;)
The Commentariat -- April 24, 2021
Afternoon Update:
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.
Katie Rogers & Carlotta Gall of the New York Times: "President Biden on Saturday recognized the mass killings of Armenians more than a century ago as genocide, signaling a willingness to test an increasingly frayed relationship with Turkey, long a key regional ally and an important partner within NATO. 'Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring,' Mr. Biden said in a statement issued on the 106th anniversary of the beginning of a brutal campaign by the former Ottoman Empire that killed 1.5 million people. 'And we remember so that we remain ever vigilant against the corrosive influence of hate in all its forms.'" The Guardian's story is here. President Biden's full statement is here.
Craig Timberg & Paul Sonne of the Washington Post: "While the world was distracted with ... Donald Trump leaving office on Jan. 20, an obscure Florida company discreetly announced to the world&'s computer networks a startling development: It now was managing a huge unused swath of the Internet that, for several decades, had been owned by the U.S. military. What happened next was stranger still." MB: I would summarize the rest of the story, but I don't understand a word of it. It's the most popular story on the WashPo site right now (1:45 pm ET Saturday), so I'm linking it. But I don't get it.
Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "Following her vote to impeach Donald Trump, Rep. Liz Cheney has received a groundswell of financial support from the most powerful figures in traditional GOP politics and the corporate world.... Almost the entire traditional Republican power structure is standing behind Cheney at this tough moment -- but not House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).... As House Republicans gather Sunday for a three-day retreat meant to unify around a new policy agenda, the former president, residing 170 miles south of the GOP's Orlando gathering, continues to be a divisive figure, pitting the small band of Republican lawmakers critical of him against the majority that remains loyal. And the fault line in the conference runs over Trump's role in cheering on the rioting criminals who ransacked the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6." MB: Frankly, I hope they get in a massive fistfight.
Montana. Iris Samuels of the AP: "Gov. Greg Gianforte [Violently R] on Friday signed a bill that prohibits state and local law enforcement in Montana from enforcing federal bans on firearms, ammunition and magazines. Supporters of the law have said it would protect the Second Amendment from stiffer gun control laws that could come from federal legislation or executive orders by President Joe Biden in the wake of several mass shootings that took place this year, including a recent shooting that killed eight people in Indianapolis. Opponents of the bill have said it would make it difficult for local law enforcement to collaborate with federal authorities on issues beyond gun access when such collaboration is essential to protect public safety, including in cases of domestic violence and drug offenses."
Texas. Let's Not Let the "Urban People" Vote. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Twenty-four-hour voting was one of a host of options Harris County[, Texas, (includes Houston)] introduced to help residents cast ballots, along with drive-through voting and proactively mailing out ballot applications. The new alternatives, tailored to a diverse work force struggling amid a pandemic in Texas' largest county, helped increase turnout by nearly 10 percent compared with 2016; nearly 70 percent of registered voters cast ballots, and a task force found that there was no evidence of any fraud. Yet Republicans are pushing measures through the State Legislature that would take aim at the very process that produced such a large turnout. Two omnibus bills ... are seeking to roll back virtually every expansion the county put in place for 2020. The bills would make Texas one of the hardest states in the country to cast a ballot in. And they are a prime example of a Republican-led effort to roll back voting access in Democrat-rich cities and populous regions like Atlanta and Arizona's Maricopa County, while having far less of an impact on voting in rural areas that tend to lean Republican.... In Texas, Republicans have taken the rare tack of outlining restrictions that would apply only to counties with population of more than one million, targeting the booming and increasingly diverse metropolitan areas of Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas."
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Brady Dennis, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden used the waning hours of a White House climate summit to hammer home a message aimed as much at Americans as at the dozens of world leaders he had convened: Combating the Earth's warming is not simply a responsibility, but a chance to boost battered economies. 'Today's final session is not about the threat climate change poses,' Biden said Friday morning from the East Room. 'It's about the opportunity that addressing climate change provides, an opportunity to create millions of good-paying jobs around the world in innovative sectors.'"
~~~ The New York Times has live updates of President Biden's virtual climate summit, Day 2, here. The Washington Post's live updates are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Evan Perez, et al., of CNN: "Federal authorities are looking into whether a 2018 trip to the Bahamas involving Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz and several young women was part of an orchestrated effort to illegally influence Gaetz in the area of medical marijuana, people briefed on the matter told CNN. Prosecutors with the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section are examining whether Gaetz took gifts, including travel and paid escorts, in exchange for political favors, the sources said.... Gaetz has a long history of advocating for medical marijuana and has introduced several pieces of legislation seeking to loosen laws regulating the drug.... A number of his close associates have ties to the industry, including Jason Pirozzolo, a Florida doctor who founded a medical marijuana advocacy group and has in past news coverage in Florida been described as a "marijuana investor." According to reports, Pirozzolo accompanied Gaetz on the 2018 trip to the Bahamas that investigators are scrutinizing." (Also linked yesterday.)
Bumble-Busted. Marshall Cohen of CNN: "The Justice Department has charged a Capitol rioter who was turned in by someone he matched with on the dating app Bumble, after he bragged about his exploits on January 6. According to court documents, one week after the attack, Robert Chapman of New York told one of his Bumble matches that 'I did storm the Capitol' and said that he 'made it all the way into Statuary Hall.' He also claimed that he was interviewed by members of the media. The other Bumble user replied, 'we are not a match.' Prosecutors said the user then quickly reached out to the FBI and provided screenshots of the conversation. Investigators said in court filings that they corroborated Chapman's claims by comparing his Bumble profile picture to body camera footage from police officers who were inside the Capitol."
Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "An impassioned supporter of ... Donald Trump, on trial for allegedly advocating the 'slaughter' of influential Democrats after the U.S. Capitol riot, also espoused Nazi ideology and suggested to his father that Trump should override the election results and declare the United States a dictatorship as Adolf Hitler did in Germany generations ago, according to evidence presented by federal authorities in a Brooklyn courtroom Thursday. Brendan Hunt, that evidence suggests, was fixated on extremist ideas and conspiracy theories -- including that Democrats falsely portrayed covid-19 as a deadly epidemic to gain political advantage over Trump -- when on Jan. 8 he posted a video titled 'KILL YOUR SENATORS: Slaughter them all.'" MB: Not sure if Brendan is one of the people Sen. Ron Johnson called (a) a left-wing provocateur or (b) someone who wouldn't do anything to break the law. Since it's pretty difficult to label a neo-Nazi as "left-wing," maybe Brendan now can call Senator Ron as a character witness.
Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "An Oath Keepers leader's chilling correspondence with another person who allegedly fantasized about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's 'head rolling down the front steps' persuaded a federal judge on Friday that he should be kept behind bars pending trial."
A Florida Man Will Summer at a New Jersey Resort. Leia Idliby of Mediaite: "Donald Trump is reportedly planning to move his post-presidency operation from Mar-a-Lago to New Jersey, according to Business Insider.... Trump and his aides are planning to temporarily relocate to Bedminster, New Jersey, where he owns a golf club...." (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: Yesterday I wished everyone a Happy First Bleach Day! As Meredith McGraw & Sam Stein of Politico remind us, "One year ago today..., Donald Trump took to the White House briefing room and encouraged his top health officials to study the injection of bleach into the human body as a means of fighting Covid." Here's a Florida Man (et Fils) who probably did not celebrate Bleach Day. ~~~
~~~ DOJ Press Release: "A federal grand jury in Miami has returned an indictment charging a Florida man -- Mark Grenon, 62 -- and his three sons -- Jonathan Grenon, 34, Jordan Grenon, 26, and Joseph Grenon, 32 -- with fraudulently marketing and selling 'Miracle Mineral Solution,' a toxic industrial bleach, as a cure for COVID-19, cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, autism, malaria, hepatitis, Parkinson's, herpes, HIV/AIDS, and other serious medical conditions, and with defying federal court orders.... The Grenons claimed that ingesting MMS could treat, prevent, and cure COVID-19, according to the charges.... In prior official warning statements, the FDA had strongly urged consumers not to purchase or use MMS for any reason, explaining that drinking MMS was the same as drinking bleach and could cause dangerous side effects, including severe vomiting, diarrhea, and life-threatening low blood pressure."
The Pandemic, Ctd.
Lena Sun & Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "Federal health officials lifted a pause on the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine Friday night after an extensive safety review by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. The officials said the benefits of the single-shot vaccine far outweigh the risks from a rare and severe type of blood clot. The decision to lift the pause allows state and local officials to resume immediately giving the vaccine they have available on shelves, CDC officials said. The FDA has updated patient and health-care provider fact sheets for use as early as Saturday, and both agencies will publish additional education and communication materials by early next week." The Hill's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Denise Lu of the New York Times: "The U.S. death rate in 2020 was the highest above normal ever recorded in the country -- even surpassing the calamity of the 1918 flu pandemic.... Since the 1918 pandemic, the country's death rate has fallen steadily. But last year, the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted that trend, in spite of a century of improvements in medicine and public health." (Also linked yesterday.)
Sheryl Stolberg & Chris Hamby of the New York Times: "The Biden administration said Friday that it did not know that a Baltimore factory had discarded millions of possibly contaminated doses of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine when President Biden last month released the company to ship vaccines manufactured there to Mexico and Canada. Canadian and Mexican officials said on Friday that they had assurances from AstraZeneca that the millions of doses they received were safe. Some of the doses have been distributed to the public in both countries, the officials said.... Vaccine production at the plant, operated by Emergent BioSolutions, has been halted. Up to 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine needed to be discarded because of the contamination fears. This week, inspectors from the Food and Drug Administration said Emergent had failed to fully investigate the episode, and they also found fault with the plant's disinfection practices, size and design, handling of raw materials and training of workers."
Atthar Mirza & Emily Rauhala of the Washington Post: "The globe is quickly being split into coronavirus vaccine 'haves' and 'have-nots,' creating a gap that may define the next phase of the pandemic. Using publicly available figures from Our World in Data, The Washington Post found that nearly half -- 48 percent -- of all vaccine doses administered so far have gone to just 16 percent of the world's population in what the World Bank considers high-income countries. Through the summer and fall of last year, wealthy nations cut deals directly with vaccine-makers, buying up a disproportionate share of early doses -- and undermining a World Health Organization-backed effort, called Covax, to equitably distribute shots. So now, in a small number of relatively wealthy nations, including the United States, doses are relatively plentiful and mass immunization campaigns are progressing apace. But much of the world is still struggling to secure enough supply." ~~~
~~~ Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "Last July, during the presidential campaign, Joe Biden promised the universal health care advocate Ady Barkan that he wouldn't let intellectual property laws stand in the way of worldwide access to coronavirus vaccines.... Biden was unequivocal. 'It lacks any human dignity, what we're doing,' he said of Trump's vaccine isolationism. 'So the answer is yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. And it's not only a good thing to do, it's overwhelmingly in our interest to do.'... Now that Biden is in power, his perception of our interest doesn't seem quite so clear. Last year, India and South Africa requested a waiver from World Trade Organization rules governing intellectual property for technology dealing with the pandemic.... A handful of rich nations, including the United States, oppose the waiver, but there's a widespread belief that if America changes its position, other countries will follow. Much of the world is waiting to see what Biden does. There's an enormous consensus in favor of a waiver."
Stupidest Senator Has More Horribly Stupid Advice. Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) cast dark suspicions on the 'big push' to vaccinate American adults against the deadly coronavirus. The Wisconsin Republican, who's one of the Senate's most notorious sources of disinformation, told radio host and vaccine skeptic Vicki McKenna that the inoculations aren't necessary, reported Forbes. '[There's] no reason to be pushing vaccines on people,' Johnson said, adding that doses should be 'limited' only to those most vulnerable. 'If you have a vaccine, quite honestly, what do you care if your neighbor has one or not?... I'm getting highly suspicious [of the] big push to make sure everybody gets the vaccine.'..." (Also linked yesterday.)
Beyond the Beltway
Arizona. Jennifer Medina of the New York Times: "A Maricopa County judge on Friday temporarily halted a Republican-led effort in Arizona to recount ballots from the 2020 presidential election, after Democrats filed a lawsuit arguing that the audit violated state election security laws. But the judge, Christopher Coury of Maricopa County Superior Court, said the pause would go into effect only if the state Democratic Party posted a $1 million bond to compensate a private company -- Cyber Ninjas, a cybersecurity firm based in Florida -- that Republicans have hired to review the ballots. In a statement on Friday afternoon, Democratic officials said they would not do so, but they vowed to continue the fight in court. Another hearing was set for Monday morning, and the judge emphasized that he expected the audit to move forward." An Arizona Mirror report is here.
Iowa. Christine Hauser of the New York Times: "An Iowa woman who tried to kill two children in 2019 by hitting them with her car because she thought they were of Middle Eastern, African or Mexican descent has pleaded guilty to attempted murder and hate crime charges, the authorities said. The woman, Nicole Poole Franklin, 43, made the admission to two counts of hate crime charges on Wednesday, according to federal prosecutors. She faces life imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 for each of the charges, the Justice Department said in a statement on Thursday." These were two separate incidents. MB: I suppose it's appropriate that this horrible woman attempted to murder two (possibly) ethnic-minority children by Jeep Cherokee, a vehicle whose name has been criticized by some Native Americans, including the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. (Also linked yesterday.)
Maryland. Emily Davies & Ovetta Wiggins of the Washington Post: "Top Maryland officials are launching an investigation of all deaths in police custody that were overseen by the state's former chief medical examiner who testified in Derek Chauvin's defense, the Maryland attorney general and governor's offices announced Friday.... David Fowler, who was Maryland's chief medical examiner from 2002 to 2019, served as a key witness for Chauvin, whose high-profile trial ended this week with a jury convicting the former Minneapolis officer of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. Fowler broke with the Hennepin County medical examiner, among others, to classify Floyd's killing as 'undetermined' and not a homicide."
Minnesota. Chauvin Was Always a Bad Cop. Mike Levine of ABC News: "Late last year, as a team of Minnesota state prosecutors was preparing for the trial ... [of] Derek Chauvin..., they received a series of videos depicting Chauvin's handling of another case three years earlier that by their own description shocked them. The videos, from Sept. 4, 2017, allegedly showed Chauvin striking a Black teenager in the head so hard that the boy needed stitches, then allegedly holding the boy down with his knee for nearly 17 minutes, and allegedly ignoring complaints from the boy that he couldn't breathe. 'Those videos show a far more violent and forceful treatment of this child than Chauvin describes in his report [of the incident],' Matthew Frank, one of the state prosecutors, wrote in a court filing at the time. Now, the U.S. Justice Department may ... charge Chauvin for the 2017 incident. Two months ago, federal prosecutors in Minneapolis brought witnesses before a federal grand jury to provide testimony related to the incident, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported at the time. And this week, a source informed of the probe told ABC News that the investigation is still underway...."
North Carolina. Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "Seven sheriff's deputies have been placed on leave, and the governor of North Carolina [Roy Cooper (D)] is calling for the release of body-camera footage after deputies shot and killed a Black man on Wednesday, the authorities said.... Tommy Wooten II, the Pasquotank County sheriff, has said that the deputies were wearing body cameras and that the cameras were active at the time. He said the footage had been turned over to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and could be released only by a judge."
Way Beyond
Russia. Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "The Russian president went up to the brink -- and then, with the eyes of the world upon him, stepped back from it. State television images on Friday showed Russian forces that had massed near Ukraine, sparking fears of an imminent full-scale war in Europe, being loaded onto trains and ships to be pulled back. The same day, the imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny announced he was ending his three-week hunger strike because his demands for independent medical care had, at last, sufficiently been met. The performative blend of fear, suspense and force that President Vladimir V. Putin deploys to affirm his power reached a crescendo this week, illuminating the ever-harder-line tactics to which he is prepared to resort to cement and project his influence. Yet it also became clear by Friday that Mr. Putin saw the anxiety he was able to induce at home and abroad as a tool to be modulated depending on changing circumstances or in the service of a broader aim. It was a distillation, in short, of Mr. Putin's tactical, high-stakes rule that evokes his past as an officer in the K.G.B.: keeping the adversary guessing and off balance, while also being prepared to exercise restraint as long as he can save face." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yesterday, we were wondering in the Comments section what made Putin step back aggressive maneuvers against Ukraine. Troianovski provides an answer. ~~~
~~~ Zahra Ullah of CNN: "Jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny said on Friday that he is ending his weekslong hunger strike. The announcement comes days after the Russian opposition leader was transferred to a prison hospital due to his deteriorating health." Breaking at 9:45 am ET. (Also linked yesterday.)
News Ledes
CNN: "A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft -- carrying four astronauts from three countries -- docked with the International Space Station early Saturday morning ET, beginning the crew's six-month stay in space. This mission, dubbed Crew-2, marks the third-ever crewed flight for Elon Musk's company and the first to make use of a previously flown, privately-owned rocket booster and spacecraft." The Washington Post is livebloggding developments here.
CNN: "Indonesia's Navy changed the status of its missing submarine from 'sub miss' to 'sub sank' on Saturday, as a naval chief presented debris believed to be from the vessel at a news conference. Authorities now expect to carry out an evacuation process to recover the KRI Nanggala-402 submarine and its crew when they pinpoint its exact location, Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Yudo Margono said. The latest update came as hopes faded for the 53 crew members, who were expected to have run out of oxygen early on Saturday. So far, no sign of them has been found, Yudo said."
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Reader Comments (11)
What cancel culture is really good for...
Ya know, whenever I read about some new bit of inchoate nincompoopery spouted by Ron (“Kick Me”) Johnson, aka Senator Dunderhead, I wonder who in the screaming blue meanies afterlife votes for this brand of brainless butt plugs.
Then I read about this guy:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56857240
THIS moron goes on a dating app and, looking for someone equally MAGA-fied, of course, brags to what he hopes is a future mate whom he can keep barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen while he tries to figure out how to insert his parakeet proud flesh pecker into his brand new MTG blowup doll, that YES!! he did storm the Capitol with that horde of treason and murder minded slimeballs.
The response was twofold. Part one: “Um, are you insane?” Part two: “Dear FBI...”
Next scene, “...you have the right to remain silent. And stupid...”
I’m sure MAGA moron is now wondering whether he’ll be able to vote by mail from prison for candidates like ol’ Ron.
Subscription to dating app, and future as unidentified, un-arrested and un-jailed traitor CANCELED!
Here's Olivia Troye, former aide to Pence, giving us the skinny on Doofus' "light and disinfectant" remedies aftershock.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-task-force-disinfectant-briefing_n_6083b866e4b0ee126f66b399
Last night Chris had a guy on from Wisconsin's Democratic National Ctm. who emphasized the stark division in Wisconsin politics. It's a wonder he said, that we have both Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson representing this state. His plan is going door to door once Covid eases, and tell people exactly how the Democrats are helping people in all its many ways.
I wish him well but the fact that a whole lot of Wisconsinites voted for good ole Ron in the first place and appear to rally round his inane statements, I'm not hopeful that they wouldn't vote him in again. There's a rumor he may not run.
For today's wee chuckle ––lord knows we need them:
From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
Meanwhile the American Donkey and Mule Society is working on a special section of its registry for the Ossabaw donkey, so people can find one another for breeding purposes.
smart asses only, please!
More weird stuff that was new to me:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/23/world/europe/uk-far-right-tommy-robinson-russia.html?
Seems all Far Fight roads lead to Moscow...
@PD Pepe: Thanks. The Politico story I linked above (and yesterday afternoon) also has some of the staff's behind-the-scenes reactions to the bleach shot heard 'round the world. I think it might have lost him the election. Obviously, Trump said a lot of stupid things, but this was one that almost everybody -- even most Trump supporters -- knew was stoopid.
It was a glaring example of Trump's being such a nitwit that it was scary even for some of his voters to think he was running the government and capable of confusing the nuclear football with the Diet Coke button on his desk. I can imagine Trump's last words being, "I ordered a Diet Coke ten minutes ago. Where's my Diet Coke?" as the rumble of a distant nuclear blast was heard in the background.
"... it's pretty difficult to label a neo-Nazi as “left-wing,” ..."
No problem. It was the National SOCIALIST Party. Socialists are "left-wing." QEF'ingD
Done in two easy (but mindless) steps.
@Patrick: Uh-oh. Looks like I'm wrong & Ron Johnson is right.
Maybe someone here has answers to the question when to use or not use titles: https://www.thelily.com/a-white-city-official-refused-to-address-this-black-professor-as-doctor-he-got-fired/. There are few things more important than an automatic presumption of respect in human relations. That said, my father's comment after being in the service is that he would never call anyone "sir" again. I've always called my physician by hir name. I get the feeling that lording your title over everyone smacks of monarchy, entitlement, and caste; earned or unearned is a further distinction. Yet, this story is about a woman with a PhD and black. One can be well positioned and well educated and still be a pompous ass. Look at our last president and his insistance on the use of the title president. Coming from the Dale Carnegie school of respectful use of people's names seems a priori respectful. I like this article as an example because few groups in society are diminished like black women.
@citizen625
You remind me of a story from long ago.
Grew up in a different time, back when I thought the only real doctors wore stethoscopes around their necks, tapped you on the chest and told you to breathe deep and stick out your tongue.
Did know more distantly of other doctors, the ones with the honorific of professor in front of their name, though such were no part of my early life.
Then I got into the education field, where as the years passed doctorates proliferated enough to become common.
I once worked for a superintendent, who did treat me kindly in the long run, but irked the hell out of me when he insisted on being addressed as "Doctor." Seemed a false equivalency to me. An Ed. D. versus an M.D? Give me a break!.
Once when we locked horns over a matter I thought important enough to dispute, I signed my note to him, "Master." You might conclude I was a wise ass in those days.
Eventually, I had an ABD of my own, but traded the D in for a few more carefree summers; and I still feel deep in my aging bones that not all doctorates are created equal, and hence unworthy of the same respect.
No excuse, however, for rudeness...in any case. Not even my own.
@citizen625 & @Ken Winkes: My preference is to address people as they prefer to be addressed. I always address medical doctors as "doctor," even when I know them personally, unless they specifically say, "Call me Jan, please." I do the same with priests and some other professional people. I often call people "sir" or "ma'am," especially if they do something for me, like a garage mechanic or a wait person. The people who do those jobs have dignity, too.
One of my least favorite Supreme Court justices was William Rehnquist, who was the Chief Justice before John Roberts. But he had one practice which I admired. When he fell into casual conversations with strangers, as one might at the grocery store, say, or waiting in line to vote, they sometimes asked him what he did for a living.
Chief Justice Rehnquist would reply, "I'm a civil servant."
@Marie.
Good advice, which I (most often )follow.
One can think what one will, but what one chooses to say is something else..
Much liked the Rehnquist story, though I'm thinking it might have given the Justice cause to smile (to himself) at his own self-abnegatory joke.