;)
Sunday
Sep112022
September 11, 2022
Afternoon Update:
Aaron Pellish & Marshall Cohen of CNN: "Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas presented an honorary American flag recently flown above the US Capitol to a convicted January 6 rioter after she was released from prison Friday. Gohmert, a Trump ally who has previously promoted debunked conspiracies about the January 6, 2021, insurrection, met Dr. Simone Gold upon her release from federal prison in Miami on Friday and gifted her a flag flown over the Capitol along with an official certificate. In a statement released Friday, Gohmert falsely claimed that Gold was 'a political prisoner,' a term many supporters of ... Donald Trump have used to inaccurately describe the prosecution and incarceration of January 6 defendants." MB: Whaddaya bet there was a "Second Amendment remedy" tucked into the folds of the flag. (As I type this, there's a discussion going on on CNN about how Republicans are criticizing President Biden for remarking on GOP radicalism.)
It's not enough to stand up for democracy once a year or every now and then. It's something we have to do every single day. So this is a day not only to remember, but a day of renewal and resolve for each and every American. -- President Biden, at the Pentagon's September 11 commemoration ~~~
~~~ Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Jeffery Mays of the New York Times: “Twenty-one years after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Biden promised to never forget 'the precious lives stolen from us' as he honored victims of the worst terrorist strike in American history with a somber wreath-laying ceremony under the pouring rain at the Pentagon.... Members of the Biden administration fanned out across memorials at the sites of the three attacks -- Shanksville, Pa., the Pentagon and Lower Manhattan -- to pay tribute to emergency workers and families of the nearly 3,000 victims, who continue to grieve over lost memories, experiences and bonds. Mr. Biden also marked the anniversary by encouraging Americans to defend the nation's democratic system, turning again to a message that the country's institutions are under threat by forces of domestic extremism."
The New York Times' live updates for developments Sunday in the ceremonies following Queen Elizabeth's death are here: "The coffin carrying Queen Elizabeth II on her final journey on Sunday arrived in the Scottish capital Edinburgh -- now the focus of national mourning -- after a six-hour procession from Balmoral Castle, the country estate where she died. A huge crowd lined central Edinburgh's Royal Mile to catch a glimpse of the hearse as it made its way slowly to its first destination, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the royal residence in the Scottish capital, where the queen's coffin will remain overnight.... At the palace, the procession was greeted by a guard of honor and military bearers carried the coffin to the palace's throne room.... Members of the royal family are expected to accompany the coffin on Monday morning, when it is to be moved along the Royal Mile to nearby St. Giles' Cathedral." ~~~
~~~ Last year on September 11, Queen Elizabeth ordered the American national anthem to be played during the changing of the guard at Windsor Castle:
~~~ She did the same on September 13, 2001, during the changing of guard at Buckingham Palace.
~~~~~~~~~~
So far, it's a no-news day.
ABC News 7 New York has the schedule for the 9/11 commemorative event at Ground Zero. WTOP Washington lists events in the District & Virginia.
Kevin Johnson of USA Today, republished by Yahoo! News, interviews Leon Panetta, Andy Card & others on how real presidents treated classified documents. "'I regard this is as failure by the individuals who should have taken steps to secure that material' before it left Washington, Panetta said." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I blame mostly Trump. He scared his staff into letting him run away with classified documents. Without a doubt, there should have been some whistleblowers, but I'm not sure whom to turn to -- a Democratic senator on the Intel Committee, maybe?? ~~~
~~~ Lisa Mascaro of the AP describes the elaborate way in which Congress handles classified documents, "that stands in stark contrast to the storage room stash of secrets at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida."
Defending the Indefensible. Robert Barnes & Michael Karlik of the Washington Post: "Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. defended the integrity of the Supreme Court on Friday in his first public remarks following a tumultuous term, saying that disagreement with its decisions should not lead to questions about its legitimacy.... Without speaking directly about the court's decision to overturn nearly 50 years of precedent in striking down Roe, Roberts acknowledged the difficulty of the past year." Robert said Court hearings will be open to the public this term. CNN's report is here.
Way Beyond the Beltway
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Sunday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.
Karl Ritter of the AP: "Ukraine's atomic power operator said Sunday that the last reactor at Europe's largest nuclear power plant has been shut down after the plant was reconnected to the electricity grid. The six-reactor Zaporizhzhia plant was disconnected from the grid last week after all its power lines were disconnected as a result of fighting in the area, and was operating in 'island mode' for several days, generating electricity for crucial cooling systems from its only remaining reactor in operation. Nuclear operator Energoatom said that one of the power lines was restored late Saturday, allowing plant operators to shut down the last reactor. The company said the risk remains high that outside power is cut again, in which case the plant would have to fire up emergency diesel generators to keep the reactors cool and prevent a nuclear meltdown. The company's chief told The Associated Press on Thursday that the plant only has diesel fuel for 10 days."
Steve Hendrix, et al., of the Washington Post: "... a fast-moving Ukrainian counteroffensive pushed Russian forces into a stunning retreat from key strategic areas in the northeast Kharkiv region. As the advancing Ukrainian troops regained lost territory with shocking speed, liberating the town of Balakliya and raising their blue-and-yellow flag over the city of Izyum, jubilant Ukrainians and officials in Kyiv and Western capitals indulged in a daring hope: maybe the grinding, stalemated war was swinging their way.... The Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday confirmed that it had pulled forces out of Balakliya and Izyum, after a decision to 'regroup' and transfer them toward the regional capital of Donetsk in the south 'in order to achieve the goals of the special military operation.'"; An AP report is here. ~~~
~~~ How the U.S. Helped the Ukrainian Offensive. Julian Barnes & Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "... as Ukraine laid its plans to strike back against the Russians, senior leaders in Kyiv decided that sharing more information with the United States would help secure more assistance, American officials said.... One official said Americans had 'constantly' discussed with Kyiv ways that Ukraine could blunt the Russian advance in the country's east. The gains in the northeast, including the recapture of Izium, a key railway hub, were the most important advances Ukraine has made so far, senior American officials said.... Experts agreed that the tide might be turning for Ukraine.... Current and former U.S. officials praised the sophistication of the Ukrainian preparations for the counteroffensive. The decision by Ukraine to tout its counteroffensive in the south before striking in the northeast is a standard technique for misdirection used by the American Special Operations troops, who have been training the Ukrainians since the annexation of Crimea in 2014."
United Kingdom
The Guardian's calendar of events following the death of Queen Elizabeth is here. The Guardian's live updates are here.
Amy Walker of the Guardian: "Harry and Meghan have appeared at Windsor Castle to greet well-wishers during the second day of national mourning. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived with the Prince and Princess of Wales at Cambridge Gate earlier this evening. It is thought to be the first time the couples have been seen in public together since March 2020.... [The couples] spent 40 minutes speaking to members of the public."
Sophie Zeldin-O'Neill & Steven Morris of the Guardian: "Prince William and his wife, Catherine, have been named the new Prince and Princess of Wales by King Charles III. King Charles announced their new titles during his first speech as monarch on Friday night, a day after his mother's death. 'Today, I am proud to create him Prince of Wales, Tywysog Cymru,' said Charles, who previously held the title."
American Innocents Abroad. If you've vowed to watch only one YouTube video in your lifetime, this one might be a good choice. Queen Elizabeth's bodyguard Richard Griffin, during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, June 2022:
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Reader Comments (11)
Tours of the Supreme Place to Live
Little Johnny trying to convince people that dwarfs on his court are actually juridical giants. Nice try, Johnny. Now that I think of it he seems more like Virgil, if Virgil were a real estate broker, giving you, if you were Dante, a tour of the Inferno, attempting to rehabilitate its reputation as not exactly the best place to spend eternity.
“Okay, Second Circle…not so bad, right? And look. Over there…Helen of Troy and Cleopatra! Va-va-vooom! Amirite? Not so bad, not so bad…”
“Oh, now looka here…Fourth Circle…plenty to see. Whatsat? Those guys pushing big things into their chests? Ummm…magicians! Yeah, magicians. That’s it. Need some entertainment for the kid’s birthday party? Nothing says Fun like a guy who looks like he’s in terrible agony. And over here…see those guys in the robes? Priests, popes, and whatnot, in case you need some spiritual advice. Also financial advice. Stock tips, tips on the ponies, whatever. This is the Greed Circle after all.
Now here we have the Seventh Circle. Very safe neighborhood. That noise? What’s that noise? Oh, um, yeaaaah…that’s um, guys being torn to pieces by dogs. Those are, um, …guard dogs! That’s it! Guard dogs! See? Very safe. Guys try to break into your house, we let the dogs out.”
“And now you’re sure to like this one. Ninth Circle. You read People Magazine? Lotsa celebrities down here. See that guy? That’s Cain. From the Bible. Abel’s brother? Remember? Yeah, well Cain got screwed. Abel was the asshole. Cain’s actually a very sweet guy. And over there…Judas Iscariot. Yup. That Judas. You know he used to be an Apostle. At least he was before the, um, the thing. But a very famous guy. Impress your relatives.”
“So see? Notsobad. Pretty nice place. And rents? Cheeaap. Long term leases available too. I mean really long term.”
Well thanks, Johnny. I mean Virgil. We’ll get back to you. I’m
Just not sure I want Alito and Ginni Thomas for neighbors. And Trump. He’ll be here soon…nice try though.
Akhilleus,
Since everything humans do is political it's hard to imagine the SCOTUS is not.
Oh, I get it. The nation of laws, not of men thing. And yeah, that's an important step in civil society's direction, but men are still promulgating and enforcing those laws, whether the laws themselves are civil or not. Laws by themselves are always political.
It would have been far better for Roberts to have said something along those lines because it would have been far closer to the truth and not the equivalent of treating with rhetorical bleach the way politics infects the SCOTUS as it does everything else.
Even if we really had a government of laws, not of men, separating our politics from our laws is impossible, and believing that humans could do any such thing is just that, a belief, not borne out by fact.
Best to acknowledge that from the beginning, lest those judicial robes take on all the aspects of the sacerdotal.
Don't know if Roberts swallowed his own b.s. or not and don't know if his believing it or just consciously spreading fertilizer is the more dangerous, but either way, he did not utter the kind of truth that will set us free.
And speaking of religion, a Sunday Sermon:
"Experience is the best teacher, we’re told.
I vividly remember paying off my government student loan. I wrote the check with a great sense of relief. It was one obligation off the list of many that I sensed would come with raising a family. Looming among them, I knew, were the home mortgage and car payments, but it didn't occur to me at the time that paying for our own children’s college education would be one-- eventually, two—of them.
I didn’t think of that obligation because in the early 1970’s with the help of scholarships, a small loan or two, summer jobs, and work during the school year, I’d already paid for my college. Little did I know things were about to change. Drastically.
Now, decades later, college loan debt is center-stage, and President Biden is being both praised and blamed for “forgiving” up to 20,000 dollars in some students’ government loans (nytimes.com). “Great!” some say, while others fume that this is just another handout to the undeserving. We paid for our college, they complain, why can’t they?
There is an answer to that question. Since 1980 college costs have nearly tripled. They’ve gone up around 170% (forbes.com). In that same period state support for colleges declined significantly, especially in Republican states (nea.org). Those two factors account for much of the increase in government and private student loan debt, which has also more than tripled in the past 15 years, to around $1.7 trillion.
As we learned during the home mortgage crisis, immense debt attracts financial predators. Student loans have become a commodity. In 2021, one company, Navient, posted a $717 million profit, servicing, bundling, and selling student debt (theguardian.com; microtrends.net).
Experience may be the best teacher, but sometimes the most pertinent experience is someone else’s, not our own."
IN THE SHADOW OF WOMEN:
Maureen Dowd takes us back through the years of this phenomenon re: the new King and does a splendid job-–especially covering the Queen's trip to Ireland in 2011.
"The women who overshadowed Charles are gone now. We'll see what the new King can do as he collects his prize in the primogeniture lottery and steps into the spotlight that's all his own."
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/10/opinion/king-charles-queen-elizabeth-princess-diana.html
Ken: Back in the day Joe and I got our college education in what we can now call "dirt cheap." When our youngest son and wife became parents of two they immediately invested in a college fund on a monthly basis preparing for the huge increase in tuition. And as grandparents we help with this, even with the grandchildren in Germany where the system isn't so dear. And here in the U.S. where we are losing teachers in the elementary schools because of the inference of state legislators mucking up the system, what kind of educating will befall our next generation? Will they even be prepared for that higher level.
And your "Experience may be the best teacher, but sometimes the most pertinent experience is someone else’s, not our own." you betcha!
In various MSNBC interviews before the asinine Special Master ruling, Joyce Vance was very careful to give Judge cannon the benefit of the doubt, noting that all judges are appointed by Presidents and approved by the Senate. Good for her.
After the ruling, Vance has condemned the ruling and cannon. Good for her.
Re CJ Roberts: oh, we should not be riled because McConnell put “illegals”/trespassers, lightweights on his court?
Read a piece in Slate about Florida and the takeover of its public education by “Christians” at Hillsdale in Michigan. They play a very long game and the left has nothing to combat it. Death Sentence is King. He is a willing toadie for everything. In PA, we must defeat Mastriano, who fudged his dissertation, posed as a confederate, does not allow the free press anywhere near him, played with alternate fake electors and went to DC, and has “Christians” guarding him. He will disenfranchise all voters. Dr. Oz is completely phony.
We live in difficult times.
Why can't Trump find any good lawyers?
Marie suggests that there should have been some whistleblowing regarding Trump’s theft of government documents. I’m guessing it was more organic. All of these documents are traceable by those tasked with keeping track of them. You take something out, they know who did it, and when inventories are reviewed, they know (theoretically) where it is (ie, White House, FBI, NSA, etc.).
And when Fatty was booted out of office, it’s very likely that the document trackers notified the Orange Monster, or someone on his staff, that all those documents he still had in his possession needed to be returned, toot sweet. The fact that he gave them the collective finger is not surprising. Neither is the fact that he bullied everyone around him to shut up about rules and regulations. He’s the king and they’re just vassals. Also, after four years of decimating government departments and stuffing them full of unqualified, obedient hacks, there were fewer checks on his profligate, illegal, and treasonous behavior. Case in point, Homeland Security was ordered to back off when information about the Jan. 6 coup attempt was pouring in. They were told to stand down, plus plenty of qualified, experienced agents had already quit or been fired, replaced by Trump loyalists.
The debasement of so much of our government by Trump and his lackeys cannot be overstated. Whether this situation had something to do with his theft of top secret documents is still up in the air.
But the DoJ and the people tasked with maintaining these documents knew the day after Trump’s fat ass rolled out of the White House that they were missing a ton of stuff. They tried for 18 months to get it back, quietly. Had the Fat Fascist complied, even after stealing these docs and leaving them unprotected for a year and half, we wouldn’t have known anything about it. It was Trump himself who let it out, screaming about a “raid” on his “beautiful home”.
As with all things Trump, he is both the instigator and the single person responsible for the whole mess. Because it’s always all about him. It’s what happens when a solipsistic, whining infant is given access to the power of the presidency.
And if this goes all the way to the Supreme Court, don’t be surprised if they order his immediate reinstatement. And make sure he gets “his” documents back.
Yeah, I know that sounds hyperbolic, but I don’t take anything for granted anymore.
RAS,
Good one. She was great. But in addition to her question (which answers itself) about why would no high profile bulldog defense lawyers sign on to represent a “completely honest and entirely innocent ex-president being attacked by an out of control Justice Department”, are the more pragmatic problems.
First, what lawyer wants a client who won’t take their advice? Worse yet, calls a press conference to yap about shit you told him to shut up about? And who shits on you at that presser. Finally, if you’re that high profile, high priced attorney, you would like, at some point, to get paid. And Trump never pays. Not anyone.
So even knowing that he is guilty as sin, but could maybe get away with everything through some high end legalistic jiu jitsu, no decent lawyer or law firm wants that kind of loose cannon, big mouth cheapskate for a client. That’s why he’s got that parking garage lawyer.
But…don’t misunderstand…parking garage lawyer notwithstanding, it almost doesn’t matter. Trump could have Big Bird as his attorney. As long as he continues to shop for friendly courts, there are plenty of Trump hack judges out there. They care about the law as much as he does. And if all else fails, there’s always “his” Supreme Court.
How dare you, Akhilleus. John Roberts is going to be incredibly disappointed with how you are implying a lack of integrity at the Supreme Court. I'm sure it gets harder each day for him continue his lies/false reality with people like you continualy pointing out the truth to everyone. Yes, the Supremes ignored the law and precedent repeatedly this last year (more often than they usually do) and that many right-wing judges routinely ignore the law in their rulings and that Judge Cannon has just done exactly what you describe. Sounds bad when you state everything all together. Might be nice if there was someone in a position of power, like a Chief, who could stand up and call out corruption and mete out punishments for ignoring the rules of the court to help reinstate that integrity that has been missing for a while now. Now who's living in a fanatsy world.