;)
Tuesday
May302023
May 30, 2023
Afternoon/Evening Update:
Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), who was first elected to Congress in 2012, will resign his seat to focus on his wife's health, according to a published report.... [Her] medical issues are not publicly known.... Stewart's departure would reduce the GOP's already-slim majority in the House -- 222 seats to Democrats' 213.... Per Utah law, Stewart's resignation will spark a special election, whose winner will fill the remainder of his term. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) will announce the timeline for the race's primary and general elections once Stewart officially announces his resignation. Stewart, who serves on the Appropriations and Intelligence committees, has won handily in the Republican-leaning district since he was first elected in 2012."
How Joe Rolls. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "For days, [Kevin] McCarthy (R-Calif.) has effectively been arguing that he rolled [President] Biden, forcing him into major concessions on spending and delivering the Republican Party a win. 'President Biden claimed he'd never negotiate.... But in a stark contrast, Biden on Monday declined to even say who had gotten the better deal; he has merely called it a 'bipartisan deal' and 'good news for the American people.' And he said there was a reason for that. 'Why would Biden say what a good deal it is before the vote?' [Biden asked reporters on the South Lawn of the White House.] 'You think that's going to help me get it passed? No. That's why you guys don't bargain very well....'... In other words: If Biden says this is a good deal for Democrats, Republicans will vote against it.... It also reflects the reality of the modern Republican Party, which has become defined by an owning-the-libs mentality...."
Bill Barrow of the AP: "Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia and remains at home, her family has announced. Carter, now 95, remains at home with former President Jimmy Carter, who has been at home receiving hospice care since early this year. 'She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones,' the family said via The Carter Center, the global humanitarian organization the couple founded in 1982 after leaving the White House."
Kasha Patel of the Washington Post: "... many parts of Earth's surface are sinking -- fast. Scientists are especially concerned for sinking locations near the coast, which are at a higher risk for flooding as sea levels rise in a warming world. Hurricanes and extreme rainfall events can also bring more damage to such low-lying areas.... Regions with the highest land subsidence in the United States are mainly located along the East and Gulf Coast, but here we selected a few hot spots around the country." Patel names Houston, Texas; New Orleans, Louisiana; New York City; Norfolk, Virginia & California's Central Valley.
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Jim Tankersley & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "The full legislative text of Speaker Kevin McCarthy's agreement in principle with President Biden to suspend the nation's borrowing limit revealed new and important details about the deal, which House lawmakers are expected to vote on this week. The centerpiece of the agreement remains a two-year suspension of the debt ceiling, which caps the total amount of money the government is allowed to borrow." The article goes on to lay out some of the details. An NBC News report on the provisions of the deal is here.
~~~ Jennifer Haberkorn, et al., of Politico: "The White House has a simple message to Democrats skeptical of the debt ceiling agreement the president cut with Speaker Kevin McCarthy: Don't judge us by what's included but what we kept out. Top administration officials began fanning out late Saturday evening and all through Sunday to sell the deal, which would suspend the debt ceiling through January of 2025, limit federal spending through the same period, and make changes to government social welfare programs. The calls with stakeholders and lawmakers were generally positive, according to three people familiar with the overall feedback...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
NEW. Jennifer Jett & Courtney Kube of NBC News: "China has declined a request from the United States for a meeting between the countries' defense chiefs, the Pentagon said late Monday, as the world's two largest economies struggle to mend ties. The Pentagon had suggested a meeting between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security forum being held in Singapore from June 2 to 4. Washington has been seeking to restore high-level communications with Beijing as both sides signal a willingness to ease tensions stoked by clashes over Taiwan, a Chinese spy balloon and Russia's war in Ukraine. But China has outlined limits to that conciliation over its issues with U.S. sanctions and what it sees as a broader effort to contain its rise."
NEW. Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Donald Trump's lawyer tasked with searching for classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after the justice department issued a subpoena told associates that he was waved off from searching the former president's office, where the FBI later found the most sensitive materials anywhere on the property. The lawyer, Evan Corcoran, recounted that several Trump aides had told him to search the storage room because that was where all the materials that had been brought from the White House at the end of Trump's presidency ended up being deposited. Corcoran found 38 classified documents in the storage room. He then asked whether he should search anywhere else but was steered away, he told associates. Corcoran never searched Trump's office and told prosecutors that the 38 papers were the extent of the material at Mar-a-Lago.... It was not clear who waved off Corcoran from searching elsewhere at Mar-a-Lago -- whether it was Trump himself or Trump employees...." MB: I hope we can assume that prosecutors did not accept a passive-voice explanation and asked Corcoran who had waved him away from Trump's office & other areas in which Trump had squirreled away the classified docs. My guess it that it was Trump lawyer/toady Boris Epshteyn.
~~~ Katie Phang in an NBC News opinion piece. Donald "Trump's legal team is an epic disaster.... You would think a client facing [the] amount of legal peril [Trump faces] would have a top-notch team of lawyers in place to defend him. But when you have a client like Trump, normal expectations don't apply.... If he's being given legal advice not to talk, he is clearly not listening or he doesn't respect the counsel being dispensed. Historically, Trump has done and said whatever he wants, presumably regardless of the legal advice being provided by his dozens of attorneys."
Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Talmon Smith & Joe Rennison of the New York Times: "The prices of oil, transportation, food ingredients and other raw materials have fallen in recent months as the shocks stemming from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have faded. Yet many big businesses have continued raising prices at a rapid clip. Some of the world's biggest companies have said they do not plan to change course and will continue increasing prices or keep them at elevated levels for the foreseeable future. That strategy has cushioned corporate profits. And it could keep inflation robust, contributing to the very pressures used to justify surging prices. As a result, some economists warn, policymakers at the Federal Reserve may feel compelled to keep raising interest rates, or at least not lower them, increasing the likelihood and severity of an economic downturn." ~~~
~~~ Stacy Mitchell in a New York Times op-ed: "To understand why grocery prices are way up, we need to look past the headlines about inflation and reconsider long-held ideas about the benefits of corporate bigness.... [Because Walmart buys a large share of suppliers' products,] when Walmart demands special deals, suppliers can't say no. And as suppliers cut special deals for Walmart and other large chains, they make up for the lost revenue by charging smaller retailers even more, something economists refer to as the water bed effect. This isn't competition. It's big retailers exploiting their financial control over suppliers to hobble smaller competitors. Our failure to put a stop to it has warped our entire food system. It has driven independent grocers out of business and created food deserts. It has spurred consolidation among food processors, which has slashed the share of food dollars going to farmers and created dangerous bottlenecks in the production of meat and other essentials. And in a perverse twist, it has raised food prices for everyone, no matter where you shop." Read on.
Beyond the Beltway
California. Gloria Oladipo of the Guardian: "The insurance giant State Farm, America's biggest car and home insurer by premium volume, will halt the sale of new home insurance policies in California, citing wildfire risk and inflation of construction costs. Starting on Saturday, the company will not accept insurance applications for business and personal lines property and casualty insurance. The company will still accept auto insurance applicants."
Texas. Paul Weber & Acacia Coronado of the AP: "A historic impeachment trial in Texas to determine whether Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton should be permanently removed from office will begin no later than August in the state Senate, where the jury that would determine his future could include his wife, Sen. Angela Paxton. Setting a schedule was one of the last orders of business lawmakers took Monday during an acrimonious end to this year's legislative session in Texas, where the impeachment laid bare fractures in America's biggest red state beyond whether Republicans will oust one of the GOP's conservative legal stars. It drags Republicans -- who for years have pushed fast-changing Texas farther to the right -- into a summer of unfinished business and soured feelings that are likely to spill into 2024's elections. The stakes are also raised for Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who couldn't get his full agenda through the GOP-controlled legislature on time. He almost immediately called lawmakers back to work for the first of 'several' special sessions in the coming months."
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates 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: "At least two residential buildings in the Russian capital were hit by drones Tuesday morning, Moscow's mayor said on Telegram.... The drone attack caused minor damage early Tuesday, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said.... No one has been seriously injured so far, the mayor said.... More than 10 drones were shot down in the Moscow region this morning, most of them in the Istrinsky, Krasnogorsky and Odintsovsky districts, according to Russia's Baza Telegram channel. In all, about 25 drones were involved in the morning attack.... The drone strike came after Russia conducted its third aerial attack on Kyiv in 24 hours. Falling debris killed at least one person and wounded at least four people, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The air raid was the 17th this month, he said.... In Kyiv, Ukraine's military destroyed more than 20 enemy drones in the city&'s airspace, the local military administration said early Tuesday. But residential buildings and vehicles were damaged, it said."
"Nukes for All!” Yuliya Talmazan of NBC News: "Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, promised nuclear weapons to any nation that joined Russia and Belarus. The comment came just days after the Belarusian leader confirmed the transfer of Russian nuclear weapons to his country. Putin has periodically hinted at a nuclear escalation since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, dramatically increasing tensions with the United States and the West. 'It's very simple. You have to join the union between Belarus and Russia, and that's it: There will be nuclear weapons for everyone,' Lukashenko said in a comment aired Sunday night on Russian state TV.... On Thursday, the Belarusian leader confirmed that Russia has moved on the plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, first announced in March." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
CBS/AP: "Russia's Interior Ministry on Monday issued an arrest warrant for U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham following his comments related to the fighting in Ukraine. In an edited video of his meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that was released by Zelenskyy's office, Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, noted that 'the Russians are dying' and described the U.S. military assistance to the country as 'the best money we've ever spent.' While Graham appeared to have made the remarks in different parts of the conversation, the short video by Ukraine's presidential office put them next to each other, causing outrage in Russia. Later, Zelenskyy's office issued video of Graham's actual remarks showing the shorter version had been edited.... Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday that 'it's hard to imagine a greater shame for the country than having such senators.'" MB: Well, now, there's a Kremlin official remark I agree with, albeit for different reasons. Thanks to Forrest M. for the lead. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Turkey. Kareem Fahim of the Washington Post: “In victory..., instead of soothing the nation, [President Recep Tayyip Erdogan] lashed out at a familiar set of villains, in remarks that may set the tone for his next term. He was dismissive of his opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.... He denigrated LGBTQ people as a threat to 'family.' And he ruled out any release for an imprisoned Kurdish political leader, calling him a 'terrorist.'... As the country moved on from the election, Erdogan would not easily abandon the bitter rhetoric, analysts said, setting Turkey on a divisive and turbulent course for the foreseeable future, even as Erdogan juggled a need to stabilize the economy as well as Turkey's often stormy relations with allies in the West."
News Ledes
New York Times: "At least nine people were wounded when gunfire erupted on Monday between two groups near a beach in Hollywood, Fla., in a shooting that sent dozens of panicked beachgoers fleeing or ducking for cover on Monday evening, officials said.... It is unclear what led to the shooting or how many people were involved in the confrontation." A CBS News story is here.
New York Times: "A search and rescue effort was winding down in Iowa on Monday after the partial collapse of a six-story apartment building the day before, officials said. The Davenport Police Department said its officers and firefighters responded on Sunday at about 5 p.m. to a report of the collapse at 324 Main Street in Davenport, a city along the Mississippi River in the eastern part of the state. Overnight, more than a dozen people were escorted out of the building and eight were rescued, Chief Michael Carlsten, of the Davenport Fire Department, said at a news conference on Monday.... There were no known individuals still trapped and no reported deaths, but on Monday, teams used dogs trained in cadaver detection and rescue to search through the rubble, the chief said.... Rich Oswald, the city's director of development and neighborhood services, said work was being done on the outside of the building at the time of the collapse, and there were reports of bricks falling from the building earlier this week." ~~~
~~~ AP Update: "Five people remain unaccounted for, including two people whose remains may be in a pile of rubble at the site of a partially collapsed apartment building, officials of the city of Davenport, Iowa, said Tuesday. Mayor Mike Matson confirmed the numbers at a news conference following criticism that the city was moving too quickly toward demolishing the building before making sure that no one is still inside. Protests erupted after a woman was rescued Monday night, hours after the city ordered the demolition to begin as early as Tuesday.... The discovery of another survivor Monday evening, rescued by ladder truck from a fourth-floor window, prompted the city to reevaluate, they said."
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Reader Comments (12)
The article above 'Capitalism is awesome' confirms my thoughts on
inflation. I call it price gouging, or greed.
A recent example: shopping at Aldi recently I noticed the price of
grapes had doubled. I asked what the reason was. Oh, there's a
shortage of grapes.
You have a pile of grapes the size of a Volkswagen, like always, so
where's the shortage.
Same with everything else that has shot up in price.
There's certainly no shortage of greed and price gouging.
By the clock:
Yesterday, gas prices jumped 25 cents/gallon cash price at the station I frequent. Why?
Does Memorial Day mark the start of the standard summer gas price gouge?
Of did the local refineries suddenly change to the more expensive summer mix on Sunday?
@Forrest Morris: The worst part is that irresponsible people like me help out the greedy capitalists. The first thing I did after reading Stacy Mitchell's op-ed on Walmart's practices to squish smaller competitors was to get dressed and drive to Walmart so I could get there by about 6 am -- before the mass murderer showed up with his AR-15.
If there were a national boycott of Walmart, I'd join it. But I'm just not doing it by myself. While I try to get most of my groceries at a local chain, Walmart presents too many conveniences for me to ignore. Where else can I get a few necessary grocery supplies, a bungee cord and two pairs of canvas shoes, which were all in my cart before 7 am?
Marie: Your comments remind me of the time I learned that Costco had a union, payed their workers way more than other big box stores. When I investigated B.J's, the one we shop at, discovered no union and pay was much lower. But–––B.J's was fifteen minutes away while Costco would take almost an hour––we continued with B.J's–-told myself I was saving gas.
Like you, my mister gets to Stop and Shop at seven–-few people and no shooter hovering around that early. I mentioned earlier about a few incidents of young guys attacking older women and snatching their purses at this very same Stop and Shop. "Times is hard" as Mrs. Lovett always told us,
Yeah, that gasoline has been in those storage tanks for months but
now that there's more demand by tourists the price goes way up
just before Memorial Day weekend. And I have to pay the high price
also, like a tourist.
Guess they're charging storage for storing it all winter.
More price gouging. I read somewhere last week that Melanie
wants to renegotiate the contract with Donald or she won't campagne
with him.
She probably wants Trump Tower and change the name to Knavs
Tower.
Or maybe if she can take him for enough she can buy Slovenia and
become queen of the gypsies. (Part of my heritage, Eastern European
gypsies who came to Scotland in the 17 hundreds.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/05/30/ai-chatbots-chatgpt-bard-trustworthy/
Turns out that AI is a Republican
How Assholes Explain the World
I can’t seriously describe this debt ceiling whatchamacallit created by Biden and the egregiously excremental My Kevin as a deal.
Democrats got nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. And I don’t wanna hear how we staved off default and a potential worldwide economic collapse. We already had that ability.
So you’re driving in the car. It starts raining. You go to switch on the wipers and your passenger, a delusional sociopath covered in Nazi tattoos sez “No! No! No wipers! You can’t use the wipers unless you give me control of the car, where we go, how fast we get there, and we hang my Waffen SS dingle balls off the rear view, and any poor, black or brown person we pass, we have to run over.”
First, there is no way the driver has to agree to these conditions. There are laws saying that you cannot drive blind. All you have to do is say “Fuck off, Himmler. The law is clear. Wipers on.”
But Biden says “Let’s talk about this.”
No. Nononononono!!
The Constitution says you can’t drive blind with the nation’s debt and just let shit happen.
I’m hearing apologists saying that invoking the Constitution would piss off the extortionists and it would go to the Nazi Court and they’d agree.
Good. Let them. Because if the threat of doing something is all they have, then they have nothing. It’s like deciding not to go to your lock down closer in a tight ballgame because it will piss off the other team and they’ll complain. So you leave in your noodle-armed pitcher so the guys on the other side who don’t know the rules of the game and couldn’t hit a ball off a little kid’s tee will have a chance.
Okay. I’m getting a lot madder as I write this.
The traitors got nothing. Nothing.
All they have is going on Fox or NewsAss and saying mean things about us. Oh no! Not that! You mean they’ll be nice if we give in to them???
Of COURSE NOT! So why bother??
I’m reading a book by Atlantic writer Franklin Foer, “How Soccer Explains the World”. He uses soccer (football to the rest of the world, or rather, futbol) as a conceit, a way to look at economic and political issues. I’m not much of a soccer fan, although World Cup gains my attention every four years, and I drew local attention, screaming as my seven year old once scored five goals in a game, but Foer’s conceit is wildly successful.
While talking about the tribal rivalry in Serbia (the book was published in 2004), he mentions that local criminal gangs exerted influence on football clubs, won largely through intimidation. But not just intimidation. They followed through on threats with actual violence.
But in this debt ceiling situation, we’re talking about Party of Traitor thugs like the Freedom Cock-ups exerting intimidation with nothing behind it. No-thing.
But Biden (and Democrats like Schumer) cave.
This is a zero sum game, imposed by the traitors, and Biden and (some—not me) Democrats are playing as if everyone in the game deserves a participation award.
No. No. No! They don’t!!!! Why? Because they’re NOT PARTICIPATING! They’re threatening to burn down the bleachers and everyone sitting there.
But they have wet matches.
Biden has a fucking fire hose.
But refuses to use it.
(And for My Kevin to whine that Biden can’t say it’s a good deal because it makes it harder for him to sell this “deal” —a “deal” where they get something and Democrats get NOTHING—I say “Fuck off. It’s not Biden’s job to help you out with the psychopaths who gave you the gavel, you’re a ‘leader’. Do your job. Schmuck.”)
@Akhilleus: Here's Biden's possible save. Most of what he negotiated away -- or so "they" say -- is what would have been negotiated away anyway during budget negotiations. So there's no loss whatsoever for Democrats because in what is essentially a 50-50 Congress, they can't win everything (unless they're Mitch McConnell and flat-out cheat any time they can). Biden himself has claimed that what he was "negotiating" was the budget and not the debt ceiling.
I still think he should have invoked the Fourteenth Amendment & told My Kevin to shove it. I do get that that a Fourtheenth-Amendment solution might have discombobulated the so-called markets, but drones over Moscow or a hurricane hitting New York City might do that, too.
So if, in the end, Biden tricked McCarthy, or Biden & McCarthy tricked the MTG crowd, into raising the debt ceiling, well, okay. Not great. But okay.
As usual, AK, you express what I am thinking or even attempting to say. It is not a win. It is just not as bad a loss as they could have shoveled at us. BUT== and it's a big but-- No one with a brain agrees that things are going well, Everyone wants reform: gun reform, Supreme Court reform, election reform NOT RUN BY Rs, etc. But until someone gets brave, or a lot of people in power get brave, nothing will ever change. Nothing. Even my favorite senators are not proposing anything approaching any reforms, because they are ALL protecting their seats. All of them yakking every day that I must send money or...they will lose their seats and I will be the one responsible for the "conservative" apocalypse. Our whole system is so corrupt it is eating itself. Maybe the militias have something-- minus the guns. the camo and the unwashed men-- government is really NOT "of the people" as long as the people, dumb as dirt, keep electing morons and dangerous criminals. Have you HEARD that Floriduh fireplug who thinks he's qualified?? Holy sh**. Sorry-- I am angry too, AK. But then, I have been angry since 1982 or so.
Jeanne,
You put me in mind of a button pinned to one's chest:
_(Name)__ Angry since __(Year)___
I know my name--and I'm thinking about the year. Maybe 2000?
Marie,
A second thought occurred to me as I was hitting “create post”.
I’m not gonna say this is actually what’s going on but it would be uber cool if it is.
So Biden and My Kevin finish their “negotiations” and Biden announces that Democrats should be pleased, which pisses off My Kevin because he can’t sell any deal to fellow traitors and terrorist thugs that doesn’t have Democrats weeping and poor people ready to take the pipe, two of their primary goals.
This brings us right down to the wire. Perhaps Biden didn’t want to come right out and say “All you extortionists can fuck off: 14th amendment”, but if the hardcore terrorists refuse to go along with the “deal” then Biden could play the Constitution card without looking like he was cutting off all discussion on the issue, had he done it right up front.
Don’t know if his poker chops are that refined, but he would, in effect, be stepping in at the last minute to save the country from default as the traitors were throwing turd balls at each other.
One other tell that proves their bullshit about reducing deficits: it appears that their other goal, beside sticking it to the poor, is to kneecap the IRS’s ability to go after wealthy tax cheats, the GOP’s primary funders. Denying the government the ability to recoup billions from tax cheats and Trump-like fraudsters does not shout “Concern about the Deficit”. In fact, something Biden could have done (and didn’t) was to tie any reduction in spending to an increase in taxes. For every dollar we give you in spending, we want a dollar from properly restored taxes.