;)
November 22, 2021
Afternoon Update:
Christopher Rugaber of the AP: "President Joe Biden announced Monday he's nominating Jerome Powell for a second four-year term as Federal Reserve chair, endorsing Powell's stewardship of the economy through a brutal pandemic recession in which the Fed's ultra-low rate policies helped bolster confidence and revitalize the job market. Biden also said he would nominate Lael Brainard, the lone Democrat on the Fed's Board of Governors and the preferred alternative to Powellamong many progressives, as vice chair. A separate position of vice chair for supervision, a bank regulatory post, remains vacant, along with two other slots on the Fed's board. Those positions will be filled in early December, Biden said. His decision strikes a note of continuity and bipartisanship at a time when surging inflation is burdening households and raising risks to the economy's recovery." The Washington Post's story is here.
One of These Men Has Way Too Much Money. Nicholas Kulish of the New York Times: "Former President Barack Obama's private foundation announced on Monday that it had been promised a donation of $100 million from the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The gift, the largest yet for the Obama Foundation, was one in a series of splashy donations by Mr. Bezos, one of the world's richest men, in recent months. Last week, Mr. Bezos announced $96.2 million in grants to groups working to end family homelessness. Since stepping down as chief executive of Amazon in July, Mr. Bezos has significantly raised his profile as a philanthropist, in addition to traveling to space on a ship made by his rocket company, Blue Origin." MB: That's nice. And it has no bearing on the fact that you and Amazon should pay much higher taxes, Jeff.
Miriam Berger of the Washington Post: "The United States for the first time was added to a list of 'backsliding democracies' in a report released Monday by the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. 'The United States, the bastion of global democracy, fell victim to authoritarian tendencies itself, and was knocked down a significant number of steps on the democratic scale,' the International IDEA's Global State of Democracy 2021 report said. The study, which analyzed trends from 2020 to 2021, found that more than a quarter of the world's population now lives in democratically backsliding countries, which International IDEA defines as nations seeing a gradual decline in the quality of their democracy. 'The world is becoming more authoritarian as nondemocratic regimes become even more brazen in their repression and many democratic governments suffer from backsliding by adopting their tactics of restricting free speech and weakening the rule of law...,' the report found. 'The number [of countries] moving in the direction of authoritarianism is three times the number moving toward democracy.'" A CBS News story is here.
Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "A month ago, new coronavirus cases in the United States were ticking steadily downward and the worst of a miserable summer surge fueled by the Delta variant appeared to be over. But as Americans travel this week to meet far-flung relatives for Thanksgiving dinner, new virus cases are rising once more, especially in the Upper Midwest and Northeast. Federal medical teams have been dispatched to Minnesota to help at overwhelmed hospitals. Michigan is enduring its worst case surge yet, with daily caseloads doubling since the start of November. Even New England, where vaccination rates are high, is struggling, with Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire trying to contain major outbreaks." MB: And let me just reiterate my contempt for those who, for no good reason, have chosen not to be vaccinated or not to have their children vaccinated, thus making the holidays more dangerous for everyone.
New York. Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "An eight-month impeachment investigation of former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo by the New York State Assembly found 'overwhelming evidence that the former governor engaged in sexual harassment,' reinforcing the conclusions reached in a damning report by the state attorney general. In a 46-page report released on Monday, the Assembly Judiciary Committee also found that Mr. Cuomo used state workers and other public resources to write, publish and promote his memoir about his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, a likely violation of state ethics laws. The inquiry also concluded that Mr. Cuomo 'was not fully transparent regarding the number of nursing home residents who died as a result of Covid-19,' and its findings had led one committee member to say that there 'would be a very reasonable inference' that there was some correlation between Mr. Cuomo's $5.1 million book deal and his administration's manipulation of nursing home death data." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Let's acknowledge here that the state Assembly is controlled by Democrats, who -- it turns out -- know how to police their own, unlike Republicans who are good with Republicans who instigate a violent insurrection or threaten the lives of Democrats.
Pennsylvania Senate Race. Sara Murray of CNN: "Laurie Snell -- the estranged wife of Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate Sean Parnell -- was awarded primary physical custody and sole legal custody of the couple's three children, according to a judge's order that was made public Monday. Parnell will still have partial physical custody of the children various weekends each month. The decision comes amid a contentious divorce and custody proceedings between Snell and Parnell, who are still legally married but have been separated for years. Snell has accused her husband of choking her and injuring their children -- all claims that Parnell has denied. While Parnell has enjoyed ... Donald Trump's endorsement in his Pennsylvania Senate bid, the allegations from his estranged wife have taken a toll on Parnell's campaign...."
Wisconsin. Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "Law enforcement has identified a suspect who allegedly drove through a Christmas parade after fleeing from a knife fight in Waukesha, Wis., on Sunday, killing at least five people and injuring more than 40 -- a violent end to the otherwise festive scene where children were dancing in the street and a marching band played 'Jingle Bells.' A law enforcement official told The Washington Post that suspect Darrell Brooks, 39, was at the scene of a reported knife fight, then sped away in the red SUV when police arrived at that scene. Brooks was allegedly behind the wheel when it drove into the parade route.... The law enforcement official told The Post that Brooks has a number of prior criminal arrests, but investigators have not yet found anything tying the vehicular violence to any sort of terrorism or ideology. So far, it appears his main intent was to escape the police at the prior incident, the official said."
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Ha Ha. Republicans in Disarray. Jacqueline Alemany, et al., of the em> Washington Post: "The show of force from Donald Trump's staunchest congressional allies began almost immediately after 13 House Republicans voted this month in favor of a massive infrastructure bill that handed President Biden one of the biggest victories of his tenure.... The continuing turmoil in the House GOP conference over how and whether to punish members who back anything supported by Democrats shows how an emboldened group of far-right House members is gaining influence over the Republican Party in Congress. These representatives are positioning themselves to further purify the House GOP conference as a branch of Trump's 'Make America Great Again' movement.... Besides targeting the Republicans who backed the infrastructure bill..., these lawmakers in recent weeks have led the charge to recast the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and the effort to overturn the 2020 election results as defiant acts by patriots, not insurrectionists; opposed mask mandates in the House; and defended Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.)...."
Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Ben Smith of the New York Times: Last week, two prominent Fox "News" contributors, Jonah Goldberg & Stephen Hayes, who are business partners, quit their Fox gigs because they were sickened by the encouragement to violence in Tucker Carlson's streaming video about January 6. "'Patriot Purge' -- through insinuations and imagery -- explored an alternate history of Jan. 6 in which the violence was a "false flag" and the consequence has been the persecution of conservatives." Fox, for the most part, has given over its content to pro-Trump, far-right views in a programming determination it calls "respecting the audience." More on TuKKKer's pro-white-guy-violence propaganda linked below. NPR's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Hayes & Goldberg explain on their site "The Dispatch" why they ditched Fox "News."
** Michael Wines of the New York Times: "Experts say that even as gerrymanders become ever more egregious, the legal avenues to overturn them are becoming narrower.... More and more states -- mostly Republican like Ohio and Texas, but now Democratic ones like Illinois -- are drawing maps that effectively guarantee that the party in power stays in power.... The racial impact of the maps is sweeping. The government accountability watchdog group Common Cause said a quarter of the 36 state legislative seats held by African Americans, all Democrats, would be likely to flip Republican.... The Supreme Court in 2019 ended a decades-long debate over the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering, saying it was up to Congress, not the courts, to fix politically skewed maps. The court also has made it harder to prove that political districts were drawn to reduce minority voters' clout...." (Also linked yesterday.) Related story under "Beyond the Beltway -- Georgia." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Okay then, just as our good friends the Supremes say, Congress alone can fix it! Oh, wait, ~~~
~~~ Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: Kyrsten Sinema (D-ish-Az.) "said this week she remains firmly opposed to changing federal election laws on a partisan basis, signaling that a planned last-ditch voting rights push that party leaders and activists are planning for the closely divided Senate in the coming months is likely to fail." MB: If she's so smart, why is she playing dumb? (Also linked yesterday.)
Katelyn Fossett, in Politico Magazine, interviews historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez on why Republicans are hung up on manly manliness. MB: What's somewhat (tho not entirely) new here, no doubt thanks to Trump, is a shift from "traditional family values" where the white guy is king of his castle, to the white militant man using violence to quell his "enemies."
Joshua Zitser of the Insider, republished in Yahoo! News: "Kyle Rittenhouse's criminal defense attorney [Mark Richards] told Insider that he thinks it is 'disgusting' that some prominent Republicans have tried to cash in on his client's acquittal." Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz & Madison Cawthorn all claim they are bidding to hire Rittenhouse as an intern. "Richards also spoke negatively of Donald Trump Jr. tweeting that a gun rights organization would "award" Rittenhouse with an AR-15." According to Ali Veshi of MSNBC, Gosar said Rittenhouse should get the Congressional Medal of Freedom. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "Hours after Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted on all charges Friday, Fox News host Tucker Carlson announced that he would not only interview the teen on Monday, but also had a film crew following the 18-year-old throughout the murder trial as part of an upcoming documentary for Fox Nation.... 'I did not approve of that,' [one of Rittenhouse's attorneys, Mark] Richards, told CNN's Chris Cuomo of the film crew. 'I threw them out of the room several times. I don't think a film crew is appropriate for something like this.' Richards said part of the efforts by Rittenhouse's family and a family adviser to raise money to help pay for the 18-year-old's defense included having Carlson's team present for filming. The attorney described the film crew's presence as 'a definite distraction.'"
Facebook Allows Racist Content to Mollify "Conservative Partners." Elizabeth Dwoskin, et al., of the Washington Post: A team of Facebook "researchers urged executives to adopt an aggressive overhaul of its software system that would primarily remove only ... hateful [racist] posts before any Facebook users could see them. But Facebook's leaders balked at the plan. According to two people familiar with the internal debate, top executives ... feared the new system would tilt the scales by protecting some vulnerable groups over others. A policy executive prepared a document ... that raised the potential for backlash from 'conservative partners,' according to the document.... The previously unreported debate is an example of how Facebook's decisions in the name of being neutral and race-blind in fact come at the expense of minorities and particularly people of color.... 'Even though [Facebook executives] don't have any animus toward people of color, their actions are on the side of racists,' said Tatenda Musapatike, a former Facebook manager...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: So I guess it's settled: "c-o-n-s-e-r-v-a-t-i-v-e" is just another way to spell "racist."
Not. Making. This. Up. Jonathan Edwards of the Washington Post: RentAHitman.com "promised ... confidentiality. It boasted of industry awards. It showed off testimonials of satisfied customers, including one from Laura S., who had 'caught my husband cheating with the babysitter.' The website bragged about complying with HIPPA, which it said was 'the Hitman Information Privacy & Protection Act of 1964,' a nod to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, the law passed in 1996 to protect patients' medical information. The trouble ... [is] that RentAHitman.com is a fake website. It's not run by 'Guido Fanelli,' as it claims, but by Bob Innes, a 54-year-old Northern California man who forwards any serious inquiries to law enforcement.... About 650 to 700 people have contacted him since he first registered the website in 2005...." Apparently, you can check out the site here. Gotta wonder what their "industry awards" might be.
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Monday are here.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here.
Beyond the Beltway
California. "The Flash Mob Robbery." Jessica Lipscomb of the Washington Post: "Drivers blared their horns Saturday evening as dozens of thieves carrying luggage and bags darted from a Nordstrom department store near San Francisco [Walnut Creek] and hopped into cars waiting for them outside. All but three of the 80 or so looters escaped, police said.... The spectacle Saturday night was one of several incidents of looting and shoplifting reported at high-end retail stores around the Bay Area over the weekend.
Georgia. Stephen Fowler of NPR: "As Georgia grows more Democratic, its members of Congress will not. Republicans in Georgia are set to approve a new congressional map that adds to their representation in the U.S. House even as they voted to trim their own majority in the state legislature. Monday, the Georgia General Assembly will give final passage to a bill that creates nine congressional districts favoring Republicans and five heavily-Democratic districts. The new map swings a northern Atlanta suburban seat more than 25 points to the right and likely pits two Democratic incumbents into a primary challenge."
Vermont Senate Race. Quint Forgey of Politico: "Vermont Rep. Peter Welch [D]announced Monday he will run for Senate next year to fill the seat held by retiring Sen. Patrick Leahy [D].... It was widely anticipated that Welch would launch a bid for Leahy's seat; as the representative for Vermont's at-large House district since 2007, Welch is the only other member of the state's congressional delegation besides independent Sen. Bernie Sanders." The Washington Post's story is here.
Wisconsin. Scott Bauer & Mike Householder of the AP: "An SUV sped through barricades and into a parade of Christmas marchers in suburban Milwaukee on Sunday, killing multiple people as it hit more than 20 adults and children in a horrifying scene captured by the city's livestream and the cellphones of onlookers. Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said 'some; people had been killed but would not give an exact number. A person was in custody, as was the SUV, he said, but he did not give any indication of motive." The Washington Post's report, which has been updated, is here.
Way Beyond
China. Matthew Futterman of the New York Times: "Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis star who disappeared from public life for more than a week after she accused a former top government official of sexual assault, appeared in a live video call with the president of the International Olympic Committee and other officials with the organization on Sunday. The video assuaged some concerns about Peng's immediate well-being. However, it fell short of what tennis officials, who still have not been able to establish independent contact with Peng, have been demanding since the Chinese government began attempting to censor any discussion of Peng's allegations and her largely disappearing after posting them on one of China's main social media outlets earlier this month, creating a standoff between two of the world's leading sports organizations."
Haiti. Maria Abi-Habib of the New York Times: "Two of the 17 people with an American missionary group who were kidnapped in Haiti more than a month ago have been released, the organization said Sunday. The hostages, who included women and children, were seized by one of Haiti's most fearsome gangs on Oct. 16 as the missionary group visited an orphanage outside the capital, Port-au-Prince. In announcing that two of them had been released, the group, Christian Aid Ministries, based in Ohio, said it would not make public their names or say why they were freed. But the group said that those released are 'safe, in good spirits, and being cared for.' The ministry urged discretion to protect those still in the hands of the gang members."
Sudan. Declan Walsh of the New York Times: "After four weeks under house arrest, Sudan's ousted prime minister was reinstated on Sunday after he signed a deal with the military intended to end a bloody standoff that led to dozens of protester deaths and threatened to derail Sudan's fragile transition to democracy. At a televised ceremony in the presidential palace, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok appeared alongside Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the army chief who ousted him from power on Oct. 25, and signed a 14-point agreement that both men hailed as an important step forward."
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Reader Comments (8)
It's only Monday and we get the story of RentAHitman–-straight out of some Netflix crime drama coupled with the Flash Mob Robbery resembling Bonnie and Clyde like shenanigans only I doubt any one of those Flash Mob folks looked like Faye Dunaway or Warren Beatty.
And then this sentence floored me ( this from NYT on the Wisconsin disaster) "A person was in custody, as was the SUV, he said, but he did not give any indication of motive.”
Motive? Obviously his motive was to kill as many people as possible. Maybe they mean WHY? I don't give a rat's ass why–-he's a deranged, sick human being who needs to be done with.
Always find elections south of our border fascinating to watch.
They are not mirror images of our own political world, but if we look closely we can often see our own face reflected in them...as well as the effects of our own past actions.
I'm sure Pinochet still echoes.
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/chileans-head-polls-with-two-radically-different-visions-ballot-2021-11-21/
Here's one for Marie's Continuing Series "Some People Have Way Too
Much Money."
If you google who are the 10 richest people in Chicago, you will see
that 7 of them have the same last name. I can't put it in print but it
starts with"P".
I have a friend here in town who works for that family. His job is to
travel the world buying art and antiquities for them. Not that they
actually like art. You buy something for a million $ and hold it for 10
years and hope it's worth 10 million $. He gets to travel on their dime
and spend their money. What a life.
Another friend moved to NYC to be closer to the art market and
closer to Europe. She buys for a wealthy couple in Dallas. She says
that she insists that they actually like the pieces she obtains for them.
Who knows? They could also have warehouses like the "P" family.
From the Alemany et al WaPo article above, Rep. greene says: “I’m saying what they’re saying at church and saying what they’re saying in their Bible studies."
I am quite sure that Jesus never said: "If thy neighbors vote to help rebuild roads and bridges, and reduce our impact on the climate, call them Traitors! But at the same time, take credit loudly for that which you voted against!"
@Forrest Morris: I'm guessing their last names begin with P-R-I-T-Z-K-E--. I notice that Ken Griffin, who just bought at auction a copy of the U.S. Constitution for $43MM, is named in some listings as the richest person in Illinois. Yes, indeed, way too much money. Props to Jeff Bezos today, too. He thinks I'll forget about it if he gives his money to worthwhile causes. I won't.
@NiskyGuy: I believe that's in Paul's Epistle from the Hypocrites II.
"President Biden one of the biggest victories of his tenure...." When I read the word "tenure" I think that Joe has been prez for 10 years and not a year and 2 weeks and swore in and in power an even shorter period of time. The fact that reporters and citizens in general think Joe can cure the shit of Orange of Queens in a year is breathtakingly short sighted and mindlessly shallow. Carry on, Joe! P.S. I nominate Patrick to pardon next years bird, too.
@Citizen - Hear hear re giving Joe a freakin’ break.
A while ago I read that the reason Biden is having so much trouble after his great start (other than, of course, the media being in the tank for making him tank since the Orange Guy is so much better press) is that he ended the Afghan War in a non-telegenic way and hasn’t used That One Weird Trick to end the COVID crisis already.
Jeezoflip people are stoopid.