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Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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Saturday
Nov192022

November 20, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "Two reports analyzing two different criminal investigations into Donald Trump have reached a singular conclusion: there is enough evidence to bring charges against the former president.... 'Donald Trump is facing many more legal problems than just these two probes. But the Georgia investigation of whether his election denial slipped into criminality after the 2020 election and the federal investigation [into] whether his retention, classified, and other documents at Mar-a-Lago also crossed the criminal red line are the most threatening legal peril that he faces,' Norm Eisen..., an author on both reports, told The Hill.... The nearly 500 pages of collective legal analysis finds a litany of state and federal crimes Trump may have committed.... 'We conclude that Trump's post-election conduct in Georgia leaves him at substantial risk of possible state charges predicated on multiple crimes,' a report from the Brookings Institution determined. And in a report from Just Security, former prosecutors found additional statutes the Justice Department could weigh using as it noted any failure to charge Trump for the mishandling of records would represent treating Trump far differently than others who have faced similar charges." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: These analyses, of course, rely on only information that is publicly-known. The DOJ likely has additional evidence -- and of of course, in theory at least, DOJ could have exculpatory evidence.

~~~~~~~~~~

Today is President Biden's 80th birthday.

Brad Plumer, et al., of the New York Times: "Negotiators from nearly 200 countries concluded two weeks of talks early Sunday in which their main achievement was agreeing to establish a fund that would help poor, vulnerable countries cope with climate disasters made worse by the pollution spewed by wealthy nations.... The decision ... marked a breakthrough on one of the most contentious issues at United Nations climate negotiations. For more than three decades, developing nations have pressed for loss and damage money, asking rich, industrialized countries to provide compensation for the costs of destructive storms, heat waves and droughts fueled by global warming. But the United States and other wealthy countries had long blocked the idea, for fear that they could be held legally liable for the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change. The agreement hammered out ... says nations cannot be held legally liable for payments. The deal calls for a committee with representatives from 24 countries to work over the next year to figure out exactly what form the fund should take, which countries should contribute and where the money should go. Many of the other details are still to be determined." The AP report is here.

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "Trump flaunts his faux Macho Macho Man rhetoric. For decades, Republicans have lectured Americans to quit embracing victimhood and stand on their own two feet, and here's their leader announcing his presidency on a platform of Woe is me! Quit picking on me! Elect me because I'm a fall guy! 'I will tell you I'm a victim,' Trump said to a less-than-festive gathering where Melania seemed like a hostage and Ivanka was a no-show.... Trump's martyrdom extends to his life with Melania in an oceanside resort, which he said, 'hasn't been the easiest thing. I go home,' he said, 'and she says, "You look angry and upset." I say, "Just leave me alone."' Fun couple!" (Also linked yesterday.)

Julia Shapero of the Hill: "Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Saturday urged the Republican Party to move on from Donald Trump, just days after the former president announced his third bid for office. 'It is time to stop whispering,' Christie said at the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual leadership meeting. 'It is time to stop being afraid of any one person. It is time to stand up for the principles and the beliefs that we have founded this party on and this country on.'"

Jared Gans of the Hill: "Former Attorney General William Barr said Friday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) probably has a 'basis for legitimately indicting' former President Trump over the classified and sensitive documents law enforcement says were taken to Mar-a-Lago. Barr told PBS's Margaret Hoover during an interview on 'Firing Line' he thinks the DOJ has enough evidence to reach the amount they would need to indict his former boss.... 'If the Department of Justice can show that these were indeed very sensitive documents, which I think they probably were, and also show that the president consciously was involved in misleading the department, deceiving the government, and playing games after he had received the subpoena for the documents, those are serious charges,' Barr said." MB: Congrats, Bill, on your amazing rehabilitation tour. Still, you're a total dick. (Also linked yesterday.)

Twitter Is Dead to Me. Ryan Mac & Kellen Browning of the New York Times: "Elon Musk said on Twitter on Saturday that he would reinstate ... Donald J. Trump to the platform as part of a shake-up of the social media service, with Mr. Trump's account quickly showing up again on the site. Mr. Musk ... had asked users on the platform starting late Friday afternoon about whether to allow Mr. Trump back onto the service. Twitter had barred Mr. Trump after the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol, saying his posts had the risk of inciting violence. More than 15 million votes were logged in answer to Mr. Musk's question about whether to reinstate Mr. Trump, according to the results that Mr. Musk included in his tweet, with nearly 52 percent in favor of the former president returning to Twitter. Mr. Trump's Twitter account went live shortly after, though the former president's last tweet was from Jan. 8, 2021. 'The people have spoken,' Mr. Musk said on Twitter. 'Trump will be reinstated.' He added the Latin phrase "Vox Populi, Vox Dei.'..." The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Okay, I'm going to try to figure out some other way to communicate with readers on those occasions when Reality Chex goes down. I have deactivated my seldom-used Twitter account. Unless you really, really need Twitter for business or some other compelling reason, I urge you to do the same. ~~~

~~~ Todd Spangler of Variety: "CBS News is halting its activity on Twitter over Elon Musk's turbulent and potentially devastating moves following his takeover of the company. 'In light of the uncertainty around Twitter and out of an abundance of caution, CBS News is pausing its activity on the social media site as it continues to monitor the platform,' Jonathan Vigliotti, CBS News national correspondent, said in a report about the latest chaos at the company on the 'CBS Evening News' Friday."

** Anand Giridharadas in a New York Times op-ed: "... billionaires ... exist at our collective pleasure. If enough of us decided to, we could enact labor, tax, antitrust and regulatory policies to make it hard for anyone to amass that much wealth while so many beg for scraps.... [Elon] Musk's genius pose has long been undermined by his actual record, which is defined by claiming credit for what others have built and is shot through with complaints of discrimination, mismanagement and fraud. But it wasn't until Mr. Musk took over Twitter that his claim of infinitely transferable genius truly fell apart....

"Jeff Bezos, ..., this week was doing his part to undermine another pretension of billionaire benevolence: the generosity pose. On Monday, he made a big splash when ... he announced that he was giving the great bulk of his more than $120 billion fortune away, with a focus on fighting climate change and promoting unity.... The money Mr. Bezos is now so magnanimously distributing was made through his dehumanizing labor practices, his tax avoidance, his influence peddling, his monopolistic power and other tactics that make him a cause of the problems of modern American life.... Just minutes after his philanthropy announcement on CNN, news broke that Amazon would be laying off thousands of workers, reminding everyone of what was really going on.... Then, of course, there was Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced crypto kingpin whose spectacular downfall, along with that of FTX, the company he founded, caused $32 billion to disappear, much of it belonging to hundreds of thousands of regular people.... Finally, of course, this week there was Donald Trump..., who has incarnated the most dangerous billionaire pretension of all: that of the hero who in all the world is the only one who can save us."

Marie: I'm surprised more people weren't gobsmacked by the New York Times story, also linked yesterday, that Sam Alito leaked the [2014] Hobby Lobby decision weeks before it was announced. But at least there's this: ~~~

     ~~~ Paul Blumenthal in the Huffington Post: "Progressive judicial groups Demand Justice and Take Back The Court called on the Senate to open an investigation into U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and the lobbying campaign targeting the high court after The New York Times alleged he leaked the 2014 Hobby Lobby decision to wealthy evangelicals engaged in an influence campaign targeting conservative justices.... The pro-abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America also called for a Senate investigation into the alleged leak. At least one member of the House Judiciary Committee, outgoing Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), called for an immediate investigation by the committee. 'Today's well-sourced NY Times article strongly suggests Justice Alito leaked the 2014 opinion in Hobby Lobby and describes a conspiracy by the far-right donor class to influence the Supreme Court Justices,' Jones said in a tweet. 'The House Judiciary Committee must investigate this while we still can.'" Emphasis added. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: No wonder Clarence Thomas won't recuse himself from cases in which his wife Ginny is involved; he's not the only Supreme winger who consorts with people who have interests before the Court. ~~~

     ~~~ digby: "This may end up being the worst scandal the high court has ever had. The problem is that, like the rest of the right wing legal establishment -- and the right wing in general) shamelessness is their super-power. They. Don't. Care." ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "Combined with the fact that the leaker was speaking to the Wall Street Journal editorial board before Politico published the leaked [Dobbs] draft [this year], and the fact that the investigation into the leak seems to be about as aggressive as OJ's hunt for the real killers at this point.... And case pretty much closed. Alito has railroaded many people into the death chamber on much weaker evidence than this." ~~~

     ~~~ Josh Gerstein of Politico, who published the Dobbs leak, has more on the Hobby Lobby leak & the cozy relationships between right-wing activists & Supreme Court "justices": "In July, Politico published an account of [the Rev. Rob] Schenck's efforts to encourage more strictly conservative decisions by the Supreme Court. Part of the multi-faceted plan -- dubbed 'Operation Higher Court' -- involved trying to gain access to the justices through various means, including by having religious couples from across the U.S. gain entrée with the justices and seeking opportunities to socialize with them at fundraising events and even in their homes.... As Politico previously reported, [Don & Gayle Wright] were part of 'Operation Higher Court.' In a letter Schenck sent to Chief Justice John Roberts in July and shared with the Times, Schenck claimed that he became privy to the 'status' of the Hobby Lobby case after donors to Schenck's group, 'Faith and Action,' were dinner guests at the Alito's home in Alexandria, Va. on one evening in 2014. Schenck told the newspaper Gayle Wright was the donor who relayed the information." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: There's more. And there's this: "'The Senate Judiciary Committee is reviewing these serious allegations,' Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a statement calling for the passage of legislation to impose a mandatory ethics code on the high court. Senate Judiciary Committee member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and House Judiciary Committee member Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), revealed Saturday that in the wake of Politico's earlier reporting and a piece in Rolling Stone that they raised concerns about untoward influence on the court directly with Chief Justice Roberts." Roberts replied with what sounds like the kind of meaningless form letter you get from politicians in response to a letter from you. ~~~

     ~~~ What especially fries me is that the Alitos invited this gang of winger activists to their home. Do you think Sonia Sotomayor hosts dinner parties for top NARAL & Planned Parenthood donors while she's writing her dissents? I doubt it.

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Vimal Patel & McKenna Oxenden of the New York Times: “The authorities arrested two men on Saturday at New York's Pennsylvania Station and seized a large hunting knife and an illegal firearm with a 30-round magazine in what they described as a 'developing threat to the Jewish community.'... Authorities ... said [that one of the men], Christopher Brown, had a history of mental illness and had recently expressed an interest in coming to New York City to buy a gun.... An investigation led to the recovery of an illegal Glock firearm, the 30-round magazine and several other items, [M.T.A.] Chief [John] Mueller said. It was not immediately clear where the gun was found or whom it belonged to." MB: CNN said on-air that one of the two men was wearing a Nazi armband.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Sunday are here: "Britain announced a roughly $60 million aid package for Ukraine -- including 125 antiaircraft guns, dozens of radars and anti-drone technology -- during a surprise weekend trip to Kyiv by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said in a statement that the aid was 'to counter deadly Iranian-supplied drones.' It comes as The Washington Post reported that Iran will help Moscow build drones on Russian soil for the war against Ukraine. Moscow has deployed more than 400 Iranian-made drones since August...."

News Lede

Saturday Night in America. New York Times: "At least five people were killed and 18 injured late Saturday in a shooting at an L.G.B.T.Q. nightclub in Colorado Springs, the police said early Sunday morning. Lt. Pamela Castro, a public information officer with the Colorado Springs Police Department, said ... that the victims had been taken to multiple area hospitals. After the police received an initial call about an active shooting at 11:57 p.m., Lieutenant Castro said, officers entered the club and took into custody a person they believed to be a suspect. The suspect was also injured and was being treated at a hospital, Lieutenant Castro said."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (9)

The ultimate irony of the Pretended's claim that he is the only one who can save us is, of courses, that it is he and his band of merry billionaires who are the country's--and the world's-- greatest danger.

They prove it repeatedly. The stink of money and its influence on its decisions that now follows the SCOTUS everywhere is only the latest example.

This week's climate deal is another. Taking a page out of business' go to playbook, yes, we'll move some money around to put a happier face on disaster, but there will be no liability or responsibility...

And one must marvel at the wry coincidence that the new special prosecutor is the same man who successfully sought and achieved the conviction of Virginia Commonwealth scumbag McDonnell--only to see the SCOTUS eventually okay his and his wife’s obvious corruption.

Wonder if Jack Smith has been feeling the shudder of deja vu?

If newspapers ran a "The stink of money" column, they would have no trouble filling it every day.

An idea for "The Wall Street Journal" and Fox Business?

November 20, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

Just wondering what originalist excuse Alito will trot out in an attempt to insulate him from leaking SCOTUS business to his rich religious right pals. The stench of self-satisfied triumphalism hovers over everything this guy does as he leads his traitor pals on the court’s march away from progress and rights back to a time when Americans “knew their place” and obeyed their betters.

I’m guessing we’ll get a “We are not amused” from him.

Is there a Federalist paper that advocates this sort of religious-royalist approach to governance?

November 20, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

@Akhilleus: I was trying to figure out what sort of character trait (or "need") would cause Sam to blab to wealthy Christianists about his Hobby Lobby decision. You hit on it: "self-satisfied triumphalism." He just has to show off. They may have money, but he has power. They may be used to having underlings kowtow to them, but I-Am-Sam-I-Am is even more powerful than they are. They can urge/beg the Court to make certain decisions, but he's the decider. The benevolent, righteous decider.

November 20, 2022 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

THERE IS MORE TO AGE THAN A NUMBER:

Read what experts say about aging. The question arises because of Biden's bid for another term––will he be fit for it. And today is his birthday; he has completed his 80th year and it's on to 81.

As for "what makes Sammy run"––-this guy obviously thinks he is above the fray and can say and do as he pleases. No wonder some say he's the perfect side kick to that other guy who played at being the king and thought he was invincible.

November 20, 2022 | Unregistered Commenter`PD Pepe

Age? Got nothin' to do with anything. There are stupid 30 year olds
and stupid 80 year olds.
There are brilliant 30 year olds and brilliant 80 year olds.
A late friend lived to be 103. She was sharp as a tack right up until
the end. Her body gave out, not her brain.

Wondering what the definition of a 'hate crime' actually is.
Wouldn't you have to sorta know someone personally to hate them?
You'd surely have to know someone personally for the opposite, to
love them.

Maybe these killers just hate anyone who isn't exactly like them.
Anyway, I call it murder; you get one life sentence for every kill.

November 20, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterForrest Morris

Vox dei, sez the Muskovite proprietor of Twitter.

What he really means is Vox Elon. Had the populi returned a verdict he didn’t like regarding which lying traitors get to play with his new toy, you can be sure it would have been Vox populi, numquam.

Musk has announced that he is restoring democracy to Twitter, even as he runs it like a feudal lord, locking out the vassals when he’s afraid they might make off with a few ounces of grain.

Let’s examine this supposed affinity for democracy. Musk has, in no uncertain terms, allied himself with Republicans, exhorting his followers to vote for them in the midterms. Republicans? You mean the party that despises democracy? That supported a violent attempted overthrow of a democratic election? That gerrymanders the shit out of states they control? That plots ever more ambitious ways of defying the democratic will of the vox populi? That party?

That’s like saying you’re all for universal literacy while operating a book burning business.

November 20, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Is there a single conservative Supreme Court Justice that could survive an impeachment trial from a neutral jury? They are all corrupt scumbags that have lied and cheated the American people out of their rights. But they know the system is rigged in their favor so they have no worries about real consequences for their actions.

November 20, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Here is an interesting discussion by Thomas Zimmer about his "Thoughts on Twitter, Musk, and the destruction of the virtual public square."

November 20, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterRAS
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