;)
The Commentariat -- April 3, 2021
Late Morning Update:
Black Votes Matter. Gillian Friedman of the New York Times: "More large companies have voiced their opposition to Republican-led efforts to restrict voting, this time in Texas. On Thursday, American Airlines and Dell Technologies declared their objections to proposals in the state that would restrict local measures intended to make voting easier, such as by extending early voting hours. The pushback in Texas came just a day after Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola spoke out against similar efforts in Georgia, though both companies waited until after Georgia's governor had already signed the law to criticize it.... Those comments came a day after a group of Black executives, led by the former chief executive of American Express and the current chief executive of the drugmaker Merck, called on companies to oppose proposed bills making it more difficult to vote across the country -- saying that they would particularly impact the voting rights of Black Americans." ~~~
~~~ Hannah Denham & Jena McGregor of the Washington Post: "Nearly 200 companies on Friday joined in a strong statement against proposals that threaten to restrict voting access in dozens of states, in a further sign of corporate willingness to speak out on social justice issues. As Major League Baseball announced that it will be moving this summer's All-Star Game out of Atlanta in response to the passage of Georgia's restrictive voting law, executives from at least 193 companies -- including Dow, HP, Twitter and Estée Lauder -- urged the protection of voting rights across the country." ~~~
~~~ In today's Comments, Bobby Lee has a great suggestion: "Why not award the [MLB's All-Star] game to the District of Columbia?"
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.: "As President Biden enters the homestretch of his first 100 days in office, the general declines in new virus cases, deaths and hospitalizations since January offer signs of hope for a weary nation. But the average number of new cases has risen 19 percent over the past two weeks, and federal health officials say that complacency about the coronavirus could bring on another severe wave of infections."
Sara Tabin & Scott Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune: "A Kaysville[, Utah,] man who formerly worked as a Salt Lake City police officer has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly taking part in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Michael Lee Hardin, 50, was taken into custody without incident by members of the FBI's joint terrorism task force, with assistance from the Utah's State Bureau of Investigation, for 'crimes committed at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.,' according to a news release from the FBI's Utah office.... According to charging documents, [Hardin] was caught on video as part of a crowd pushing its way past police officers and yelling that he had a knife.... The FBI caught Hardin by following up on tips from two people who know him.... '[The first tipster] further claimed that Hardin had sent ... text messages on January 6, 2021, stating, "We stormed the Capitol, I am in here now!" "I know you don't like [Donald] Trump, but He is the rightful President!" and "We will return until we win!",' the [DOJ] statement reads. The second tipster ... gave authorities a photo of Hardin standing next to a bust of Abraham Lincoln, 'in what appears to be the Capitol Crypt,' according to the statement."
Haley Britzky of Task & Purpose: "The Army has suspended several instructors at Fort Sill over allegations they sexually assaulted a female soldier going through initial training at the Oklahoma base.... According to The Intercept, the trainee reported multiple assaults by 22 service members, including several drill sergeants. The trainee's report 'identified seven of the 22 members she said assaulted her,' according to The Intercept." ~~~
~~~ Ken Klippenstein & Matthew Cole of the Intercept: "The Army is investigating a possible series of sexual assaults of a female soldier at the Army training base in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, a commander at the base told press yesterday. The investigation, according to a military official with direct knowledge, is scrutinizing allegations of multiple assaults against the soldier by 22 service members. Video of one incident under investigation involving several drill sergeants was circulating at the base and was obtained by Army investigators, the official said." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The nature of the assaults is not specified in either of the reports linked. It seems odd that nearly two dozen men would assault one particular trainee. So is she one of many who were assaulted but the only one to report the assaults? Surely there is more to the story.
~~~~~~~~~~
Peter Hermann, et al., of the Washington Post: "One Capitol Police officer was killed and another injured Friday when a vehicle rammed into them near the U.S. Capitol, an attack that once again put the city on edge as threats stemming from the deadly insurrection in January had started to wane. It was not immediately clear how the slain officer, identified as William 'Billy' Evans, an 18-year veteran, was fatally injured. Acting U.S. Capitol Police chief Yogananda Pittman said a man exited the vehicle with a knife and started lunging. She said at least one police officer opened fire, killing the suspect. Several people familiar with the investigation identified the suspect as Noah Green. One of those people said Green has an address in Virginia." (This is an update of a story linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ CNN's story is here. CNN has live updates here. The New York Times story is here. (All linked yesterday afternoon.) The NYT is liveblogging developments here.
Laura Reiley of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration has abandoned the Trump administration's opposition to emergency nutrition assistance going to the lowest income households already at the maximum benefit levels. In two lawsuits in Pennsylvania and California, plaintiffs argued that ... Donald Trump's agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, misinterpreted a section of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in a way that denied millions of the neediest Americans access to emergency allotments of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.... Tom Vilsack, the current agriculture secretary, moved on Thursday for voluntary dismissal of the agency's appeal in these cases, entering into a settlement that will provide $1 billion per month in additional food assistance to an estimated 25 million people in very low-income American households." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I thought maybe I had linked a story on this yesterday, but I didn't. That was a different Trump cutback Biden has reversed. Little by little, the Biden administration is dumping the entire Trump Cruelty Agenda.
Patricia Cohen of the New York Times: "Just as the Biden administration is pushing to raise taxes on corporations, a new study finds that at least 55 of America's largest paid no taxes last year on billions of dollars in profits. The sweeping tax bill passed in 2017 by a Republican Congress and signed into law by ... Donald J. Trump reduced the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent. But dozens of Fortune 500 companies were able to further shrink their tax bill -- sometimes to zero -- thanks to a range of legal deductions and exemptions that have become staples of the tax code, according to the analysis. Salesforce, Archer-Daniels-Midland and Consolidated Edison were among those named in the report, which was done by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning research group in Washington." (Also linked yesterday.)
Loveday Morris, et al., of the Washington Post: "The United States and other original signatories to the Iran nuclear deal will convene in Vienna next week in an effort to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement that President Biden has said he wants to see salvaged. Representatives of Iran, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and China will convene Tuesday with two challenges on the table: how to roll back sanctions imposed by the Trump administration and bring Tehran's nuclear program back into the limits set by the deal. U.S. envoys will not be part of those discussions, but will be on hand for 'separate contacts' with the group, according to a European Commission statement." MB: The reason the U.S. doesn't have a seat at the table, of course, is because Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the agreement.
Michael Scherer & Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "Rep. Matt Gaetz repeatedly boasted to people involved in Florida politics about women he met through a county tax collector who has since been charged by federal authorities with sex trafficking of a minor, according to two people who heard his comments directly. They said the Republican congressman, first elected in 2016, also showed them videos on his phone of naked or topless women on multiple occasions, including at parties with Joel Greenberg, the former tax collector for Seminole County. The women appeared to be adults.... 'Matt was never shy about talking about his relationship to Joel and the access to women that Joel provided him,' said one of these people...." ~~~
~~~ Jose Lambiet & Karen Ruiz of the Daily Mail: "Rep Matt Gaetz is expected to be indicted within the next few weeks as former Florida official and friend Joel Greenberg is believed to have turned on the congressman in the sex trafficking investigation against him, a source close to the probe tells DailyMail.com. Greenberg, who was elected Seminole County Tax Collector in 2016, is currently in jail awaiting trial after being slapped with a string of charges last year including sex trafficking a minor between the age of 14 and 17.... Gaetz's arrest is said to be imminent after the alleged victim, who has not been named, testified before a Florida grand jury this week saying she had sex with the conservative Republican before she turned 18, DailyMail.com has learned." MB: It's the Daily Mail, so any veracity to this story is purely accidental. But it is fun to speculate that Gaetz is toast. ~~~
~~~ The Receipts: Incriminating text messages! Creepy voicemails! Fake IDs! Cash App receipts! Nude photos! On Friday, Business Insider published new reporting on a sex game Gaetz reportedly created as a state legislator.Grainy surveillance tapes! And more (like dodgy hotel bills & middle-of-the-night hotel ATM hits)! Jose Pagliery of the Daily Beast: "When [Joel] Greenberg ... came under investigation by the Secret Service for identity theft and stalking, agents approached former employees at the tax office to obtain proof of the public official's activities. That's when they were suddenly directed to [Matt] Gaetz." Firewalled. MB: Wish I'd been around when the team investigating Greenberg first discovered they'd snagged Gaetz, too. ~~~
~~~ Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "On Friday, Business Insider published new reporting on a sex game [Matt] Gaetz reportedly created as a state legislator. 'Sleeping with married legislators. Spending the night at a college sorority house. These were specific ways now-US Rep. Matt Gaetz and other Florida lawmakers could earn "extra points" in a sex competition in which Gaetz is accused of participating when he served in the state's House of Representatives, a female GOP insider who worked with Gaetz in the 2010s told Insider in an interview,' Business Insider reported Friday.... 'The GOP source said she "heard specific references of Gaetz being involved and scoring points."'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: I know this isn't funny because Gaetz & Greeberg victimized real people, possibly including a young girl. But I can't help being happy that Gaetz may finally get his comeuppance for years of sexually harassing & abusing young women & girls. ~~~
~~~ Juliegrace Brufke of the Hill: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told the Hill ... in a text exchange with the Hill ... said rumors he plans to resign from his office are 'false' and it is 'very safe' to say he doesn't have any intention to do so." MB: The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men gang aft agley, Matt. Not to mention, really stupid schemes. ~~~
~~~ Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The spokesman for Representative Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican under federal investigation into whether he violated laws against sex trafficking, has abruptly resigned amid mounting scrutiny of his boss, the congressman's office confirmed on Friday. Luke Ball, a longtime aide to Mr. Gaetz who was serving as his communications director, had as recently as this week been helping Mr. Gaetz mount a defense against the newly disclosed Justice Department investigation." MB: Sorry, Luke, nobody who was willing to work for Matt Gaetz for years earns points for bowing out the defense of sexual abuse & other crimes. ~~~
~~~ Colby Hall of Mediaite: "CNN's Dana Bash revealed that she received several texts from some of Rep. Matt Gaetz's current and former Republican colleagues in Congress. Many include language that she [said she] can't repeat on morning television."
Trump Treasury Went Full Q, Sanctioned a Pizza Place. Adam Taylor of the Washington Post: "On the very last day ... Donald Trump was in office in January, his administration announced new sanctions targeting a catering company in Verona, Italy. According to the U.S. Treasury, the measures were designed to defeat a 'network attempting to evade United States sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector.' But ... Alessandro Bazzoni, the owner of the catering company..., was not involved in sanctions evasion with Venezuela.... The U.S. Treasury announced this week that it was removing the company linked to Bazzoni -- a catering firm that shares an address with his pizza shop, Dolce Gusto -- from its sanctions blacklist." Turns out the Trumpies sanctioned the wrong Alessandro Bazzoni. MB: Because gross incompetence.
Politico Magazine has published an adapted excerpt from an upcoming book by former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). It's quite entertaining. Really. (Also linked yesterday.)
Michael Ruane of the Washington Post: "Near the end, the battered American destroyer USS Johnston was surrounded by Japanese warships closing in to finish her off. The Johnston was ablaze. Scores of sailors lay dead. And after three hours of heroic battle, only one of its guns could return fire. At 9:45 a.m. on Oct. 25, 1944, the wounded skipper, Cmdr. Ernest E. Evans, gave the order to abandon ship, and 25 minutes later the Johnston sank off the Philippine island of Samar. Evans and 185 members of the crew were lost, and he would become the first Native American in the Navy to receive the Medal of Honor. On Thursday, the Navy and a team of undersea explorers announced that the wreck of the Johnston had been positively identified in 21,180 feet of water. Scattered wreckage had been found at the site in 2019 but could not be positively identified."
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Lena Sun & Lori Aratani of the Washington Post: "Federal health officials said fully vaccinated people may travel as evidence mounts of the shots' effectiveness at helping to protect against coronavirus infections and their spread. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that even though fully vaccinated individuals are at lower risk of infection, travel is still not recommended due to the rising number of cases in the United States and globally. The long-awaited guidance is still welcome news for the growing number of vaccinated adults who want greater freedom to visit family members and take vacations for the first time in a year. It is also expected to help boost the travel and airline industries that have been seeking a relaxation of the restrictions." The article is free to nonsubscribers.
Beyond the Beltway
Georgia. Kevin Draper, et al., of the New York Times: "Major League Baseball sent a warning shot on Friday to Republicans considering new restrictions on voting laws, pulling its summer All-Star game out of suburban Atlanta in a rebuke to Georgia's new election restrictions that will make it harder to vote in the state's urban areas. The decision by the baseball commissioner, Rob Manfred, came after days of pressure from civil rights groups and discussions with stakeholders like the Major League Baseball Players Association. The action is likely to put additional pressure on other leading organizations and corporations to consider pulling business out of Georgia, a move that both Republicans and Democrats in the state oppose despite fiercely disagreeing about the new voting law."
Minnesota. Holly Bailey & Robert Samuels of the Washington Post: "Derek Chauvin used force that was 'totally unnecessary' when he knelt on George Floyd's neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds while Floyd was handcuffed and no longer a threat, the longest-serving officer in the Minneapolis department testified Friday. Capping a dramatic first week of testimony in Chauvin's murder trial, Lt. Richard Zimmerman, a 35-year veteran who leads the department's homicide division, questioned the reasoning and technique behind Floyd's restraint, saying the man no longer appeared to be a threat.... Zimmerman, who was called to the scene of Floyd's death at 38th and Chicago on May 25, testified that once someone is handcuffed, 'they are not a threat to you at that point' and the amount of force should be immediately reduced.... The longtime homicide detective, who used to work patrol, said he and other Minneapolis officers had been specifically trained to take particular care with handcuffed suspects and warned to limit use of the prone position...."
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Reader Comments (10)
Dear Confederate schemers, liars, cronies, and media shills: your next gaslighting assignment is to try to convince the public that Matt (sex trafficker) Graetz is actually a liberal Democrat, was never a “real” Republican, and has ties to, um, let’s see...oh yeah...Hunter Biden! Yeah, that sounds good. And failing that, take your cues from the Qs and promote their idea that he is actually a secret agent looking for real sex traffickers—all Democrats, of course. If this message does not self destruct in ten seconds, well, blame it on sheer incompetence. Our trademark.
Anent Georgia's legislature's efforts to punish companies that disapprove of vote suppression, and other efforts by local solons to make their neighbors kowtow, Madison ("Mr. Constitution") knew them well. In a 1787 letter to Jefferson, then in Paris, Madison explained inter alia that federal power must supersede states', to protect individuals (today, voters?) from discrimination and maltreatment.
"... 2. A Constitutional negative on the laws of the States seems equally necessary to secure individuals against encroachments on their rights. The mutability of the laws of the States is found to be a serious evil. The injustice of them has been so frequent and so flagrant as to alarm the most stedfast friends of Republicanism. I am persuaded I do not err in saying that the evils issuing from these sources contributed more to that uneasiness which produced the Convention, and prepared the public mind for a general reform, than those which accrued to our national character and interest from the inadequacy of the Confederation to its immediate objects. ..."
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-12-02-0274
Speaking of incompetence...
Love the story about Trump’s Inspector Clouseaus at the Munchkin-run Treasury. Bumbling morons right up to the very last day. They weren’t even the C-list Bond villains we once thought they might be (recall Mrs. Munchkin in her black leather jumpsuit and Mr. Munchkin posing in narcissistic glee grasping freshly printed currency). Fucking Boris and Natasha, only stupider. Inept losers and petty posers, the lot of them.
Another indication that the Fat Führer is gone: a meeting of the full cabinet in which no one felt obliged to get on the floor and bark like a doggie before uttering effusive, eternal gratitude to the Orange Monster for allowing them to enter his royal presence and hoping that he might rule the nation for a thousand years.
How in-Trumpy of Biden not to demand unqualified fealty and THEN to get some actual work done!
What is the country coming to?
Competent governance?
Reading again how the Biden administration has to undo all the fuck-ups from the last administration it's like moving into a new house whose last occupants have left it in tatters in every possible way and you have to upgrade plumbing, floors, electrical outlets, etc. Only in this case you could, after the disastrous inspection, offer a much lower price for this abode. In our current case Trump's House of Cards contained such horrific mismanagement (nice word for the F.U.s) it astonishes, even though we knew it would be bad, I don't think we knew HOW BAD!
Looking back we can see how Republicans were setting themselves up for the kind of party they have become so that when Fatty emerged on the scene they knew he was their kind of guy–-they could carry on their mission of cutting government out of governing and the power (white) plays began in earnest. I doubt most had all those mushy feelings for Fatty–-they used him although he became the dog without a leash and they had to keep scrambling to keep it all together.
And it looks as if one of their own doth shot his wad. Matt is down for the count and you have to ask: when he was passing out the pictures of his honeys in the nude, didn't someone think to tell him that was a bad move? In some of the photos of HIM–-he looks demonic–-it's the eyes–-such a smuck!
@Akhilleus: Thanks for the laughs. Maybe we'll find out that Matt Gaetz really is Hunter Biden, doing his best to impersonate a Republican to try to make the Party of Superior Moral Leaders look bad.
@Patrick: Excellent history lesson. I do believe Madison had met the forefathers of today's Georgia Republican legislators. They didn't fool him.
With MLB pulling the All-Star game from Georgia the question arises as to where to award it. So many of the states with MLB teams are deep in their own GOP inspired voting revisions.
Why not award the game to the District of Columbia? Seems to me this would make a couple of points.
Bobby Lee - Allstars in DC! Great idea. And by then with luck, they could pack the house, if the current inoculation plans bear out.
PD,
And even after the required, down to the studs renovation of the House that Fatty Fucked Up, months later we’ll still be finding dead rats in the closet and body parts hidden in the basement. “Redrum” painted in blood inside the garage where Fatty hid ventilators that could have saved lives. And let’s not even think of what kind of horrors might be buried out in the yard.
Oh, those poor rubes!
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/03/us/politics/trump-donations.html
Everything in the that "former guy's" world was a scam.