whom was a former employee of Hunter Biden whose lawyer was later subpoenaed for financial records that reflected money Mr. Biden received from a Ukrainian energy company. The investigation, which began as a tax inquiry under the Obama administration, widened in 2018 to include possible criminal violations of tax laws, as well as foreign lobbying and money laundering rules...."
Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in the pandemic on Wednesday, while signaling far more hikes and warning that inflation would remain high through the rest of the year. The quarter-point interest rate hike was expected and considered modest, but the Fed more than doubled the number of rate hikes anticipated this year -- for a total of seven -- to help rein in the highest inflation in 40 years. Wednesday marked the first rate hike since 2018. The Fed Board has faced criticism that it has underestimated inflation over the past year, and now even more uncertainty lurks. Energy prices are spiking because of the war in Ukraine, and coronavirus surges are shutting down major Chinese manufacturing hubs, worsening global supply chain snarls that are pushing prices higher."
Carl Hulse of the New York Times: Senate Republicans have been vilifying Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and some other judicial nominees for their work as public defenders, "by suggesting that they acted inappropriately in representing clients accused of serious, sometimes vicious crimes. Democrats say the tactic ignores a fundamental principle of the American justice system -- that everyone has the constitutional right to be represented by counsel-- and effectively seeks to disqualify from the bench anyone who has taken that obligation seriously.... The Republican strategy is a response to a concerted push by the Biden administration to diversify the federal bench by nominating more people with experience in criminal defense work, many of them women of color.... The nomination of Judge Jackson, who would be the first public defender and the first Black woman to sit on the high court, will be the biggest test yet of whether a lawyer who represented accused criminals can draw broad Republican support." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "No politician better exemplifies the triumph of partisanship over duty to country than Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). But unlike some of his more brazen colleagues, he often feels obliged to concoct reasons for his ruthless partisanship, unintentionally revealing that power is his only objective.... He conceded there is 'no question' that President Biden's nominee for the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson, is qualified. So ... his reason for opposing her, in all likelihood, is nothing short of ridiculous: Liberal interest groups back her.... White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain weighed in on Twitter: 'Just for the record, Judge Jackson's supporters include the Fraternal Order of Police, conservative former federal judges Tom Griffith and Michael Luttig, a bipartisan group of former Supreme Court clerks, and the International Association of the Chiefs of Police.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Allyson Chiu of the Washington Post: "Sleep experts widely agree with the Senate that the country should abandon its twice-yearly seasonal time changes. But ... unlike the Senate, many sleep experts believe the country should adopt year-round standard time. After the Senate voted unanimously and with little discussion Tuesday to make daylight saving time permanent, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine issued a statement cautioning that the move overlooks potential health risks associated with that time system.... The AASM made this stance clear in 2020 when it released a position statement recommending that the country institute year-round standard time. Its reasoning, in part, is that standard time is more closely associated with humans' intrinsic circadian rhythm, and that disrupting that rhythm, as happens with daylight saving time, has been associated with increased risks of obesity, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and depression."
Anna Phillips of the Washington Post: The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals "on Wednesday lifted a ban blocking the federal government from factoring damage from rising greenhouse gas emissions into its decisions, offering a temporary reprieve for President Biden's plans to tackle climate change.... With sweeping climate legislation stalled in Congress, the administration is counting on these regulations to meet its emissions reduction targets." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Worth bearing in mind: the confederate Supremes are bent on gutting the EPA's regulatory powers anyway.
The Pandemic, Ctd.
Lenny Bernstein & Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post: "A surge in coronavirus infections in Western Europe has experts and health authorities on alert for another wave of the pandemic in the United States, even as most of the country has done away with restrictions after a sharp decline in cases. Infectious-disease experts are closely watching the subvariant of omicron known as BA.2, which appears to be more transmissible than the original strain, BA.1, and is fueling the outbreak overseas.... In all, about a dozen nations are seeing spikes in coronavirus infections caused by BA.2, a cousin of the BA.1 form of the virus that tore through the United States over the past three months.... China and Hong Kong ... are experiencing rapid and severe outbreaks, but the strict 'zero covid' policies they have enforced make them less similar to the United States than Western Europe." The article is free to nonsubscribers.
David Shortell, et al., of CNN: "Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, known as the Taoiseach, tested positive for Covid-19 Wednesday while attending a gala in Washington, DC, that had just been addressed by President Joe Biden. Martin left the gathering for The Ireland Funds after his positive result was confirmed, according to PA Media, a UK-based news agency. Irish Ambassador to the US Daniel Mulhall announced the results to the room, a person who attended the dinner told CNN. A White House official said Biden is not considered a close contact of Martin. The pair was set to hold a bilateral meeting at the White House on Thursday, but the official said the schedule will be changed.... In a photo posted online by the Press Association, Martin is seen sitting next to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the event." A Washington Post story is here.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Beyond the Beltway
Illinois. Julia Jacobs of the New York Times: "An Illinois appellate court ruled Wednesday that the actor Jussie Smollett be released from jail on bond pending his appeal of his conviction for falsely reporting that he had been the victim of a hate crime. Mr. Smollett was sentenced last week to five months in jail, but his lawyers quickly asked a panel of judges to stay the sentence while they appealed the conviction." An AP report is here.
Ohio. Jessie Balmert & Laura Bischoff of the Columbus Dispatch: "The Ohio Supreme Court struck down the third set of state House and Senate maps late Wednesday, effectively ending any hope of a May 3rd primary with both legislative and statewide races. The decision marks the third time the Ohio Supreme Court has rejected legislative maps drawn by the Ohio Redistricting Commission. Once again, Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, a Republican, was the deciding vote in a 4-3 decision. The Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Ohio Redistricting Commission to draw a new set of state House and Senate maps by March 28. In its decision, the court's majority ... made a suggestion for the next round of mapmaking: draft maps in public, convene frequent meetings and use a different mapmaker.... 'Resolving this self-created chaos ... depends not on the number of hands on the computer mouse but, rather, on the political will to honor the people's call to end partisan gerrymandering,' according to the court's decision."
Texas. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post demonstrates how Texas' latest voter suppression law does in fact work to suppress the vote, and it seems to suppress significantly more Democratic votes than Republican votes. ~~~
~~~ Paul Weber & Acacia Coronado of the AP: "Texas threw out mail votes at an abnormally high rate during the nation's first primary of 2022, rejecting nearly 23,000 ballots outright under tougher voting rules that are part of a broad campaign by Republicans to reshape American elections, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. Roughly 13% of mail ballots returned in the March 1 primary were discarded and uncounted across 187 counties in Texas. While historical primary comparisons are lacking, the double-digit rejection rate would be far beyond what is typical in a general election, when experts say anything above 2% is usually cause for attention.... The rejection rate was higher in counties that lean Democratic (15.1%) than Republican (9.1%)."
Washington State, Texas, Poland, Ukraine, Etc. Shea as in Shady. David Gutman of the Seattle Times: "Former Washington state Rep. Matt Shea, the far-right Republican who was found by a House-commissioned investigation to have planned and participated in domestic terrorism, is in a small town in Poland with more than 60 Ukrainian children, trying to facilitate their adoption in America. Shea has said his group helped rescue 62 children and their two adult caregivers from an orphanage in Mariupol, the city in southeastern Ukraine that has been bombarded by Russian forces. But international agencies say, with the chaos and confusion of war, now is not an appropriate time for international adoptions from Ukraine. And Shea's presence, and the lack of information surrounding the American group he's with, has raised concerns among some residents of Kazimierz Dolny, the small Polish town where the children are staying at a hotel-guesthouse.... A House-commissioned report found [Shea] had planned and participated in domestic terrorism against the United States with his involvement in a trio of standoffs against the government." MB: Maybe he's planning to bring the kids to the U.S. to make them foot soldiers in a 21st-century Shea's Rebellion.
Way Beyond
Iran/U.K. Karla Adam & Liz Sly of the Washington Post: "Two British Iranians who spent years in prison in Iran are on their way back to the United Kingdom, a development that suggests that a revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal could be imminent. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a charity worker, and Anoosheh Ashoori, a retired civil engineer, 'will return to the U.K. today,' Britain's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Wednesday. She also said that a third person, Morad Tahbaz, who has British, Iranian and American citizenship, has been 'released from prison on furlough' to his house in Tehran." (Also linked yesterday.)
News Lede
The New York Times reports new details on the man who shot homeless people in New York City & Washington, D.C.
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Marie says: "Something I think about every single day: What if Trump were till president."
From July 30, 2020:
Mary Trump tells us that this uncle of hers from the very beginning was Daddy's favorite ( I betcha because Donnie was dumb while the other children had some brains and fought their father on many issues–-poor Fred Jr. became an alcoholic.) So Fred Sr. took Donald in hand and handed him the kind of scam filled power play that we see displayed today and through the years.
Mary thinks Putin has taken the place of Daddy for Fatty. We certainly have seen the relationship between these two something to be alarmed about. "Putin's puppet" is an apt description. The latest decision by Trump to reduce American military from Germany plays right in the hands of Putin who wants a weakened Germany. Now you could argue Fatty did this because he's pissed at Merkel and the E.U.––he's that stupid. But we have a long list of incidences that prove there is something that facilitates Fatty's infatuation. My guess––Putin has something over him––something "bad" that he's using as a cudgel to quell any interference in the way Putin wants to work. We may never discover what that is but when someone says "Sit!" and the dog sits, we can be pretty sure he's been well trained––with treats.
Picking up where PD left off, re: Dumbo Trumpo, several items “make-a the ganglia twitch”, as Dr. Emilio Lizardo used to say.
First there’s this Tweet from Junior whining about Biden going to Brussels for a NATO summit. “If they really want to get anything done, they need to send Trump!” Okay, Dumbo fils, which Trump. You? With your screeching harpy girlfriend? Eric? Neither of these imbeciles could find Ukraine on a labeled map. Fatty?!? You mean the guy who tried to destroy NATO while spit shining Putin’s army boots? Also, don’t forget, jackass, we dumped your daddy for being a dangerously stupid traitor. He’s lucky he’s not in a federal pen somewhere. We ain’t sending him anywhere.
Then I came across some selections from The Mustache of Armageddon, John Bolton, excerpted from his book. Let’s put aside the very concerning bit about how both Bolton and Barr, who are now trashing Trump for being, well, a dangerously stupid traitor, had their chances to do something about that little thing, but rather than standing up to him when it mattered, have chosen to pad their pockets via sales of their kiss and tell books. I have no reason to doubt it, however, when Bolton states that he was astounded to learn how little Trump knew about anything. All he cared about was being re-elected, and getting Ukraine to give him dirt on the Bidens.
And let’s also put to bed this ridiculous claim from the Party of Traitors about how Putin was afraid of Fatty and wouldn’t have dared to invade Ukraine if he were still farting around the White House.
Putin was thrilled to have a bobble-head doll like Trump to do his dirty work for him. He withheld support from Ukraine, he injected vitriol, chaos, and uncertainty into American-European relations, and he tried to kneecap NATO. Putin couldn’t have done a better job with a thousand agents working overtime. And Bolton points out that, had the Orange Monster stolen another term, he likely would have pulled out of NATO.
Finally, for those nitwits who claim sending Trump to talk sense to Putin would end this war, all you need to know is that Putin would listen politely for about thirty seconds, then lean in and whisper these words into those fat ears: “Pee-pee tape”. After which Trump would offer to bomb Kyiv himself.
It must truly gall the littlest narcissist that he’s not front page material every morning. That news reports don’t breathlessly repeat his every moribund, DOA thoughts on whatever he chooses to opine about. He must sit up at night thinking “Hmmm…what can I say today that will make me sound important? That I have a single fucking clue what’s going on?”
Typically, what he comes up with is undiluted mishigas.
Today’s bullshit is about how we shouldn’t be helping Ukraine with weapons and materiel needed to keep Putin’s murderers at bay unless they pay up.
What.The.Fuck?
Hold on there, Zelensky, you understand that these hundreds of millions we’re sending need to be paid back, right? And tell ‘em I said so. Me, Aqua Buddha.
It’s almost as if some sneaky gremlin hiding under that rat infested Li’l Randy Rug ™ on his head is feeding him crap so ridiculous, tone deaf, and out of touch with reality, that disinterested bystanders might question whether he’s competent enough to rake the leaves in his yard.
Oh, wait…
Seriously. Stop everything! I don’t care that you’re trying to stay alive. Sign right here and promise to pay me back, every cent, with interest.
How does someone like this know enough not to walk around with his fly down all day? And drool coming out both sides of his mouth?
Okay, one more thing, but it’s been bugging me for a while. These “peace talks” between Ukraine and the people trying to bomb it into tiny pieces of unidentifiable rubble.
How, and why? How is this even a thing? We all know what Putin wants. Everything. He needs to save face after his incredibly stupid assessment of how this thing would go down. He will not allow himself to look like the murderous moron he has shown himself to be. He will not go away with Ukraine agreeing to name a few streets after him. So why bother? Oh, yeah, I get that the Ukrainians need to try something. But with a lying cockroach like Putin?
This is like someone comes up to you on the street and punches you in the mouth. Then he kicks you in the stomach and says, “Now, you have to give me something. I’ll take your watch. And your car. Oh, and your house too.”
In a way, Putin is doing what Trump tried to do. “Nice country you got here. Shame if something happened to it…”
This one seems sane to me:
https://theconversation.com/ukraine-wants-a-no-fly-zone-what-does-this-mean-and-would-one-make-any-sense-in-this-war-179282?
Which implies an echo of Marie's every day thought. Which in turn led me to this one:
Have long been skeptical of the Great Man theory of history. Preferred to believe. (have concluded?) that there are so many factors at work in human affairs that the Great Men are more result than cause, recognizable faces that bubbles to to the surface of history's cauldron, but today....
How different Ukraine's and our history would be if not for those 40,000 votes in couple of states.
Maybe not Great Men, Great Fortune...
U.S. Treasury says it will allow the payment to go through...
https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/16/investing/russian-debt-payments/index.html
...which makes me wonder whose side the Treasury is on and who made which phone calls to whom?
Russian default--or happy investors?
Another set of decisions this old guy is pleased not to have to make...
So much more pleasant to sit on the sidelines and carp.
@Ken Winkes: That CNN article on the Russian interest payments is interesting. I wouldn't call an asset frozen if you're allowed to draw it down to pay your debts. Meanwhile, can't Russia just keep borrowing from the usual lenders to pay for, well, everything -- including its war on Ukraine -- and then pay off interest on the new debt with those not-so-frozen assets? Something's not right here. Yo, Janet Yellen, what's the idea?
Treasury is going after Russian elites, proxies, and oligarchs? And of course the mania for catchy acronyms still obtains, but in this case I suppose it gives us a new brand of good guys going after scumbags: REPO men (and women).
But if they’re going after Russian elites and proxies, they can start with the Trump administration. At least three quarters of those crooks should be targeted by the REPO men. Starting with Russian proxy number one, Donaldavich Trumpskyev.
Ding dong…”REPO man here…come out with your hands up, you fat fuck!”
The Canadians called out the Russian's bullshit at the UN, and they also brought out the dreaded red pen.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/scum-traitors-pressure-ukraine-putin-turns-ire-russians-rcna20410
"Scum and traitors," Putin call those who don't support him.
Who does that sound like?