;)
Monday
May222023
May 23, 2023
Afternoon Update:
Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A judge in Boston has ordered a hearing next week on one of the key arguments that President Joe Biden has the legal authority to ignore the debt limit statute and continue to pay the federal government's bills. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns set a May 31 hearing on a lawsuit filed by a federal workers union contending that the 14th Amendment empowers Biden and other officials to sidestep the standoff with Congress that has threatened a potential default.... Before setting the May 31 argument date, Stearns said he didn't see the union's request for a decision by June 1 as realistic.... Stearns did not get a direct answer when he asked Justice Department lawyer Alexander Ely whether the department disagrees with the central argument in the suit.... Ely said he was not authorized to stake out a position on that question and he suggested that the department would argue that the union's suit is not a proper vehicle to force DOJ to come to a legal conclusion." Stearns is a Clinton appointee.
Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "The trial of Donald J. Trump has been scheduled for March 25, 2024, the judge presiding over his Manhattan criminal case said at a hearing on Tuesday. Mr. Trump attended the hearing remotely, making his first courtroom appearance since 34 felony charges were unveiled against him last month. He appeared to react angrily when the trial date was announced by Justice Juan Merchan, though his microphone was muted and it was unclear what he was saying to the lawyer seated next to him, Todd Blanche.... [Mr. Trump] immediately grew agitated, chattering at Mr. Blanche with his microphone muted, waving his hands and shaking his head. He then folded his arms in frustration as the judge reviewed the updated motion schedule that would precede the trial.... Mr. Trump's appearance on Tuesday ... last[ed] about 20 minutes. Justice Merchan mentioned the restrictions that he had placed on Mr. Trump's use of material from the case, asking Mr. Blanche whether he had reviewed those restrictions with his client. Mr. Blanche said that he had." ~~~
~~~ Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: Justice Juan Merchan "warned [Donald] Trump that disclosing documents the defense obtains from the district attorney as part of pretrial discovery is strictly prohibited -- limits that were imposed in recognition of Trump's habit of making social media attacks against his detractors.... Trump, whose microphone was muted at this point, appeared annoyed as he was put on notice of potential punishments. Merchan has imposed a protective order on Trump and his defense team, barring them from publicly circulating -- including on social media -- evidence that is not already in the public domain. Such orders are not uncommon."
Aruna Viswanatha, et al., of the Wall Street Journal: "Special counsel Jack Smith has all but finished obtaining testimony and other evidence in his criminal investigation into whether ... Donald Trump mishandled classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort, according to people familiar with the matter.... In recent weeks prosecutors working for Smith have completed interviews with nearly every employee at Trump's Florida home, from top political aides to maids and maintenance staff, the people said. Prosecutors have pressed witnesses -- some in multiple rounds of testimony -- on questions that appeared to home in on specific elements Smith's team would need to show to prove a crime, including those that speak to Trump's intentions, and questions aimed at undermining potential defenses Trump could raise, they said.... Smith's team ... has obtained evidence that appears to show Trump held on to sensitive documents after being asked to relinquish them...." Firewalled. If you can't access the article via RealityChex, try copying & pasting a significant clause into Google's search bar."
Leo Sands, et al., of the Washington Post: "A 19-year-old Missouri man was arrested after police say he intentionally crashed a rented U-Haul truck near the White House, and investigators recovered a Nazi flag from the vehicle. The man, whom police identified as Sai Varshith Kandula of Chesterfield, Mo., was charged with threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on the president, vice president or a family member, along with other counts including assault with a dangerous weapon and trespassing.... The crash prompted the evacuation of the nearby Hay-Adams hotel, and roads and walkways were closed during the investigation, according to the Secret Service." This story updates a Reuters story linked below....
Olivia Beavers of Politico: "House Republicans are bidding for steep spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. First, though, they paused during their private weekly meeting on Tuesday to bid for something else: Speaker Kevin McCarthy's used chapstick. Really. The fundraising auction of McCarthy's used cherry lip balm ended when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) placed a winning $100,000 bid.... She only began bidding after the California Republican chose to sweeten the deal: He agreed to attend a dinner with the winner and whichever donors and supporters they planned to bring along. That cash is headed for the House GOP campaign arm." MB: And here I was sure My Kevin would use the proceeds to help close the deficit.
Marie: Okay, now I'm definitely voting for DeSantolini. Because ~~~
Shane Goldmacher, et al., of the New York Times: "Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is planning to announce the start of his 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday in a live audio conversation on Twitter with Elon Musk, the platform's polarizing owner, according to people with knowledge of his plans.... Mr. Musk said at an event with The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that he was not formally throwing his support behind Mr. DeSantis, or any other Republican.... Mr. DeSantis [also] is expected to appear on Wednesday evening on Fox News in an interview with Trey Gowdy, a former congressman from South Carolina, according to the network." NBC News broke DeSantis' plan here.
Roger Cohen of the New York Times: "A Moscow court, meeting behind closed doors Tuesday, extended the arrest of Evan Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal correspondent accused of espionage, for more than three months, until August 30. The refusal of bail and the extension of Mr. Gershkovich's detention were widely expected, although Russia has presented no evidence to back the espionage accusation, which is vehemently denied by the United States government and The Wall Street Journal."
Arizona. Vaughn Hillyard & Tim Stelloh of NBC News: "More than six months after losing a bid to be Arizona's governor, former Republican candidate Kari Lake lost another court battle Monday in her effort to overturn Democrat Katie Hobbs' victory. In a 6-page ruling, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson ruled that Lake had not provided evidence of misconduct in the county's signature-verification procedures for early ballots. Lake, a former TV anchor and prominent election denier, lost last year's gubernatorial race by 17,117 votes and alleged the victory was marred by misconduct and illegal votes."
Illinois. Ruth Graham of the New York Times: "More than 450 credibly accused child sex abusers have ministered in the Catholic Church in Illinois over almost seven decades, the office of the state's attorney general, Kwame Raoul, said Tuesday in an investigative report. That is more than four times the number that the church had publicly disclosed before 2018, when the state began its investigation. The 696-page report found that clergy members and lay religious brothers had abused at least 1,997 children since 1950 in the state's six dioceses, including the prominent Archdiocese of Chicago. The report adds 149 names to lists of child sex abusers whom the dioceses themselves had publicly identified before or during the investigation." MB: Yo, Francis, it's way past time to end the celibacy rule.
~~~~~~~~~~
Tony Romm, et al., of the Washington Post: "With as few as 10 days remaining until the U.S. government could default, President Biden on Monday resumed direct negotiations with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), hoping to resolve a stalemate over the debt ceiling that has started to spook Wall Street. The two men entered the new round of talks after a weekend of turbulence and acrimony, and mere hours after the Treasury Department issued its latest warning -- this time, using more urgent language -- that the U.S. is 'highly likely' to run out of cash and other options in early June, perhaps as soon as the first of the month." (Also linked yesterday evening.) See also Akhilleus' comment in Monday's thread on WashPo "journalism" re: the debt ceiling negotiations. ~~~
~~~ Alan Rappeport & Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "As negotiators for the White House and House Republican leaders struggle to reach a deal over how to raise the nation's debt limit, a solution that harks back to old budget fights has re-emerged as a potential path forward: spending caps. Putting limits on future spending in exchange for raising the $31.4 trillion borrowing cap could be the key to clinching an agreement that would allow Republicans to claim that they secured major concessions from Democrats. It could also allow President Biden to argue that his administration is being fiscally responsible while not caving to Republican demands to roll back any of his primary legislative achievements. The Biden administration and House Republican leaders have agreed in broad terms to some sort of cap on discretionary federal spending for at least the next two years. But they are hung up on the details of those caps...." ~~~
~~~ Chris Hayes on Republicans' claim they are holding hostage the U.S. economy because they want to "cut spending." Includes nice Mitch McConnell quote: ~~~
~~~ Marie: You know who those irresponsible SOB Republicans are hurting? ME!!! And I'm not just talking about missing a few Social Security payments or being turned away at the doctor's office because Medicare isn't paying them. Like many retired Americans, my primary source of income is financial investments. And if Republicans succeed in tanking the markets, million of people like me are screwed.
Peter Baker & David Sanger of the New York Times: In the wake of the G-7 meeting, "it was easy to miss [President] Biden's prediction on Sunday of a coming 'thaw' in relations with Beijing, as both sides move beyond what he called the 'silly' Chinese act of sending a giant surveillance balloon over the United States, only the most recent in a series of incidents that have fueled what seems like a descent toward confrontation. It is far too early to say whether the president's optimism is based on the quiet signals he has received in behind-the-scenes meetings with the Chinese government in recent weeks. Mr. Biden's own aides see a struggle underway in China between factions that want to restart the economic relationship with the United States and a far more powerful group that aligns with President Xi Jinping's emphasis on national security over economic growth."
** Trump's Little Witch Hunt. Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "The Justice Department kept open the investigation into Hillary Clinton's family foundation for nearly all of ... Donald J. Trump's administration, with prosecutors closing the case without charges just days before he left office. Newly released documents and interviews with former department officials show that the investigation stretched long past when F.B.I. agents and prosecutors knew it was a dead end. The conclusion of the case, which centered on the Clinton Foundation's dealings with foreign donors when Mrs. Clinton served as secretary of state under President Barack Obama, has not previously been reported. Mr. Trump ... spent much of his four-year term pressuring the F.B.I. and the Justice Department to target political rivals. After being accused by the president's allies of serving as part of a deep-state cabal working against him, F.B.I. officials insisted that the department acknowledge in writing that there was no case to bring. The closing documents ... spelled the end to an investigation that top prosecutors had expressed doubts about from the beginning." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I don't suppose anyone will pay much attention to this, but it is shocking evidence of how corrupt the Trump DOJ was. In a healthy democracy, this just doesn't happen. ~~~
~~~ Update: See Patrick's comment below. Patrick thinks the DOJ/FBI were purposely slow-rolling a case without merit just to mollify Trump. The fact that the case shut down at the same moment Trump was stuffing classified docs into his bags as he was pushed out the White House door is strong evidence for Patrick's theory.
"Oops!" Jennifer Bendery of the Huffington Post: "Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) on Monday inadvertently implied that House Republicans' high-profile investigation into President Joe Biden's family members and their finances is actually about helping Donald Trump win the presidency in 2024. Comer, who is leading the GOP's probe as chair of the House oversight and accountability committee, appeared to say the quiet part out loud during a 'Fox & Friends First' interview. 'We have talked to you .... about how the media can just not ignore this any longer...' said the show's host, Ashley Strohmier. 'So do you think that because of your investigation, that is what's moved this needle with the media?' 'Absolutely. There's no question,' Comer replied. 'You look at the polling, and right now Donald Trump is 7 points ahead of Joe Biden and trending upward, Joe Biden's trending downward. And I believe that the media is looking around, scratching their head, and they're realizing that the American people are keeping up with our investigation.'" (Also linked yesterday evening.)
Trumpster Dumpster Fire: Legal PROBLEMS:
Alan Feuer, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors overseeing the investigation into ... Donald J. Trump's handling of classified documents have issued a subpoena for information about Mr. Trump's business dealings in foreign countries since he took office, according to two people familiar with the matter.... The subpoena suggests that investigators have cast a wider net than previously understood as they scrutinize whether he broke the law in taking sensitive government materials with him upon leaving the White House and then not fully complying with demands for their return. The subpoena -- drafted by the office of the special counsel, Jack Smith -- sought details on the Trump Organization's real estate licensing and development dealings in seven countries: China, France, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, according to the people familiar with the matter. The subpoena sought the records for deals reached since 2017, when Mr. Trump was sworn in as president.... Collectively, the subpoena's demand ... suggests that Mr. Smith is exploring whether there is any connection between Mr. Trump's deal-making abroad and the classified documents he took with him when he left office." (Also linked yesterday evening.) CNN's story is here.
Paula Reid, et al., of CNN: "Donald Trump asked whether he could push back against Justice Department efforts last year to recover any classified documents still in his possession during conversations with his lawyer over compliance with a federal subpoena, according to multiple sources familiar with notes taken by his lawyer and turned over to investigators. Special counsel Jack Smith has obtained dozens of pages of notes that Trump's attorney Evan Corcoran took last spring, memorializing conversations with his client after the former president received the subpoena last May and before a key meeting with the Justice Department a few weeks later when Trump's legal team [falsely] said they had turned over all classified records they could find, the sources told CNN.... Some sources close to the former president say he was merely asking Corcoran for legal advice when he inquired about whether they could beat back the subpoena. But Trump has offered shifting explanations for why he did not return all the classified documents in a timely fashion. Trump has said he had 'the absolute right' to take the documents as recently as this month at a CNN town hall." (Also linked yesterday evening.) ~~~
~~~ See also the story by Hugo Lowell of the Guardian, also linked yesterday. ~~~
~~~ Marie: IMO, just asking "Do I really have to do this?" is a perfectly legitimate question that anyone receiving a subpoena might ask his lawyer. The questions are, "What was the lawyer's advice?", "How did Trump respond to the advice?" and, ultimately, "What actions did Trump take in response to that advice?"
Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump is running for president with a series of low-hanging legal clouds looming over him. It probably doesn't help that two of his former lawyers have pointed to the dissension, alienation and alleged missteps that have plagued his legal effort for years. Speaking to CNN on Saturday, attorney Timothy Parlatore, who recently left the Trump legal team, blamed infighting and one fellow lawyer in particular for his departure. And he seemed to warn of the problems that that lawyer, Boris Epshteyn, is creating for Trump's defense. Meanwhile, former top Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb went so far as to predict that Trump 'will go to jail' in the classified-documents case, while also citing the Trump team's poor handling of it." (Also linked yesterday evening.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: For the first time since Bill Barr stood in front of a podium and misrepresented the findings in the Mueller report, I have a glimmer (and I mean glimmer) of hope that Donald Trump may pay for at least a tiny portion of his acts against the nation.
Keep on Talkin', Motor Mouth. Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "E. Jean Carroll, who this month won $5 million in damages from ... Donald J. Trump, is now seeking a 'very substantial' additional amount in response to his insults on a CNN program just a day after she won her sexual abuse and defamation case." (Also linked yesterday evening.) The Guardian's story is here.
Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times points to Neil Gorsuch's totally unnecessary statement, which he appended to a Supreme Court decision to declare moot Trump's Title 42 Covid border order. We discussed this in the Comments last week. Here's Gorsuch: "Since March 2020, we may have experienced the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country." And so forth. Bouie asks if Covid restrictions really were worse than "the forced sterilization of more than 70,000 Americans under the eugenic policies from the 1920s through the 1970s. [Or] the mass surveillance of thousands of Americans involved in liberal and left-wing politics by the federal government during the 1960s. [Or] the McCarthyite purges of thousands of Americans accused of 'un-American activities' in the 1950s. The 'Palmer Raids' of 1919 and 1920." Or the stripping of voter and civil rights and the labor conflicts of the 19th century. Not to mention, ah, slavery. "A justice like Gorsuch who frequently struggles to see injustice and cruelty in the present -- from his votes in favor of capital punishment to his vote to let states curb women's bodily autonomy -- will surely struggle to see injustice and cruelty in the past."
Just Two Old Guys Who Love Motown! Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Harlan Crow, a billionaire and influential Republican donor who has for years lavished gifts and financial favors upon Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, denied having any sway over Thomas's judicial decisions and said they do not discuss court cases in an interview published Monday with the Atlantic.... Crow ... claimed the two do not discuss work-related issues beyond 'casual' matters.... 'We talk about life. We're two guys who are the same age and grew up in the same era. We share a love of Motown,' Crow said in the interview."
Christopher Flavelle of the New York Times: "Arizona, California and Nevada have agreed to take less water from the drought-strained Colorado River, a breakthrough agreement that, for now, keeps the river from falling so low that it would jeopardize water supplies for major Western cities like Phoenix and Los Angeles as well as for some of America's most productive farmland. The agreement, announced Monday, calls for the federal government to pay about $1.2 billion to irrigation districts, cities and Native American tribes in the three states if they temporarily use less water. The states have also agreed to make additional cuts beyond the ones tied to the federal payments to generate the total reductions needed to prevent the collapse of the river.Taken together, those reductions would amount to about 13 percent of the total water use in the lower Colorado Basin...."
Naomi Nix, et al., of the Washington Post: "The European Union fined Meta a record $1.3 billion on Monday after finding the Facebook parent broke its privacy laws by transferring user data from Europe to the United States -- one of the most impactful penalties from the E.U. rules, which could have broad implications for American businesses. The Irish Data Protection Commission ordered Meta to suspend all transfers of personal data belonging to users in the E.U. and the European Economic Area -- which includes non-E. U. countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway -- to the United States. The Irish Data Protection Commission said in a statement that Meta's data transfers were in breach of the E.U.'s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), rules that restrict what companies can do with people's personal data. It is the largest GDPR fine handed down by the bloc...." (Also linked yesterday evening.)
Reuters, via the Guardian: "A Nazi swastika flag has been found after a rented truck crashed into security barriers on Lafayette Square, adjacent to the White House grounds in Washington DC.... A Reuters witness said investigators found the flag, which apparently came from inside the truck. Authorities in Washington DC have detained the driver of the truck.... There were no injuries or ongoing danger. 'Preliminary investigation reveals the driver may have intentionally struck the security barriers at Lafayette Square,' Anthony Guglielmi, the chief of communications for the Secret Service, said on Twitter."
Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Ross Lincoln of the Wrap, via Yahoo! News: "Last week Fox News did something it almost never does: Admit a false story it promoted incessantly actually was false.... [The story claimed that] 20 homeless veterans had been kicked out of hotels in upstate New York to make room for 'migrants.'... Laura Ingraham ... was tasked with disclosing the mistake, saying the network 'had no clue' why anyone would make that story up. 'I guess there's a first time for everything, [MSNBC's Chris] Hayes quipped after explaining his view that the story 'plays directly into the most deranged bias' of Fox News' audience."
Presidential Race 2024. Jonathan Weisman & Maya King of the New York Times: "Tim Scott, the first Black Republican elected to the Senate from the South since Reconstruction, announced his campaign for president on Monday, bringing a positive, aspirational message to a growing field of Republicans running as alternatives to ... Donald J. Trump. Mr. Scott's decision, which followed a soft rollout in February and the creation of an exploratory committee in April, came this time with a signal to the Republican establishment that he was the candidate to rally around if the party is to stop Mr. Trump's nomination. He was introduced by the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, John Thune of South Dakota, and will immediately begin a $5.5 million advertising blitz in the early nominating states of Iowa and New Hampshire."
Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign for the presidency "could be brief.... [Polls show] his prospects rapidly heading in the wrong direction.... Using GOP control of the Florida legislature as though it were a campaign billboard, DeSantis has loosened the state's gun laws; lowered the threshold for imposing the death penalty; expanded school vouchers; and imposed 'anti-woke' restrictions on teachers and administrators.... He has made it illegal for doctors to provide gender-transition care for minors. To top it off, he signed a bill establishing a six-week abortion ban.... DeSantis is not helping himself with his obsessive crusade against the Walt Disney Co...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The one and only good thing about Ron DeSantis's presidential aspirations is that it has given the national media an excuse to focus on Ron DeSantis. Chris Hayes showed a few seconds of DeSantis attempting to do the "New Hampshire diner thing," and he could not have been worse at it if he ran out the door screaming, "Keep those jerks away from me!" The guy clearly despises (or is petrified by) people. Hayes suggested maybe DeSantis could learn to do a better job at "retail politics," but I think either you've got it or you don't. I still remember Barack Obama's pausing to shake hands with the bobby who was guarding the door at 10 Downing Street. The bobby seemed shocked that a world leader would recognize him, but that's Obama. Ordinary people matter to him. Not to Ron DeSantis.
Beyond the Beltway
Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "It's increasingly clear that it's not safe to be pregnant in states with total abortion bans. Since the end of Roe v. Wade, there have been a barrage of gutting stories about women in prohibition states denied care for miscarriages or forced to continue nonviable pregnancies. Though some in the anti-abortion movement publicly justify this sort of treatment, others have responded with a combination of denial, deflection and conspiracy theorizing.... In March, five women represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights sued Texas after enduring medical nightmares when they were refused abortions for pregnancies that had gone awry.... And this week, eight more women, each with her own harrowing story, joined the suit, which asks a state district court to clarify the scope of emergency medical exceptions to Texas' abortion ban."
California. Dodgers Repent & Relent. Todd Miyazawa & Dennis Romero of NBC News: "The Los Angeles Dodgers reversed course and reinvited a group known for its queer and drag membership to its Pride Night event after it faced blowback over its last-minute exclusion. The team announced the move Monday, saying the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence has agreed to appear at the event June 16 at Dodger Stadium during a game against San Francisco. 'The Los Angeles Dodgers would like to offer our sincerest apologies to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, members of the LGBTQ+ community and their friends and families,' the team said. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, established in San Francisco in 1979, was expected to accept the night's Community Hero Award."
Deleware Senate Race. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Senator Thomas R. Carper, a veteran Democrat from Delaware, announced on Monday that he would not seek re-election next year, opening up a seat in a deep-blue state that he said he hoped would go to his handpicked successor. Mr. Carper, 76, is in his fourth term in the Senate and is the last surviving Vietnam veteran to serve there. He has held public office since the 1970s, first as Delaware's treasurer, then for a decade as a congressman, then as governor and, since 2001, as a senator. 'This just seems like a good time just to turn the page and move on,' Mr. Carper said at a news conference in Wilmington, Del.... The senator said he intended to do all he could to help Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, the Democrat who serves as the state's only member of the House and was his former intern, win the race to succeed him." The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday evening.)
Florida. Lev, the Giver Who Keeps on Giving. Aram Roston & Joseph Tanfani of Reuters: "Ukrainian-American businessman Lev Parnas and his business partner were arrested in 2019, accused by the U.S. government of funneling a Russian oligarch's money into American political campaigns. One recipient of Parnas' donations -- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis -- has said he was barely an acquaintance.... But DeSantis and Parnas worked more closely together than the Republican governor has disclosed, according to a detailed account of their relationship Parnas provided to Reuters and 63 previously unreported text messages from DeSantis to Parnas between May and October 2018, as DeSantis campaigned for governor. A jury later found Parnas guilty of campaign finance crimes and other charges.... The disclosures from Parnas cast new light on the Florida governor's relationship with the businessman and the role Parnas played in helping DeSantis gain entree to the circle of .... Donald Trump." (Also linked yesterday evening.)
DeSantis Welcomes Violent Criminal Cops to Florida. Richard Luscombe of the Guardian: "Numerous police officers lured to new jobs in Florida with cash from Governor Ron DeSantis's flagship law enforcement relocation program have histories of excessive violence or have been arrested for crimes including kidnapping and murder since signing up, a study of state documents has found. DeSantis ... has spent more than $13.5m to date on the recruitment bonus program, which he touted in 2021 as an incentive to officers in other states frustrated by Covid-19 vaccination mandates.... Among the almost 600 officers who moved to Florida and received the bonus -- or were recruited in state -- are a sizable number who either arrived with a range of complaints against them, or have since accrued criminal charges, the online media outlet Daily Dot has discovered." (Also linked yesterday evening.)
Michigan, Minnesota. Joey Cappelletti of the AP: "Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave final approval Monday afternoon to a red flag law that aims to keep firearms away from those at risk of harming themselves or others as the state grapples with ways to slow gun violence in the wake of its second mass school shooting. Michigan joined Minnesota as the second state in under a week to implement a red flag law after Democrats in both states won control of both chambers and the governor's office in November. New Mexico previously was the last state to pass a red flag law in 2020. Whitmer signed the legislation just outside of Detroit, flanked by state lawmakers and individuals affected by gun violence. Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who began campaigning for gun safety after she was shot in the head in 2011, was also in attendance."
Missouri Senate Race. Missourian Jon Hamm ("Mad Men") narrates an ad for Lucas Kunce, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate (I originally wrote "voiceover," but it's more than that):
Montana. Drew Harwell of the Washington Post: "The popular video app TikTok sued Montana on Monday, saying the state's new law banning the app statewide would violate Americans' First Amendment right to free expression. The federal lawsuit will set the stage for a broader debate over the short-video app and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, which some critics in the United States have said is vulnerable to Chinese government propaganda and espionage. The lawsuit seeks to overturn the law, which Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed last week and is set to go into effect Jan. 1. The legal challenge will probably delay the measure." (Also linked yesterday evening.)
Montana. Amy Hanson of the AP: "Republican Governor Greg Gianforte has signed a bill defining the word 'sex' in state law as only male or female -- joining Kansas and Tennessee, which have similar laws that LGBTQ+ advocates argue will deny legal recognition to nonbinary and transgender people. Medical professionals say the laws also ignore that some people are born as intersex -- a term that encompasses about 60 conditions in which a person is born with genitalia, reproductive organs, chromosomes and/or hormone levels that don't fit typical definitions of male or female."
Nebraska. Shawna Mizelle & Jack Forrest of CNN: "Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, signed a bill into law on Monday that bans most abortions after 12 weeks with exceptions for sexual assault, incest and medical emergencies. The bill does not define 'medical emergency' and the legislation includes a clause that will put the rules into immediate effect the day after it is signed. LB 574, which passed the state's Republican-controlled unicameral legislature in a 33-15 vote last week, also bans gender-affirming care for people under 19 years old. The abortion amendment was tacked onto the legislation after previous efforts to restrict abortions failed to overcome a filibuster. The bill only allows medical procedures for transitioning after a 'waiting period' and 'therapeutic hours' to determine if a person's gender dysphoria is 'long-lasting and intense.' The details of those provisions will be determined by the chief medical officer of Nebraska's Division of Public Health."
South Carolina. Danielle Paquette of the Washington Post: "Three times over the past eight months, as the [state senate]'s GOP leaders have sought to prohibit most procedures starting at conception, [Sen. Sandy] Senn [R] -- flanked by a bipartisan bloc of the Senate's only women -- has hustled to thwart what she views as attempts to 'shackle women.' The group -- three Republicans, an independent and a Democrat, who call themselves the 'Sister Senators' -- filibustered for three days last month to defeat a near-total ban."
Washington State. Caroline O'Donovan & Naomi Nix of the Washington Post: "On Monday, some Amazon workers at the company's Seattle headquarters announced internally their plans to walk off the job. In messages sent out via Slack and email, employee organizers urged their colleagues to walk out on May 31 -- one week after the company's annual shareholder meeting -- in response to frustration over layoffs and the return-to-office mandate, as well as concerns about Amazon's climate commitments.... The walkout, which organizers hope will draw at least 1,000 Seattle-based participants, is part of a greater wave of anxiety spilling over into agitation among Silicon Valley workers as hiring freezes follow mass layoffs amid a looming potential recession." (Also linked yesterday evening.)
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live udpates of developments Tuesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Tuesday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Tuesday is here: "Ukrainian officials say troops are still battling around Bakhmut, despite Russia's claim over the weekend to have seized the city which has been a focal point of the war for months. Ukraine's armed forces and the country's deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, said fighting was ongoing in the embattled eastern city's outskirts....The governor of Belgorod, a Russian region bordering Ukraine, said it was targeted by a sabotage group. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that drone attacks were reported in the town of Grayvoron and the Borisovka settlement, adding that the region had initiated counterterrorism measures. Responsibility for the attacks on Belgorod was claimed by groups that called themselves 'Freedom of Russia Legion' and 'Russian Volunteer Corps.' On Telegram, they said that they had 'liberated' a settlement there."
Jonathan Yerushalmy of the Guardian: "On Monday, a Russian anti-Kremlin militia claimed to have crossed over from Ukraine to attack two villages along the border. Belgorod's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said eight people were wounded after the village came under Ukrainian artillery fire. Ukraine has disavowed any connection to the Russian partisan fighters. Another anti-Kremlin militia has said it also took part in the raid, but it was only the latest example of violence hitting the Belgorod region. Missiles launched from Belgorod have been among those that reduced cities across Ukraine to rubble, and Moscow has accused Kyiv of retaliating with attacks on the region.... But with a grim irony, it's perhaps the Russian army itself that has proven to be most disruptive to the citizens of Belgorod. Increasingly plagued by mismanagement and poor morale, Russian troops have been found responsible for a series of attacks, accidents and explosion that have fed the growing disorder in the region."
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Reader Comments (19)
We talk about having approximately ten days before default. Actually, it's more like a week. Remember that the GOP House agreed to require three days for a bill to be studied before it would be brought to the floor. I read this morning where McCarthy has said he is going to follow that requirement.
I have spent a goodly portion of the morning reading about Tim Scott. After watching his rally announcing his foray into the presidential ring I thought, wow, felt like a revival meeting––God was ever present in Tim's loud shouts about his vision of America and that vision is one where separation of church and state would be shaky at best, same sex marriage might be banned, Abortion and stem cell research , the same, and environmental issues put on the back burner.
When I went to the NYT they had a long list of columnists giving their thoughts about Scott––-for the most part they felt as a Republican candidate he would fare well. One, however, expressed my own take:
"Gray: Scott markets himself as a positive, optimistic, let’s-work-together guy, but his politics are in line with the most intransigent conservatives of his party. Whether this is inspiring or unsettling I guess depends on one’s point of view."
You bet!
Perpetual prickishness
Reading about how the LA Dodgers organization came around on their rather silly disinviting of a drag group to their Pride Night celebration, several things came to mind.
First, contrary to what we’ve been seeing and hearing for decades now from the right about never apologizing for anything, and Uber Never Thinking of Apologizing especially if you’ve been a colossal dick because “apologizing makes you look weak” and looks like you’re caving to “the enemy”, apologizing is the domain of those who are strong, those who don’t have insecurity issues, and those who are well adjusted adults (also, in this case, those who have done something boneheaded but are big enough to admit it).
You CAN apologize without looking weak. In fact, it’s just the opposite. I’m no big Dodgers fan but I have more respect for them after seeing their ability to make an about face and to do it without looking like sullen adolescents made to eat their broccoli.
Second…the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence? Haha. Okay, fine. But perpetual indulgence sounds like a requirement to be a member of the Party of Traitors being assaulted each day by new and ever more tawdry tales of Trumpian crimes and misdemeanors.
So I looked up the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and found it to be an organization with these worthies listed as top dogs, er nuns, er, whatever…
Abbess, President, Board Member
Sister Guard N. O'Pansies
Mistress of Novices, Vice President
Sister Bella Donna Summer BDSM (that degree must get you all tied up)
Treasurer, Board Vice-Chair
Sister Gaia Love
Sexytary, Board Sexytary
Sister Desi Juana Dewitt (answer: Yesi Duz)
No one can say the sisters don’t have a sense of humor, a dead giveaway that they ain’t Republicans. If you were tempted to say the cross dressing indicated the same, I give you Rudy, Kitara, and MTG’s current boyfriend.
(Historical sidebar: “indulgences” also refers to a sort of Get Out of Purgatory thingie invented by the Catholic Church during what must have been days of perpetual medieval boredom, a trick that allowed sinners to not worry about never getting out of purgatory—the way station between heaven and hell—or being dropped down the elevator shaft to meet Ol’ Scratch, if you died suddenly, unrepentant. Some clever con artists decided it would be a tres cool idea to sell indulgences to nervous rich sinners, a practice that gave us Martin Luther and, eventually, Pat Robertson. Yet another example of what a motherless fucking scam is most organized religion.)
Okay, so apologies, some laughs, cross dressing, medieval religious con jobs…what else?
Oh yeah. That bit about perpetual prickishness…how could I forget?
Something not very funny is the fact that the Dodgers—in fucking LA!!—first decided to disinvite a group simply because Scary Drag Queen Groomers.
Republican bigotry has so infected the public bloodstream that the mere mention of drag queens—in LA, of all places!—gives so-called public leaders the willies.
Of course it’s perfectly fine to rape a woman in a dressing room or to mow down kids with an assault rifle, but a man in woman’s clothing singing “Luck be a lady tonight” is the end of civilization as we know it.
Their prickishness is both perpetual and pervasive.
Send them down to see the principal, Sister Rosy Bottoms. She knows how to handle naughty children. She will NOT be indulgent.
Morning entertainment:
Clicked on a WAPO op-ed on the decline of civics education.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/23/civics-education-democracy-danielle-allen/
Thought it notably naive and responded, saying that we shouldn't be surprised. We spend immense time and resources teaching kids how to be uncivil.
Our news is almost exclusively about mass murders, a cynically manufactured debt crisis, rampant corruption everywhere from the business world to the SCOTUS, mostly unpunished, inflation partially to largely driven by corporate profit-taking, a political world in the post grab-em-by the pussy presidency where lying is both expected and required, where cheating is standard procedure, where on political party defines itself by what it hates, and where my freedom to do anything I want matters more than anything, and if you don't like it, I have an AR-15...
A contribution along those lines anyway, asking how we can teach civility in so uncivil an environment? When most of what we do, intentionally or not, devalues any notion or definition of civility.
The WAPO rejected the comment, saying it did not meet their editorial standards. And I didn't even use the "f" word.
Found their response more proof of how uncivil--could that word have come to mean "stupid?"-- we've become.
PD,
I heard some of Scott’s speech yesterday, and I refrained from my usual reaction when some winger demagogue starts spouting off, turning off the radio, until I heard him giving out with the same ol’, same ol’ tired retread bullshit about “Biden and Extreme Left”. (*sigh*). Click! Off!
What Extreme Left? The Extreme Left hasn’t been around since the Weathermen blew up their last bank in 1972.
What they mean by Extreme Left now is anyone who believes in the rule of law, thinks that former presidents should be held accountable for their countless crimes, sees activist judges who value specific ideological outcomes over unbiased interpretation of the law as not the best thing, feel that a woman’s right to make a decision about her own health is nobody else’s fucking business, think that actual democracy doesn’t allow for election theft and electoral shenanigans, and believe that bigotry, racism, and hatred as a foundation of public policy really sucks.
If that’s extreme, call me Akhilleus Extremus.
I saw this tweet by Sam Youngman "A lot of Democratic screw ups start with the assumption the press will do their jobs." Reminded me of the debt ceiling coverage, and most of Republican politics and Republicans in general and a lot of the other things reporters are supposed to be informing the public about.
About the stupid spending cuts, this guy talks a little about how it's all about the tax cuts, “Without the Bush tax cuts, their extensions, and the Trump tax cuts, debt would be declining as a percent of GDP forever.”
Apparently Tim Scott", you see, first rose to prominence as a 30-year-old virgin advocating for abstinence until marriage. That was actually his whole deal when he first got into politics. He went around nailing copies of the Ten Commandments to public buildings"
And was why Ben Terris from the Washington Post felt he needed to ask the bachelor Scott if he was still saving himself until marriage.
Scott's message is only positive if don't understand the English language and what is actually coming out of his mouth. Though that could explain some of the press' coverage these days.
RAS: Yeah, I read that virgin thing but thought I better leave that alone but couldn't help thinking, WOW, what's this all about. Don't know whether he's still pure as the driven snow or has taken the plunge; if the former, I'd say, wees got some real interesting issues here.
Today is International Turtle Day.
What Republican politician comes to mind?
Wasn't there a TV series titled the 40 year old virgin or something
like that? That leaves Matt Gaetz out.
I had never heard the Virgin Tim story, but maybe it's sort of a necessity for Black Republicans, what with White Republicans being so askeert of Black men. (See, for instance, Miss Margie.) But if Scott is, albeit subtly, trying to present himself as the anti-Trump, that's a mighty impressive start. Also, er, unusual. Alas, Scott implies he since has broken his vow of chastity.
Broken his vow of chastity? And not MARRIED?? Heavens!
(Does self abuse count as breaking the vow?)
Hmmm…well, maybe the intimation is made to stave off connection to all those angry incel whackos. And yes, separating oneself from the Orange Rapist is a good idea but it is definitely a low bar. Chastity is certainly light years from the Trump MO, but there are likely thousands of guys in prison for sexual assault who could still easily be labeled “Better than Trump”.
Although there certainly must be corruption in the DOJ and the FBI (because, they are human staffed), today's NYT story about DiJiT's full-term investigation of the Clinton Foundation sounds more like the DOJ slow-rolling DiJiT with the ol' Rope-a-Dope bureaucratic move. The case was "open" until days before DiJiT hopped his mighty Sikorsky White Top, circled the Capital, and then, just like that, was gone ... and so was the case.
It has all the earmarks -- open-ended enquiry (i.e., non-parametric seeking of an opening predicate), multiple serial case managers and offices, disagreements among prosecutors (DOJ) and investigating agents (FBI), jurisdictional changes (Washington, NY, Little Rock), and, at the end when DiJiT is all but gone, stamping "No Case" on the big, thick file. You even have the classic scenario where: "The investigation became a source of friction at the F.B.I. as agents believed the Justice Department had stymied their work."
A major point here is that, after initial inquiry, clearly EVERY prosecutor saw a political hit job which was an open and shut violation of the 4th Amendment at the very least, but that NO prosecuter was going to tell the AG that the President's* urge was legally unachievable. So - Rope-a-Dope. Which is what leaders get when they don't know what they're doing. And lucky if that's all they get.
I find it a stretch that someone who runs around nailing copies of the Ten Commandments to various doors and walls continues to be a member of a party whose leader has broken all of them (no. 4, maybe not, but with Trump you never know).
@Patrick: That's quite a plausible alternate theory of the case, and I'll buy it. It's still appalling that the DOJ opened a case on what prosecutors deemed to be insufficient predication even if the purpose was to jolly along an authoritarian POTUS*.
At the same time, your supposition helps explain why Trump believed that a "deep-state" cabal was undermining him. He was right. And, yeah, that's a good thing. But what about Bill Barr? Did the AG think the inquiry should yield results & nail/jail Hillary (and maybe Bill, too)? Was Barr in on the let's-pacify-Trump ruse or was he too getting the run-around?
Again, nothing much to add. All RC discussions are very interesting, all leading to extreme depression that anything will change, that any "bad guy" gets what he deserves, that the worst prez* in history gets what he has deserved his entire sorry life, that the other party will kick out the crazies, that ANY R candidate will stop coming out with the "extreme lefty left" crap that makes me want to hurl something, anything, at the screen...see Scott, Tim, Virgin Candidate and Expert at Irrelevancy; I am cheered by the DOJ asking for more stuff, but depressed that no matter how much "stuff" they receive, they, like Dumpster Waddleface, will always want more. It's the journey, not the end at Rikers, that seems to float the stupid boats at DOJ.
As for the phoney fake "debt ceiling", what ARE they (Joe and Wet dishrag) doing, just meeting so the media can try to read the tea leaves and happily babble about it? If there is ANY negotiation, that is super annoying, since the White House is not the one who needs to bend. Just order the treasurer or whomever does it, to pay the damn bills and then shut up about it. Everyone knows this is a "winner" for the morons if ANYTHING is given up on the left. Even the morons.
Scott's chastity probably helped him get a foot in the door of a Republican Party that is filled with white supremacists and incels who have nightmares of this happening to their America.
For the life of me I can't see why MTG would bid 100K$ for a tube of Kevins lip balm when she's already got the used portion on her rear.
RAS,
It’s not “on” her rear, it’s up her rear. If any of it were recoverable, she’d need a talented proctologist to do the honors, if you can call digging around in her stupid ass an honor. My Kevin has perfected the complete ass kiss/lick tongue insertion specialty. It’s what got him the gavel. Which is now buried up HIS ass.
Whatever turns you on, I guess. For Trump it’s rape, for Clarence, it’s the grift, for TuKKKer, it’s nightly, tiny dick in hand replays of “Triumph of the Will”. For My Kevin it’s traitor anal rooting.
Jesus. These people.
Marie: Barr must have known that his folks were doing the Rope-a-Dope, he has been in the business long enough to recognize the footwork. But I doubt he was the cause of it. Ignorance probably suited him in this case.
And one reason you don't tell the Boss "no" is to delay and degrade his ability to seek alternate henchmen. Even when he figures out he's been worked, the long paper trail that exists by then, plus multiples of witnesses, will make it more difficult for true believers to step in an hack up the archbishop.