Christine Chung of the New York Times: "A climate protester glued his head to 'Girl With a Pearl Earring,' the famous painting by Johannes Vermeer that was on exhibit at a museum in The Hague on Thursday, the latest in a series of actions by activists that have targeted world-renowned paintings in recent months as the protesters have sought to draw attention to climate change. The stunts have recently included hurling mashed potatoes at a painting by Claude Monet and splattering soup on a painting by Vincent van Gogh/" Fortunately, the Vermeer was protected by glass, which is unusual for an oil painting. MB: These so-called climate protesters make me sick. I hope they have to go to jail for a significant period of time, after which they have to spend the rest of their lives paying monetary damages.
~~~~~~~~~~
Edward Wong of the New York Times: "The American secretary of state said on Wednesday that the United States would re-evaluate its relationship with Saudi Arabia over the kingdom's decision to support Russia by agreeing to cut oil production next month, a move that the White House has asserted helps Moscow’s war effort against Ukraine."
Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Justice Department on Wednesday formally banned the use of subpoenas, warrants or court orders to seize reporters' communications records or demand their notes or testimony in an effort to uncover confidential sources in leak investigations, in what amounts to a major policy shift. The rules institutionalize -- and in places expand -- a temporary policy that Attorney General Merrick B. Garland put in place in July 2021, after the revelation that the Justice Department, under Attorney General William P. Barr, had secretly pursued email records of reporters at The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN. 'These regulations recognize the crucial role that a free and independent press plays in our democracy,' Mr. Garland said in a statement."
Tracey Tully, et al., of the New York Times: "Five years after standing trial on corruption charges, Senator Robert Menendez [D] of New Jersey is again being scrutinized by federal authorities, an adviser said Wednesday. 'Senator Menendez is aware of an investigation,' said Michael Soliman, a New Jersey political consultant who managed two of Mr. Menendez's Senate campaigns. 'However, he does not know the scope of the investigation.'... The nature and extent of the investigation ... is unclear."
Adam Goldman, et al., of the <New York Times: "Federal prosecutors investigating ... Donald J. Trump's handling of national security documents want to question one of his confidants about a claim that Mr. Trump had declassified national security documents he took when he left the White House. That claim has hovered over the investigation since the confidant, Kash Patel; Mr. Trump himself; and other allies said publicly that Mr. Trump had declassified the documents while still president. No evidence has emerged that Mr. Trump did so, and Mr. Trump's lawyers have not repeated the claim in an ongoing court dispute with prosecutors.... [In testimony before a Washington, D.C., grand jury earlier this month,] Mr. Patel repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.... The question now is whether the Justice Department will grant him immunity in order to secure his testimony."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Justice Elena Kagan on Wednesday temporarily blocked a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol for phone records of Kelli Ward, the chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party. Justice Kagan, who oversees the appeals court that refused to block the subpoena, issued an 'administrative stay' meant to preserve the status quo while the Supreme Court considers the matter. As is the court's practice, she gave no reasons. Justice Kagan ordered the committee to respond to Ms. Ward's emergency application by Friday. That was an indication that the full court would rule on the matter."
Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal judge is considering whether to unseal secret court documents detailing ... Donald Trump's effort to prevent former aides from providing testimony to a grand jury investigating efforts to subvert the 2020 election. Chief Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday asked the Justice Department to weigh in on unsealing requests made by two media organizations: Politico on Oct. 18 and the New York Times on Oct. 21. Howell's request comes as Trump has been quietly waging -- and losing -- a court battle in recent weeks to prevent former aides from testifying to the grand jury."
Amy Wang & Tom Hamburger of the Washington Post: "Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows must testify before a Georgia grand jury investigating Republican efforts to reverse the 2020 presidential election results in the state, a South Carolina judge ruled Wednesday. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) has said that her inquiry is examining 'the multistate, coordinated efforts to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere.' Because Meadows does not live in Georgia, she could not subpoena him to testify but filed a petition in August for him to do so. South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edward Miller ruled Wednesday that Meadows must comply with a subpoena as his testimony is 'material and necessary to the investigation and that the state of Georgia is assuring not to cause undue hardship to him.'... An attorney for Meadows said Wednesday there is a possibility of an appeal or additional legal action." CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)"/p>
Odd News. Matt Stevens of the New York Times: "The footwear company Skechers said late Wednesday that Kanye West had come to its corporate offices in Los Angeles 'unannounced and uninvited' and was subsequently escorted from the building, where he had been trying to film. 'Considering Ye was engaged in unauthorized filming, two Skechers executives escorted him and his party from the building after a brief conversation,' the company said in a statement.... 'Skechers is not considering and has no intention of working with West,' the statement added. 'We condemn his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate antisemitism or any other form of hate speech.'" An ABC News story is here. MB: I admit I read this story only because I'm thinking of buying a pair of Skechers & I didn't want to enrich a company that might enter into a contract with West. Looks as if it's okay to purchase those slip-ins. Also, for reasons that escape me, this is a story that is receiving wide coverage.
November Elections
Toluse Olorunnipa of the Washington Post: "President Biden, in an 11th-hour effort to shift the debate over inflation and the economy, has begun warning voters that government shutdowns, entitlement cuts, debt defaults and general chaos loom if Republicans take control of Congress. With the president's agenda hanging in the balance in the final days before the Nov. 8 elections, Biden and other leading Democrats are seizing on the fear of disorder in an attempt to turn their liabilities on the economy into a political weapon." ~~~
~~~ Marie: As usual, the difference between the Democratic & Republican messages is that the former are based in reality & the latter are lies & fear fantasies. ~~~
~~~ Jim Tankersley & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "But while Republicans insist they will be better stewards of the economy, few economists on either end of the ideological spectrum expect the party's proposals to meaningfully reduce inflation in the short term. Instead, many say some of what Republicans are proposing -- including tax cuts for high earners and businesses -- could actually make price pressures worse by pumping more money into the economy. 'It is unlikely that any of the policies proposed by Republicans would meaningfully reduce inflation in 2023, when rapidly rising prices will still be a major problem for the economy and for consumers,' said Michael R. Strain, an economist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.... As they position themselves for the midterm elections, Republicans have also indicated that they might try to hold the nations borrowing limit hostage to achieve spending cuts."
Georgia Senate. Jonathan Weisman & Maya King of the New York Times: "A woman who did not identify herself said on Wednesday that Herschel Walker pressured her to have an abortion and paid for the procedure nearly three decades ago after a yearslong extramarital relationship. A former football star, Mr. Walker is running for the Senate in Georgia as an abortion opponent. The New York Times could not confirm the account, interview the woman or inspect the evidence that Gloria Allred, the celebrity lawyer, asserted was proof that the woman had a relationship with Mr. Walker. The woman told her story at a news conference with Ms. Allred, but did not appear on camera. Neither she nor Ms. Allred offered any evidence to back up the woman's accusation that Mr. Walker, a Republican, had urged her to end her pregnancy even after she initially left an abortion clinic without going through with the procedure." The BuzzFeed News story is here.
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Minyvonne Burke of NBC News: Ron Smith "spent over a decade fighting Florida laws that required the use of helmets [when riding a motorcycle], and represented a number of clients who violated state motorcycle requirements.... Smith, an experienced rider, was killed on Aug. 20 after he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into a utility trailer. His girlfriend, Brenda Volpe, was his passenger and also died.... A medical examiner said Smith and Volpe died from head trauma, the Times reported. The accident report noted that neither was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Michigan. Joanna Slater of the Washington Post: "A jury on Wednesday convicted three men of aiding a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) in a case that deepened concerns about the spread of right-wing extremism and potential violence directed at politicians. The three men -- Joseph Morrison, Paul Bellar and Pete Musico -- were found guilty in state court of providing material support for terrorist acts, possessing a firearm while committing a felony and being members of a gang. They face up to 20 years in prison." The AP report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Thursday are here: "Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to deliver a key annual speech in which he is expected to offer an 'extensive report' on world politics, a day after he repeated unfounded claims that Ukraine is preparing to use a 'dirty bomb' -- an explosive containing radioactive material -- on its own soil. Kyiv and Western powers have dismissed the claim and warned that Moscow could use it as a pretext for escalating the war. Russia also began its annual nuclear exercises, which are routine but of heightened significance as Russia has repeatedly wielded the threat of nuclear weapons since invading Ukraine. In the past, similar drills have lasted several days....
"The body of a U.S. citizen who died fighting in Ukraine has been identified and released to Ukrainian custody, the State Department said in a statement Wednesday. Joshua Jones, 24, was fighting alongside Ukraine's military when he was killed in August, Ukrainian officials said.... Ukraine's energy system was once again targeted by Russia overnight, the country's main grid operator, Ukrenergo, said early Thursday. The damage at facilities in central Ukraine means that further disruption to the power supply is possible in a number of regions, including Kyiv, it added."
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Oh Ye of little…something…
It’s worth remembering in all the media hoo-hah surrounding the guy formerly known as Kanye West, a darling of confederates for his hate speech and promotion of white supremacy tropes, that he threatened violence against Jews, and perhaps even death, based on his remark of going “Death con 3”. Even if you grant that he misunderstood the expression Defcon, defcon 3 still refers to a heightened preparedness for military action. Doesn’t sound too neighborly. This is not your average “I don’t care for Jews” antisemitism.
It’s also worth remembering how racist pricks like Trump and KKKarlson have always trotted “Ye” out as their token black guy because of his decision to step into the winger/racist spotlight and to hold him up as the “good black” as opposed to all those horrible BLM nee-groes and white race traitors.
Oh, and Marie, about Skechers…I bought a pair of $70 Skechers recently. They started falling apart after six months. Now granted, I walk four to five miles a day walking the dog, and hit the gym three days a week, but the workout shoes I replaced were a cheapo Walmart brand that I used for four years, including doing yard work, before I had to get new ones. This could have been just a skechy pair, but yank on the soles to make sure.
Instead of beating a dead horse this morning (they're hard to find around here) decided to pick on a near-dead old man. Don't know what's the matter with me....but sometimes George Will's assumed superiority and excess of stomach acid is just too much to take.
This morning in his WAPO column he goes after the Fed for its ineffectiveness at dealing with the economic risks of climate change. Not only are there many subjects out there of more immediacy (like the impending elections and the loss of our democracy), not only does his "argument" wander badly off track, but he offers nothing at all to treat the issues raised by climate change, which to his minimal credit he has finally admitted exists.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/26/federal-reserve-peter-principle/
Made me think of conservatism's essence here in 2022. Call it Beyond George. Really, there’s not much to it, is there?.
"The conservative life is sure a comfortable life, no less so than that of the armchair or Monday morning quarterbacks that are the sports world's favorite figures of fun.
Being a conservative requires as little. Certainly little thought. Not any real work and surely no solutions.
George, admittedly, does not represent the laziest of the bunch. He recognizes there is a climate problem (as opposed to simply closing his eyes and denying it) and he does put words together in real sentences that have something vaguely to do with the subject.
But that's it. Full stop.
Then he starts to carp, to tell us the Fed can't possibly do anything about the issue and then veers into the standard criticisms of government.
Real work would require proposing solutions and suggesting who could carry them out and how..but would require actually doing something and being responsible for what you've done. So much easier to sit comfortably on the sidelines and criticize.
At least Will doesn't directly suggest (tho it's the looming implication behind all conservative fulminations) that some form of capitalist economic effort could deal effectively with climate issues....if only it were allowed to.
That might have been too much even for George. It is the capitalist economy and its ties to industrialization and unplanned growth, after all, that created the problem in the first place.
Rest easy George. You've done your duty for the day."
BTW George invokes the Peter Principle. Might that also apply to conservative columnists? If they were too astute, they couldn't do their job...
Major publishing event! Whoa Nellie!
Confederate serial liar, bullshit fabricator, ex-felon, and supporter of destroying democracy, Dinesh D’Souza, has a new “book” out. Again! I use the word book advisedly. It’s on paper and it’s got words, after a fashion, but so does a six year old’s letter to Santa. But interestingly, the Santa letter has more validity.
His paper version of his opium dream fantasy, “2000 Mules” has been re-released. You may recall that back in the summer, far-right publisher of winger crackpot crap, Regnery, had to issue a total recall of Dinnie’s first version of this dung mound because of all the lies and actionable statements that posed a real risk that they would be sued six ways from Sunday for all the false claims and unsupported fictional bullshit.
So now, the “softened” version reads more like a “well, maybe, could be…” fever dream rather than “Aieeee! Biden stoled th’lection! folderol that gave Regnery the jitters. And c’mon, if fucking REGNERY thinks you’re full of shit, that says a lot. These guys will publish anything as long as it has “Patriot!” or “‘merica!” in the title. They’d publish a Proud Boys screed written in crayon on toilet paper, but Dinesh D’Souza’s latest lie fest gave them the creeps enough to pull his first try and have thousands of copies pulped.
NY Times best seller list, here we come!
https://www.npr.org/2022/10/25/1131077739/heres-what-changed-in-dinesh-dsouzas-2-000-mules-book-after-it-was-recalled
@Akhilleus: Wow! You stopped me at the part where you let on George Will has acknowledged climate change as a thing. Because the last time I read Will (well, maybe not the absolutely last time), he was still busy "proving" that climate change was really just weather fluctuations. (Sometimes it's hot, sometimes it's not. Get over it.) AND he was pulling his entire newspaper into that vortex of denialism as the paper stood up for him.
He must own a home on the coast somewhere & his annual flood insurance premium just skyrocketed. That's about the only cause I can think of that would move George into the not-a-hoax column. Otherwise, a miracle has occurred and there is a God who pays attention to our every thought, pure and unclean.
RE: them sneakers:
I ordered a pair from Amazon––$I5 at the time–-bigly sale thing–-was looking forward to sailing along like the woman in the ad–--however: They are a bitch to get on–-have to use a shoe horn––plus they pitch at places preventing me from walking like that woman in the ad. I should have gone in person to be fitted, I suppose. I'm wearing my old Adidas that fit me fine.
Yesterday Ken mentioned the Dreyfus case and coincidently I, too, re-read my saved piece on it by Robert Wernick. What struck me was how he began this most complicated story:
Lieut. Col.Maximilien von Schwartzkoppen was an aristocrat, urbane, cultivated, charming and––––utterly careless. When the papers piled up on his desk at the German embassy he would crumple or tear them up and throw them into the waste basket. During his years as military attache he never suspected that Madame Bastian, the dear old charlady who cleaned the embassy offices was leading a double life as agent of the French intelligence service. Instead of burning trash she turned much of the juicy findings to the French counter intelligence. Among the purloined papers were love letters to various women but one was in a sort of code and that started the search. I couldn't help comparing M.von S. to DJT whose antics with documents and love letters corresponded although the word "careless" is not the word we'd use for Fatty––- other C words might suffice–--calculated––-corruption--criminal. And like the Dreyfus case it's a monstrous abuse of power by a pack of cowardly and obscene scoundrels, the head of the pack a sick, demented man.
I've looked at Skechers but thought they just another cheap flimsy shoe.
Marie, if you're looking for a good quality slip-in shoe I highly recommend ones by Merrel. I've worn mine for years before wearing out the tread on the soles. They've never fallen apart.
I just bought a new pair within the past couple weeks. They're probably slightly more money, but I say it's worth it. Here's the women's version.
Apropos " Otherwise, a miracle has occurred and there is a God who pays attention to our every thought, pure and unclean." Marie
Just learned that the Pope has come out scolding priests and nuns for watching porn–--who woulda thunk? Pope reminds these porn watchers that Jesus wants a clean, sacred mind set, not some dirty, messy thing like sweaty bodies intermingling. Since it was Jesus that was mentioned and not his Papa, one wonders if maybe God himself is enjoying a bit of the horny porney and has whispered in the Pope's ear to shut up about it––better for priests ( snd nuns? oh my!) to watch instead of interacting with the young lads that ring the bells.
and by the way Ak: I found D'Souza a piece of dung years ago and couldn't understand how he was given any press at all. Thanks for your comments on him.
Marie,
That amazing revelation was from Ken’s comment, but I admit to bring equally surprised/amused. Will has spent his entire life trying to prove that he is the smartest little boy in the whole school. But no smart 80 year old kid is just now finding out that climate change is actually a thing. I gave up little Georgie years ago. He has been a boringly pedantic water carrier for an ideology that is now all about treason, racism, greed, violence, and power without responsibility. Fuck him and the Barrons Book of Quotations he rode in on.
@Ken W.: My apologies. I should have known intuitively it was you trying to goad me into reading some smarmy confederate opinionator!
Marie
@Marie.
Mission apparently accomplished.
Thanks to everybody for the shoe advice. I keep finding just what I want for twice the price I think I should pay. Ain't that the way it always goes?
I’m so fucking sick of reading all these pearl clutching MSM “experts” wringing their hands about how “painful” it was watching Fetterman in that debate. First, a debate is in no way the best, or even a good barometer for how Fetterman could fare as a senator. From all reports he’s perfectly sound mentally. It can take time to recover from a stroke. He won’t be debating a slick media pro when he’s in the Senate. You know what’s really painful? The thought of a dog-killing, snake oil hawking hack rubber stamping white supremacist authoritarianism.
But ohhh, let’s not talk about that, because Oz, a slick TV guy can look snappy and smarmy in a debate. Absolutely, let’s send that fucking guy to Congress.
Those MSM assholes are scaring voters into ignoring the only real candidate and pulling the lever for Trump’s monkey. The guy who sez politicians should decide a woman’s healthcare plans.