May 21, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Paul Kane, et al., of the Washington Post: "A day after partisan acrimony disrupted talks around the debt ceiling, President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to restart negotiations Sunday, sending a newly hopeful signal that the two parties might avoid an economic catastrophe as few as 11 days away. The two leaders spoke by phone Sunday and agreed to dispatch their chief emissaries for further staff talks at 6 p.m. before Biden and McCarthy (R-Calif.) connect again in Washington on Monday.... The call with McCarthy took place as Biden was returning from the Group of Seven summit in Japan.... On Sunday, during an appearance on NBC's 'Meet the Press,' Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen warned that some bills would have to go unpaid if the government breaches the June 1 deadline."

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Biden Lectures GOP Toddlers Having Temper Tantrum. Zeke Miller & Josh Boak of the AP: "President Joe Biden said Sunday that Republicans in the U.S. House must move off their 'extreme positions' on the now-stalled talks over raising America's debt limit and that there would be no agreement to avert a catastrophic default only on their terms. 'It's time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely, solely, on their partisan terms,' Biden said in Hiroshima, Japan, where he attended the Group of Seven summit." ~~~

~~~ Josh Boak & Zeke Miller of the AP: "President Joe Biden tried to reassure world leaders on Saturday that the United States would not default as he consulted with the heads of Australia, Japan and India in a meeting of the so-called Quad partnership that had been hastily rescheduled because of the debt limit standoff back in Washington.... The Quad members originally had planned to meet in Sydney next week, but got together instead on the sidelines of the G7 so Biden could return to Washington earlier on Sunday in hopes of finalizing a deal to increase the U.S. borrowing limit before the government runs out of cash to pay its bills." ~~~

~~~ Jeff Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "Republican negotiators rejected a White House offer to limit spending next year on both the military and a wide range of critical domestic programs as part of high-stakes negotiations over the federal debt ceiling.... Republicans are pushing instead for higher defense spending and more significant domestic spending reductions.... House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) ... said it would be difficult for talks to resume before President Biden returns Sunday from his trip to Asia." Politico's story is here.

Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "A conflict inside ... Donald J. Trump's legal team erupted into public view on Saturday as one of his former lawyers went on television to attack one of his current lawyers, who has been the focus of ire from others on the team. The former lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, withdrew this past week from representing Mr. Trump.... Appearing on CNN on Saturday, Mr. Parlatore disclosed that his departure had been spurred by irreconcilable differences with Boris Epshteyn, another lawyer who has been working as something akin to an in-house counsel for the former president.... Mr. Parlatore described how Mr. Epshteyn had hindered him and other lawyers from getting information to Mr. Trump.... Most notably, Mr. Parlatore singled out Mr. Epshteyn as trying to keep the team from conducting additional searches of Mr. Trump's properties after the F.B.I. executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago...." CNN's report is here.

Florida Travel Warning. Julia Shapero of the Hill: "The NAACP issued a formal travel advisory for Florida on Saturday, saying the state has become 'hostile to Black Americans' under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R) leadership. 'On a seeming quest to silence African-American voices, the Governor and the State of Florida have shown that African Americans are not welcome in the State of Florida,' the travel advisory reads.... The advisory points to several of DeSantis's controversial policies, including legislation he signed on Monday to prohibit colleges from spending public funds on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Sunday is here: "Speaking ahead of a bilateral meeting with President Biden at the Group of Seven summit in Japan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sparked speculation over whether Ukraine had lost control of the fiercely contested city of Bakhmut.... Bakhmut is 'just dead and a lot of dead Russians,' Zelensky told reporters in Hiroshima. 'They came to us. Our defenders in Bakhmut, they did strong work, and of course we appreciate them' for their effort, he said. Russia claimed control of the eastern Ukrainian city on Saturday, but earlier Sunday, the Ukrainian military had said battles were continuing there.... Zelensky and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had their first face-to-face meeting since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. India is one of the few countries that has been reluctant to join the Western coalition against the Russian invasion. Zelensky also met the heads of state of Italy, France and Germany, he said in his nightly address, adding that his focus at the summit is to press for more weapons for Ukraine.... President Biden announced a new tranche of military assistance for Ukraine, including ammunition, artillery and vehicles." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Zeke Miller, et al., of the AP: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russian forces weren't occupying Bakhmut, casting doubt on Moscow's claims that the eastern Ukrainian city had fallen. Responding to a reporter's question about the status of the city at the Group of Seven meeting in Japan, Zelenskyy said: 'Bakhmut is not occupied by the Russian Federation as of today.'... Zelenskyy's response in English to a question earlier at the summit about the status of Bakhmut was interpreted by many as saying the city had fallen to Russian forces. When asked if the city was in Ukraine's hands, Zelenskyy said: 'I think no, but you have to -- to understand that there is nothing, They've destroyed everything. There are no buildings. It's a pity. It's tragedy.'"

Adam Schreck of the AP: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy huddled with some of his biggest backers in Hiroshima on Sunday, building momentum for his country's war effort even as Russia claimed a symbolic victory on the battlefield. The Ukrainian leader's in-person appearance in his trademark olive drab during the final day of the Group of Seven summit underscored the centrality of the war for the bloc of rich democracies. It also stole much of the limelight from other priorities, including security challenges in Asia and outreach to the developing world, that the leaders focused on at the three-day gathering."

Comrade Donald, I Presume. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Russia has expanded its list of sanctioned Americans in a tit-for-tat retaliation for the latest curbs imposed by the United States. But what is particularly striking is how much President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is adopting perceived enemies of ... Donald J. Trump as his own. Among the 500 people singled out for travel and financial restrictions on Friday were Americans seen as adversaries by Mr. Trump, including Letitia James, the state attorney general of New York who has investigated and sued him. Brad Raffensperger, the secretary of state of Georgia who rebuffed Mr. Trump's pressure to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election, also made the list. And Lt. Michael Byrd, the Capitol Police officer who shot the pro-Trump rioter Ashli Babbitt on Jan. 6, 2021, was another notable name."

Mali/Russia. Jason Burke of the Observer/Guardian: "Over ... five days, hundreds ... would die in the village of Moura in the Mopti region of Mali at the hands of troops overseen by Russian mercenaries, according to a new United Nations report. All but a small fraction were unarmed civilians. Published last week after an extensive human rights fact-finding mission conducted over several months by UN staff in Mali, the report gives an hour by hour account of events during a five-day military operation in Moura in March 2022, giving details of the worst single atrocity associated with the Kremlin-linked Wagner group outside Ukraine."

News Lede

CNN: "A SpaceX rocket carrying a decorated former NASA astronaut and three paying customers took off from Florida Sunday afternoon. The crew is embarking on a weeklong stay aboard the International Space Station. Their journey, put together by the Houston-based company Axiom Space, marks the second all-private mission to the orbiting outpost. Called AX-2, the mission is making history as stem cell researcher Rayyanah Barnawi becomes the first woman from Saudi Arabia to travel to space."

Comments

[Akhilleus]

I want to know who these “senior White House” officials are who are talking about “delicate bipartisan talks”. That way, I know who to keep in my “thoughts and prayers” to DROP DEAD!

Even a hint of considering abiding by the Constitution will “blow up” the talks?

Talks? What talks??? These people are insane. Have they not been listening to the traitor blather about how they don’t want compromise. These fuckers couldn’t spell “compromise” with the dictionary opened to the right page. They want Biden to DIE. They want his entire legislative agenda to DIE. They want idiot senior White House officials to DIE.

Saying “Oh, we can’t use the Constitution to fix this problem”—a problem, by the way, entirely created by Party of Traitor traitor assholes who don’t WANT the problem fixed—is like saying “Oh, better not use a hammer to drive that nail. Marjorie Taylor Greene will be pissed! Here’s a piece of rigatoni. That oughta work.”

We are wasting so much time and effort on a fool’s errand. Think it through. What will be the consequences of calling on the Constitution to end this traitor-made debacle? What? Sean Hannity will say something mean about Biden? You people cave and these creeps have an entire thesaurus of synonyms for “asshole” ready to go—no matter what happens.

Who are these people??

Use Teddy’s advice: speak softly (Dear traitor morons: you lose.”) then hit them with the big stick. (14th Amendment!)

There are more important things to do than coddle scheming pricks who wish nothing more than to blow shit up then blame you for the mess they caused.

[Marie Burns]

@Akhilleus: Biden has the first part of Teddy's famous aphorism down pat; now, as you say, he needs to wield that big stick.

While everybody is concentrating on the 14th Amendment, constitutional scholar that I am, I decided to take a look at Congress's Article I powers that relate directly or indirectly to the national debt. Here's what I came up with:

"Section 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills." The article goes on to describe procedures regarding the president's signing or vetoing a bill & Congress's overriding the veto.

Section 8. "The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States...; To borrow Money on the credit of the United States...; No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law...."

Congressional Republicans, like Donald Trump, apparently think "their Article" gives them the power "to do whatever we want." No, it doesn't. They have the power to raise revenues, to collect taxes, to pay the debts & to borrow money.

Nowhere in Article I does it say or imply, "Therefore, after appropriating monies for expenditures on which the government incurs debt, the Congress may refuse to pay those debts." They do not have the power to renege on debts incurred through appropriations. All they can do, in fact, is to borrow more. They do not have the power to borrow less than their appropriations have incurred or the taxes they imposed will cover. But that's what refusing to raise the debt ceiling does, in effect.

The debt ceiling law, IMO, is unconstitutional because it carries the implication that Congress can default on the very expenditures it has authorized. It can't.

[Patrick]

Jimmy Kimmel is also on Putin's sh!tlist, which is probably due to Kimmel's frequent and biting jokes about DiJiT.

[Marie Burns]

Whilst perusing the Constitution for other purposes (see above), I came upon these powers of Congress: "To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress."

So now I know, way better than Clarence Thomas knows, what a "well-regulated militia," as described in the 2nd Amendment, is. It sure as hell is not the 18-year on the schoolgrounds with an AR-15 & 500 rounds of ammo. Somebody should show those confederate justices the Constitution. They could learn something.

[P.D.Pepe]

As many of you here know that in the past I have had visitations from the great man himself, God, ruminating on the decline of Western Civilization. Haven't heard from Him for a long time but today, as I was gazing yonder at the clouds, wondering whether it was going to rain again, there was a large black message sreaming across the skies:

MARIE BURNS FOR CONGRESS––NOW!

Looks like God reads R.C. just as HE once told me. Good to know He knows potemtial when He sees it.

[Patrick]

Also on Putin's list, Stephen Colbert and Seth Myers. Probably for same reason as Kimmel.

The list is pretty eclectic, but a couple of other DiJiT foes stand out:
- Ambassador Yovanovich, from Impeachment #1
- Fiona Hill, ditto
- Brian Frosh, ex atty gen MD, sued DiJiT Intnl hotel

But the list has lots of attys general, both parties, and members of the foreign and defense policy set, in and out of government. I suspect the folks planning for a Tr* mp 2025 transition can staple this list to their " no hire" blacklist to save time. God help us!

[Forrest Morris]

@P.D.Pepe: Marie and all the rest of us are probably on Putin's
500 list for negative posts about you-know-who.

I would consider being on his list a good thing.

[Akhilleus]

Marie,

You are to be commended for your civics research. Excellent.

Now here’s my question. If a smart, curious, civic minded citizen could, in a few minutes, do the necessary investigation into constitutional requirements, how is it that so-called professionals haven’t done the same? More to the point, why don’t they already know this shit, backwards, forwards, and mobius-strip-wards?

I don’t expect the traitors to know this stuff. They’ve never read the Constitution. But the Democrats should know it by heart. Maybe, as usual, they’re afraid to point this out to the droolers. Fear, I fear, plays a huge role in the current shitshow. I refuse to call it a dilemma for it is nothing of the kind. A dilemma presents several alternate choices, all of which are unpalatable to a degree.

Pointing to the Constitution (and not just the appropriate section of the Bill of Rights, as Marie has indicated) to end this putrescent pantomime, has zero unpalatability about it. It’s what should happen. Furthermore, given the overwhelming concern on the part of the founders that Congress STFU and pay its bills, this entire debt ceiling construct should be placed in cement overshoes and unceremoniously dumped into the Potomac. Toot sweet. Like right fucking now.

But then there’s that fear. Democrats, god help us, some of them, anyway, are constantly afeared of pissing off the traitors by doing something correct or legal or ethical.

Was Mitch McConnell fearful of illegally and unconstitutionally denying Obama the right to have his SCOTUS nominee given a vote? Hell no.

But Democrats fret about telling the traitors to wait for the light to change before crossing the street.

No more of that now.

So I hereby amend my chant from “14th Amendment” to “Constitution!”

The traitors won’t like it but fuck ‘em. Give ‘em a cookie. I suggest cyanide chocolate chip cookies. They have that lovely almond flavor. I’d go for Novichok nut bread, but I’m probably on Putin’s list (as are all of you, btw) and I doubt he’d send me the recipe.

So: Constitution! Constitution! Constitution!

[P.D.Pepe]

Forest: I would be disappointed if I wasn't on his list if indeed he knew me, which he doesn't but if he did I'd be mighty proud to be included. Nothin like being ostracized by an evil emperor.

[RAS]

I wonder if part of the problem is that Congress as it is currently constituted is capable of so little and therefore a, usually, must pass bill is one of the few places they can get things done. They may be reluctant to give up one of the few opportunities to get things passed with the ridiculous rules and their increasingly insane colleagues. Once the 14th amendment is invoked that should take this fight out of Congress's hands forever. Obviously those are stupid reasons not to do it along with the "but this is how we've always done it argument". Congress desperately needs to change and adapt to the realities that it is facing daily. Though that is easier said than done when half the members are actively trying to sabotage the government and care nothing about the damage they create along the way.

[Akhilleus]

RAS,

They REVEL in the damage they cause and the chaos they create. They believe this proves to their base that they’re “doing something”, ie, owning the hated libs and sticking it the equally hated guv’mint.

The other day I saw a huge pickup truck with a lift kit, Mad Max tires, and vertical exhaust stack belching black oil smoke from the busted valve seals. Oh, and he had a full gun rack visible through the rear windshield. Don’t know how he saw anything through the rear view, but he probably didn’t care. The view would have been obscured by the two huge flags flapping in the toxic oil smoke. One, the obligatory stars and bars, natch, and the other an even bigger TRUMP WON!!! flag.

But the best part we’re the bumper stickers that proclaimed the driver’s love for shooting liberals (the word “liberal” covered by a gun sight criss cross), another screaming “MAGA”! and a third declaring “I ❤️ the Constitution.

No one who knows the Constitution, let alone ❤️‘s it, can say Trump Won” with a straight face. Or think murdering those who disagree politically with you is an okay idea.

The problem is they they don’t have any clue what the Constitution actually says. They listen to Fatty and DeSantolini and Bannon and TuKKKer and think they know what the Constitution says.

They don’t.

But blowing shit up is still their default.

[Marie Burns]

@Akhilleus: What a horrifying guy. And you can't even say, "Excuse me, Sir, but I do believe you've misinterpreted the Constitution," because he'd probably just blow you away and claim self-defense against a radical liberal harasser who "scared" him ("ha ha").

My parents bought a used pick-up truck in the 1970s. It came with what you would call a gun rack, and what my father -- a gentle man with strong convictions -- called a "French bread rack."