;)
October 12, 2022
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Dave Collins of the AP: "The conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay $965 million to people who suffered from his false claim that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax, a jury in Connecticut decided Wednesday. The verdict is the second big judgment against the Infowars host over his relentless promotion of the lie that the 2012 massacre never happened, and that the grieving families seen in news coverage were actors hired as part of a plot to take away people's guns. It came in a lawsuit filed by the relatives of five children and three educators killed in the mass shooting, plus an FBI agent who was among the first responders to the scene. A Texas jury in August awarded nearly $50 million to the parents of another slain child.... Jones wasn't there, but live video from the court played on a split screen on his Infowars show."
** David Sanger of the New York Times: "President Biden declared on Wednesday that the overwhelming challenge for the United States in the coming years would be 'outcompeting China and restraining Russia' while focusing on restoring a damaged democracy at home. In his 48-page nationalsecurity strategy, which every new administration is required to issue, Mr. Biden made clear that over the long term he was more worried about China's moves to 'layer authoritarian governance with a revisionist foreign policy' than he was about a declining, battered Russia."
Annie Grayer, et al., of CNN: "The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol will treat its Thursday hearing as a closing argument ahead of the November midterms, which will seek to hammer home that ... Donald Trump remains a clear and present danger to democracy, particularly in the context of the upcoming 2024 presidential election, multiple sources tell CNN. Although there will not be witnesses appearing in-person on Thursday, sources say, the hearing will feature new testimony and evidence that the committee has uncovered." ~~~
~~~ Carol Leonnig & Jacqueline Alemany of the Washington Post: "The probably final public hearing of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol is expected to highlight newly obtained Secret Service records showing how ... Donald Trump was repeatedly alerted to brewing violence that day, and he still sought to stoke the conflict, according to three people briefed on the records. The committee plans to share in Thursday's hearing new video footage and internal Secret Service emails that appear to corroborate parts of the most startling inside accounts of that day, said the people briefed.... After being alerted to violence erupting at the Capitol when he returned to the White House, Trump tweeted criticism of Vice President Mike Pence for not blocking the certification of the election, whipping up supporters who had already trampled over security barricades and were battling police to break into the halls of Congress." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Which gives me another reason to wonder why Kevin McCarthy had the audacity to try to get away with this line of B.S. ~~~
~~~ Zachary Cohen of CNN (Oct. 10): "During a private meeting last summer, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told two police officers who defended the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and the mother of a third who died after the riot, that ... Donald Trump had no idea his supporters were carrying out the attack, according to newly obtained audio of the conversation. Testimony to the House Select Committee on January 6 revealed that Trump watched television for hours as the rioters engaged in a brutal fight with law enforcement.... 'I'm just telling you from my phone call, I don't know that he did know that,' McCarthy said during the June 2021 meeting about Trump's knowledge of the fighting, according to audio secretly recorded by [former D.C. police officer Michael] Fanone...."
Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "A federal judge has denied a request by ... Donald Trump to pause proceedings in a defamation case brought against him in 2019 by an author who said he raped her in a department store dressing room decades ago. The decision clears the way for Trump, who denies the claim, to be deposed as scheduled next week. In the lawsuit brought against Trump by former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll, Trump recently won a temporary reprieve from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, which sent the case to the appeals court in D.C. to resolve whether Trump was a federal employee as defined by the law when he publicly rebutted Carroll's story.... In [his] decision Wednesday, [U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan] said depositions of Trump and Carroll are essentially all that remains for the parties to complete the pretrial discovery process." The AP's report is here.
Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "In the emerging history of how a small group of lawyers aided ... Donald J. Trump's attempt to stay in power despite losing the 2020 election, Kenneth Chesebro has received far less attention than others like Rudolph W. Giuliani and John Eastman. But documents show that Mr. Chesebro played a central part in developing the idea of having Trump supporters pretend to be electors from states won by Joseph R. Biden Jr., then claiming that Vice President Mike Pence had the power to cite the purported existence of rival slates to delay counting or to discard real Electoral College votes for Mr. Biden on Jan. 6, 2021. On Wednesday, several dozen prominent legal figures submitted an ethics complaint to the Supreme Court of New York's attorney grievance committee, calling Mr. Chesebro 'the apparent mastermind behind key aspects of the fake elector ploy' and accusing him of conspiring 'with Mr. Giuliani, Mr. Eastman and others to subvert our democracy.'... The complaint against Mr. Chesebro did not explicitly call for him to lose his license but asked for an investigation and 'appropriate sanctions.'"
The F.B.I. Gave Her No R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Michael Levenson of the New York Times: An FBI "file, as previously reported by Rolling Stone, reveals that the Federal Bureau of Investigation monitored ... [Aretha Franklin] for years, collecting intelligence from sources on her involvement in the civil rights movement and what it suspected were her links to Black Panthers, Communists and those it deemed 'Black extremists.'"
Sharon LaFraniere of the New York Times: "Federal regulators on Wednesday broadened access to updated coronavirus booster shots to include children as young as 5, hoping to bolster protection against the now-dominant version of the virus. The revised shot developed by Pfizer-BioNTech previously had been cleared for those 12 and older, while Moderna's updated booster was available only to those 18 and older. The action by the Food and Drug Administration will expand access to Pfizer's shot to children as young as 5, and to Moderna's shot to children 6 and older."
Georgia Senate Race. David Moye of the Huffington Post: "Herschel Walker apparently has decided the best way to counter the reports that he paid for at least one former partner's abortion is to tell bizarre anecdotes about bulls who get multiple cows pregnant. During a rally on Tuesday with Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton (R) and Florida Senator Rick Scott (R), the Georgia Senate candidate wrapped up his speech with ... [a story] about a bull who got three different cows pregnant. Although the story's point was apparently about how the United States is the best country in the world, audience members are forgiven if they related it to recent reports that he fathered numerous kids out of wedlock while publicly criticizing 'absent fathers.' Here's the anecdote in all its glory[.]" ~~~
~~~ Marie: I urge you to read the text of Hershel's little parable. Article includes video. What Walker was trying to convey was the adage, "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." But what's on his mind is pregnant cows & how they can mess up a fellow, even to the point of emasculating him. So that's how it came out. I suppose someone once may have told him a story of this nature to discourage him from getting any more women pregnant, but Hershel didn't quite grasp the storyteller's meaning.
Florida. Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "A federal watchdog is investigating whether Florida improperly tapped coronavirus aid to fly migrants to Martha's Vineyard, part of a widening government inquiry into states that put their pandemic dollars toward controversial immigration crackdowns. The inspector general for the Treasury Department confirmed its new interest in a letter sent last week to Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and other members of Congress who had expressed concern that the spending approved by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) 'violates federal law.'"
Texas. McKenna Oxenden of the New York Times: "A former rookie San Antonio police officer was arrested and charged Tuesday night in the shooting of a teenager who had been eating in a McDonald's parking lot and is now on life support. The former officer, James Brennand, who was fired from the San Antonio Police Department on Oct. 2 because of the shooting, was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault...."
~~~~~~~~~~
In Case You're Under the Misimpression that Biden Doesn't Know What's Happening
Biden: Supremes Have Become an "Advocacy Group." Allie Malloy & Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "President Joe Biden on Tuesday ... [said,] 'I view this off-year election as one of the most important elections that I've been engaged in because a lot can change because the institutions have changed. The Supreme Court is more an advocacy group these days than it is an even handed' court... [Biden made the remark during] a virtual fundraiser for Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware."
If the Carrot Doesn't Work, Get out the Stick. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden will re-evaluate the relationship with Saudi Arabia after it teamed up with Russia to cut oil production in a move that bolstered President Vladimir V. Putin's government and could raise gasoline prices in the United States just before midterm elections, a White House official said on Tuesday.... [John] Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, signaled openness to retaliatory measures proposed by Democratic congressional leaders who were outraged by the oil production cut announced last week by OPEC Plus, the international cartel. Among other things, leading Democrats have proposed curbing security cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales, and stripping OPEC members of their legal immunity so they can be sued for violations of U.S. antitrust laws." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
Stephanie Kirchgaessner & Julian Borger of the Guardian: "Joe Biden said there 'will be consequences' for Saudi Arabia after its decision last week to side with Vladimir Putin and cut oil production. 'There's going to be some consequences for what they've done, with Russia,' the US president said in an interview on CNN. 'I'm not going to get into what I'd consider and what I have in mind. But there will be -- there will be consequences.' The remarks signalled a dramatic abandonment of Biden's recent attempts to seek a rapprochement with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and casts doubt on the future of the US-Saudi security relationship."
Eilen Sullivan & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "The Biden administration is considering a humanitarian parole program for Venezuelans who have been fleeing political instability and poverty in large numbers, according to two administration officials familiar with the proposed plan, which the administration hopes will discourage Venezuelans from crossing the southwestern border illegally. If implemented, the program for Venezuelans would be similar to a humanitarian program offered to Ukrainians, which allows a family member or sponsor in the United States to apply on behalf of the refugee and commit to providing them with financial assistance while they're in the country." A Reuters story is here.
Another Trumpity-Doo-Dah-Day
Trump's Save America Me PAC. Isaac Stanley-Becker & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump's political operation has spent more money since he left office on lawyers representing the former president and a pair of nonprofits staffed by former Cabinet members than it has on Republican congressional campaigns, according to a review of financial filings. Trump's leadership PAC, Save America, has blitzed supporters in recent days with fundraising solicitations that focus on next month's high-stakes contest for control of Congress. 'It is IMPERATIVE that we win BIG in November,' blared an email last week. The group has contributed about $8.4 million so far directly to Republican campaigns and committees, while devoting $7 million to Trump's lawyers and another $2 million to the nonprofits, which employ former members of his administration, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Legal fees are expected to climb, Trump advisers say, as he employs a growing retinue of lawyers to fend off federal, state and county-level investigations." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Unfortunately, I'd guess that many of the Trumpbots don't care. They think the DOJ is unfa-a-a-rly picking on the Lord & Master.
Perry Stein & Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to deny a petition from Donald Trump's attorneys in the Mar-a-Lago search case, arguing that allowing an outside arbiter to review the classified documents seized from the former president's Florida residence would 'irreparably injure' the government and that Trump has no 'plausible' claims of ownership over these sensitive government materials. Trump's legal team last week made a technical and narrow petition to the court, asking the justices to reconsider a portion of an appeals court ruling that granted the Justice Department's request to keep the classified documents separate from a review of seized material being conducted by the outside expert, known as a special master." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) CNN's report is here.
Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: A Trump lawyer, "M. Evan Corcoran, met [new Trump lawyer Christina] Bobb at the president's residence and private club in Florida and asked her to sign a statement for the [Justice D]epartment that the Trump legal team had conducted a 'diligent search' of Mar-a-Lago and found only a few files that had not been returned to the government. Ms. Bobb ... was being asked to take a step that neither Mr. Trump nor other members of the legal team were willing to take -- so she looked before leaping. 'Wait a minute -- I don't know you,' Ms. Bobb replied to Mr. Corcoran's request, according to a person to whom she later recounted the episode. She later complained that she did not have a full grasp of what was going on around her when she signed the document, according to two people who have heard her account. Ms. Bobb, who relentlessly promoted falsehoods about the 2020 election as an on-air host for the far-right One America News Network, eventually signed her name. But she insisted on adding a written caveat before giving it to a senior Justice Department official on June 3: 'The above statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge.' Her sworn statement, hedged or not, was shown to be flatly false.... And prosecutors are now investigating whether her actions constitute obstruction of justice or if she committed other crimes." The article goes into Bobb's participation in the efforts to overturn the 2020 election & her over-the-top enthusiasm for election-denying. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "The National Archives, without naming former President Trump, pushed back Tuesday on claims he made over the weekend that other past presidents had mishandled their White House records with the help of the agency. Trump had previously claimed ... President Obama had mishandled his own records but expanded that claim during rallies in Arizona and New Mexico to include several prior presidents.... At one point Trump even claimed, without evidence, that records from President George H.W. Bush's administration were stored in a Chinese restaurant and a bowling alley 'with no security and a broken front door.' The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) said Tuesday that while records are transported to presidents' libraries, any temporary storage has 'met strict archival and security standards, and have been managed and staffed exclusively by NARA employees.' It added that any insinuations that records were stored in substandard conditions 'are false and misleading.' At another point during the rallies, Trump also accused former President Clinton of losing nuclear codes and keeping classified recordings in his sock. While Clinton did store some tapes in his sock drawer while serving as president, he did not leave office with the recordings in tow." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
A Massive Docudump. Julia Ainsley of NBC News: "The Secret Service has handed congressional investigators more than 1 million electronic communications sent by agents in the lead-up to and during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, according to two sources.... While the communications do not include text messages, they do include emails and other electronic messages, according to a Secret Service spokesperson. The communications may shed light on lingering questions, including contact agents may have had with rioters, their efforts to protect then-Vice President Mike Pence and what occurred inside ... Donald Trump's car when Trump allegedly ordered Secret Service agents to take him to the Capitol." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Whether or not Democrats hold the House (and the signs remain that they will not), the committee by law will cease to exist in only a little more than two months. Its only Republican members -- Cheney & Kinsinger -- will have lost their day jobs (although it occurs to me the committee could hire them as consultants). So there's probably a reason the Secret Service just couldn't get around to finding a million+ documents to thumb through until recently. ~~~
~~~ ** The January 6 committee is holding what might be its last public hearing tomorrow, Thursday, at 1 pm ET.
Matthew Barakat of the AP: "A Russian analyst who played a major role in the creation of a flawed dossier about ... Donald Trump fabricated one of his own sources and concealed the identity of another when interviewed by the FBI, prosecutors said Tuesday. The allegations were aired during opening statements in the trial of Igor Danchenko, who is indicted on five counts of making false statements to the FBI. The FBI interviewed Danchenko on multiple occasions in 2017 as it tried to corroborate allegations in what became known as the 'Steele dossier.'" ~~~
~~~ Marshall Cohen of CNN: "Shortly before the 2016 election, the FBI offered retired British spy Christopher Steele 'up to $1 million' to prove the explosive allegations in his dossier about Donald Trump, a senior FBI analyst testified Tuesday. The cash offer was made during an overseas October 2016 meeting between Steele and several top FBI officials who were trying to corroborate Steele's claims that the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia to win the election. FBI supervisory analyst Brian Auten testified that Steele never got the money because he could not 'prove the allegations.' Auten also said Steele refused to provide the names of any of his sources during that meeting, and that Steele didn't give the FBI anything during that meeting that corroborated the claims in his explosive dossier. Auten was testifying at the criminal trial of Igor Danchenko, a primary source for Steele's dossier, who is being prosecuted by special counsel John Durham."
How to Play the GOP Racist Card Game. Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "The right-winger starts with a bigoted provocation and, when criticized, defaults to aggrieved claims of persecution and accusations of oversensitivity. He revels in the power he's amassed even as he poses as a victim.... Insinuating rhetoric lets Republicans speak to antisemites and then take umbrage when other people notice. The umbrage itself then becomes part of the political message: Those people won't let you say anything anymore! Usually, this performance depends on language with at least a shred of ambiguity, allowing the speaker to adopt a posture of put-upon faux naïveté." ~~~
~~~ Anna Merlan of Vice: "Fox News recently aired a two-part interview between Tucker Carlson and Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West. Motherboard has obtained portions of the interview that were edited out of the final broadcast. These include numerous antisemitic sentiments from Ye, a strange and lengthy digression about 'fake children' he claimed were planted in his house to manipulate his own children, and a statement that he's vaccinated against COVID-19.... In the version of the interview that made it to air, Ye described what he said was pressure not to support Donald Trump when the latter was a candidate.... A simple statement of fact from Ye -- 'I was vaccinated' -- was edited out...; Carlson has repeatedly used his show to air false and dangerous claims aimed at discouraging his viewers from getting vaccinated. The other footage that didn't air specifically includes numerous asides about Jewish people." ~~~
~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Tucker Carlson "wants his viewers to hear that their sense of victimization is valid and that Black Lives Matter is about their own subjugation, not the systemic constraints of race. He wants to present Candace Owens and Ye, Black celebrities, as the faces of such messages.... Carlson [also] went to great lengths to reinforce for his viewers last week just how levelheaded Ye ... actually was." strong> MB: Which of course required leaving a lot of the interview on the proverbial cutting room floor.
** Star Wars. Yes, NASA Can Save Earth from an Asteroid Hit. Sarah Scoles of the New York Times: "NASA took aim at an asteroid last month, and on Tuesday, the space agency announced that its planned 14,000 mile-per-hour collision with an object named Dimorphos made even more of a bull's-eye shot than expected. That winning strike was the first of its kind. 'We conducted humanity's first planetary defense test,' said Bill Nelson, the administrator of NASA, during a news conference, 'and we showed the world that NASA is serious as a defender of this planet.' In November 2021, NASA launched the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, mission, shooting a refrigerator-size spacecraft toward a small asteroid." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A BBC story is here.
November Elections
Georgia Senate. Annie Linskey & Alice Crites of the Washington Post: "The mother of one of Herschel Walker's children had to repeatedly press the former football star who is now the Republican Senate nominee in Georgia for funds to pay for a 2009 abortion that she said he wanted her to have, according to the woman and a person she confided in at the time.... The woman, who lived in the Atlanta area at the time, said she became pregnant when she was unemployed and had less than $600 in her bank account."
Beyond the Beltway
California/Texas. Benjamin Hoffman of the New York Times: "Eric Kay, a former Los Angeles Angels employee, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison on Tuesday for having provided drugs to the pitcher Tyler Skaggs that led to his overdose death in Texas. Kay, 48, who was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means in Fort Worth, had faced at least 20 years in prison after being convicted in February of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance resulting in death and serious bodily injury."
California. Jill Cowan & Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: "The Los Angeles City Council chamber became a raucous floor for protest on Tuesday, as an hourslong cavalcade of speakers furiously demanded that three Latino council members immediately resign over a secretly recorded private discussion that involved racist insults and slurs.... A white council member whose Black child was the target of racist comments tearfully told his colleagues how he and his husband were both 'raw and angry and heartbroken and sick.' President Biden on Tuesday called for the departure of the three council members in the nation's second-largest city. 'He believes they should all resign,' Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said.... By Monday night, [Ron] Herrera had resigned from the labor federation and [Nury] Martinez had relinquished her leadership post on the City Council, although she resisted calls for her to leave the Council entirely. [Gil] Cedillo and [Kevin] de León also have resisted calls for them to step down from their council seats." A related Guardian report is here.
Maryland. Amanda Holpuch of the New York Times: "Baltimore prosecutors on Tuesday dropped the charges against Adnan Syed, who was released last month after he spent 23 years in prison fighting a murder conviction that was chronicled in the hit podcast 'Serial,' officials said. Marilyn J. Mosby, the state's attorney for Baltimore City, said that she had instructed her office to dismiss the charges against Mr. Syed on Tuesday morning after he was cleared by DNA testing. Mr. Syed, 41, had been serving a life sentence for the strangling death of Hae Min Lee, 18.... Questions about the fairness of the trial received widespread attention in 2014 after the debut of the podcast 'Serial,' which examined the case in detail, but it wasn't until last month that a judge vacated Mr. Syed's conviction. Prosecutors said in a hearing on Sept. 19 that an investigation had revealed problems with key evidence that was used to convict Mr. Syed, as well as the possibility of 'alternative suspects.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) NPR's story is here.
Texas. The Scapegoat. Robin Stein & Alexander Cardia of the New York Times: "After the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, in May, a simple account of the police response took hold: A school police chief [-- Pete Arredondo --] misread the threat and scores of officers from over a dozen federal, state and local agencies, following his command, idly stood by, waiting for equipment and SWAT teams while children trapped in classrooms with the gunman called 911 for help. This shocking scene was described by the agency leading the criminal investigation of the mass shooting, the Texas Department of Public Safety.... But an analysis of footage by The New York Times ... shows high-ranking officers, experienced state troopers, police academy instructors -- even federal SWAT specialists -- came to the same conclusions and were detoured by the same delays the school police chief has been condemned for causing.... Claims by Mr. McCraw that Mr. Arredondo stymied 360 officers with flawed orders or misinformation are not supported by the available footage, which shows little evidence that commands were issued by the school chief, let alone widely communicated. The available footage shows the D.P.S. timeline -- which [DPS director Steven] McCraw told lawmakers was corroborated by 'frame-by-frame' video analysis -- miscast Mr. Arredondo's role and omitted actions, and inaction, by other officers, especially D.P.S. troopers and federal agents, who were involved earlier or more centrally than it notes."
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Wednesday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Wednesday are here: "NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said sending more air defense systems to Ukraine is a 'top priority' as the alliance's defense ministers gather in Brussels. Ukraine's call for more military aid is on the agenda Wednesday as defense officials from nearly 50 countries also convene [in Brussels], with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin set to join both meetings.... The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine is relying on generators after losing all external power for the second time in days, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday. The U.N. nuclear watchdog is trying to establish a security zone at the site, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which Russian forces control."
Matthew Champion of Vice: "Elon Musk spoke directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin before tweeting a proposal to end the war in Ukraine that would have seen territory permanently ceded to Russia, it has been claimed. In a mailout sent to Eurasia Group subscribers, Ian Bremmer wrote that Tesla CEO Musk told him that Putin was 'prepared to negotiate,' but only if Crimea remained Russian, if Ukraine accepted a form of permanent neutrality, and Ukraine recognised Russia's annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. According to Bremmer, Musk said Putin told him these goals would be accomplished 'no matter what,' including the potential of a nuclear strike if Ukraine invaded Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Bremmer wrote that Musk told him that 'everything needed to be done to avoid that outcome.'" Musk denies he spoke to Putin. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Iran. Farnaz Fassihi & Jane Arraf of the New York Times: "Defying a lethal crackdown in cities across Iran, protesters demanding the ouster of Iran's Islamic Republic have driven their uprising into a fourth week, with workers from the country's vital oil sector going on strike this week and activists calling for further work stoppages and protests on Wednesday. Despite efforts by Iran's security forces, including the feared plainclothes Basij militias, to crush the protests, they have only widened. Some have turned into chaotic street battles, with the security forces opening fire and protesters fighting back and refusing to give ground, according to witnesses, rights groups and videos of the clashes on social media."
U.K. Karla Adam of the Washington Post: "King Charles III's coronation, the first for Britain in more than 70 years, has been set for May 6 and may be a somewhat less extravagant affair than his mother's coronation in 1953. Buckingham Palace announced in a statement Tuesday that the ceremony will be 'rooted in long-standing traditions and pageantry' but will also 'reflect the monarch's role today and look towards the future.'... In keeping with tradition dating back to 1066, the ceremony is scheduled to take place at London's Westminster Abbey. Charles would be the 40th sovereign to be crowned there.... Camilla is set to be crowned Queen Consort alongside her husband." The BBC's story is here.
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LAURENCE ON LAWRENCE:
Last night on "The Last Word" Tribe warned that that Devious Donny is facing an A.G. who will leave no stone unturned. (with video)
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/laurence-tribe-donald-trump-indictment_n_63466b3ae4b0e376dc073bff
Power for Power's Sake.
I've read a lot lately about the pursuit of power being Republicans' sole interest, and each time I read it, it rings true.
What else could explain the Party's chameleon quality, its constantly shifting positions on law and order (OK for me, but not for thee, for one instance), and for another its stated conviction that most rights should reside in the states while Republican state legislatures eagerly trim the right of their people to propose and enact legislation through initiatives and referenda. And those are just two...
But there's something else, related but separate, going on here that has stripped today's Republican Party of any pretense of consistency or principle. They cannot afford it because over time they have come to represent only sometimes competing minority interests and if they are to succeed in representing those many competing interests, principles of any kind can only get in their way.
Those interests include:
Racists, mostly older and white, a dying breed.
Racists, younger, armed with guns
Corporate America, that doesn't want to be regulated or taxed
The very wealthy who don't want to be taxed
Evangelical Christians, mostly white, who may or may not be racists themselves, fearing the growing number of the unchurched...
The unschooled, whom the Pretender said he loved..
To accommodate this coalition, principle, not to mention a clearly stated Party platform, has to be the first sacrifice.
Too much law and order and they'd offend the militias they rely on to spread terror, and they couldn't use the IRS as the boy they love to whip.
Too much morality and they'd have to go after corporate and white collar crime--or even turn up their nose at some of their most prominent candidates for office.
Too much reliance on knowledge, science or the wrong kind of expertise might get in the way of corporate profit or even offend the ignoramus contingent.
We already know the poor Republicans can't afford facts, and for many of the same reasons, they can't afford principle either.
If they applied principle consistently, they'd further fracture their coalition--and even with the aid of the Constitutional mechanisms that give minority rule a leg up, lose their precarious control-- and have no hope of protecting any member of their shaky alliance--or their varying interests.
“Ye” gods and little fishes
The mentally disturbed personage known as Ye, who considers himself a god and is having an agent provocateur/antisemitic/TuKKKer week, has released a video of himself that he believes demonstrates his undeniable superiority to mere mortals.
At a meeting with Adidas executives, he cued up some porn for these guys because he wanted them all how much one of the, um, performers in the video sounded like one of the guys in the meeting. He also apparently accused them of stealing his wonderful ideas, which, according to Ye, he scatters like leaves off a tree in the fall.
I’m tempted to say that Fatty loves this idiot because they’re both raging narcissists, but that doesn’t seem quite right. Raging narcissists, by their very nature, don’t believe anyone can match up to them. So it’s more likely that they each use the other for their own solipsistic ends. Same with a liar like KKKarlson, who in the past has railed against media outlets that have edited various interviews. Of course, when he does it, to make this Ye idiot sound just a tad less nuts, it’s perfectly okay.
Maybe next time he’s on with TuKKKums, he can show off some porn with a guy wearing a little bow tie.
https://www.mediaite.com/entertainment/jesus-christ-kanye-west-releases-video-of-himself-showing-adidas-executives-porn-in-the-middle-of-a-meeting/
Ken,
Principle, as you point out, is not only anathema to R’s, it’s like garlic to vampires. Just think, if they had to concern themselves with principle every time they concoct a convenient lie or cheer on criminal and treasonous behavior, they might have to adopt some form of ethical guidelines. The pursuit of total power don’t need no stinking ethical guidelines.
The irony here, Akhilleus, is that the party that once wrapped itself in the robe of rectitude has now found it an uncomfortable fit, shrugged it off, and passed the cloak of righteousness to the Dems. whose stated objectives are to craft a society built on principles of fairness, liberty and justice for all.
How things change.
Ken: Looks like you laid the bed pretty accurately for those seeds of destruction although in THEIR eyes it's survival of the GOP power and glory with God right there by their side. This is nothing new–-our history reeks of it––what is new, I think, is a deliberate assault on our democracy and making no bones about it. As AK says so poetically:
"The pursuit of total power don’t need no stinking ethical guidelines."
And the lyrics of Simon and Garfunkel keep running around in my head––-their "looking for America"––-their voices rising on those words––on that search–--that's what we are doing again–––and I imagine continue to do.
According to Wickipedia, Ye has had 4 previous names: Yeezus,
Saint Pablo, Yeezy and Louis Vuitton Don.
Just can't make up his mind.
He also compares himself to da Vinci, Edison, H. Hughes, Jobs,
Michelangelo, Picasso, Shakespeare, Socrates, Trump, Warhol and a
dozen more.
He's also had liposuction. Could that operation have gone wrong and
sucked out part of his brain? Sounds plausible.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/12/ben-sasse-university-florida-desantis/
Rubin's column reminded me of one large element contributing to Republicans' entire absence of principle.
Though now that I think of it, their funders do have one: profit.
Remember all companies that cut donations to the R's after Jan 6, after the Texas abortion ban and in Florida following the anti-gay legislation?
Hard to remember because when the heat is off and the spotlight has moved somewhere else, most of them are back in the dark sucking at the R's teat.
To paraphrase Akhilleus, the pursuit of profit doesn't allow for ethical guidelines. They get in the way.
Forrest,
Brain-O-suction! You may have hit on something so many winger dolts have experienced.
On the brain-o-suction, probably they were working on his gluteus area and nicked the brain dura mater. They could have sucked up an ounce or two before correcting. That would be more than half of HW's brain-like parts.
Turns out that despite my affection for and fond memories of an uncle of the same name, "Leo" is a dirty word. And another fine argument against the stupid and poisonous Citizens United decision.
It's been all downhill since.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/12/us/politics/leonard-leo-courts-dark-money.html
Alex Jones to pay $965 million to Sandy Hook families. Sounds like a good start, on top of the Texas $50 million.
Word of the Day, McCarthy edition:
mis·pri·sion
/misˈpriZHən/
nounHISTORICAL•LAW
the deliberate concealment of one's knowledge of a treasonable act or a felony.
Good word, Patrick...
And buried in the Post story about tomorrow's hearing are some new details about the Pretender's insistence that he be taken to the Capitol following his speech and the Secret Service's refusal. The didn't have the assets to protect him, they said, as the violence grew...
Too bad they didn't take him, I say. Not only did they keep him from possible physical danger, but they made it easier for him and others to claim he knew nothing about what was happening.
So...they did protect him....
Last May, Glenn Kirschner had a segment explaining the concept of misprision of a felony, especially regarding Kevin McCarthy, Gym Jordan, et al, and their defying of the House subpoenas to appear before the J6 committee about their covering-up of TFG's crimes.