;)
The Commentariat -- August 9, 2021
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Ellen Mitchell of the Hill: "The Pentagon will require all military personnel to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 15, according to a new memo from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, released Monday. 'I will seek the president's approval to make the vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September, or immediately upon' final approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 'whichever comes first,' Austin wrote in the memo to troops. He added that Pentagon officials 'will also be keeping a close eye on infection rates,' currently on the rise now due to the highly contagious delta variant. If the rates begin to impact military readiness, 'I will not hesitate to act sooner or recommend a different course to the President if l feel the need to do so. To defend this Nation, we need a healthy and ready force.'" The AP's report is here.
New York. Graham Kates & Caroline Linton of CBS News: "New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Monday that the goal of the Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry into Governor Andrew Cuomo is to conclude 'all due haste.' The committee last week sent a letter to Cuomo's legal team asking him to provide any additional evidence before it concludes its inquiry on August 13.... At the start of Monday's hearing, Judiciary Committee chair Charles Lavine called the allegations in [State AG Letitia] James' report 'deeply disturbing' and said the committee will review the report in addition to its own findings." ~~~
~~~ Jodi Kantor & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "The fallout from a damaging report that found Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women widened on Monday when Roberta A. Kaplan, a nationally prominent lawyer with ties to the governor, resigned from Time's Up, the organization founded by Hollywood women to fight sexual abuse and promote gender equality. Ms. Kaplan, the chairwoman of Time's Up and the co-founder of its legal defense fund, was one of several prominent figures whom the report found to be involved in an effort to discredit one of Mr. Cuomo's alleged victims, and she has continuing legal ties to a former Cuomo aide accused of leading that effort."
Texas. James Barragán of the Texas Tribune: "A state district judge in Travis County issued an order blocking the arrest of House Democrats who have broken quorum by leaving the state, paving the way for those who remain outside of Texas to return home without threat of apprehension. State District Judge Brad Urrutia, a Democrat, granted the temporary restraining order late Sunday night restricting Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan from 'detaining, confining or otherwise restricting' the free movement of House Democrats within the state or issuing any warrants ordering their confinement. The order expires in 14 days unless extended by Urrutia. The court will hear arguments on a temporary injunction on Aug. 20, and Abbott and Phelan must show why a temporary injunction should not be filed against them."
Jennifer Scholtes & Caitlin Emma of Politico: "Senate Democrats released a $3.5 trillion budget on Monday morning that doesn't tackle the imminent need to raise the debt ceiling, setting the stage for a dramatic standoff with Republicans this fall. The exclusion of debt limit language amounts to a political gamble..., with the Treasury Department expected to run dry on its borrowing limit in the coming weeks. Senate Republicans have already warned that they won't give Democrats the votes needed to approach the issue on a bipartisan basis, which means that the debt limit's omission from the budget tees up a future cross-aisle fight over the debt."
Burgess Everett & Marianne Levine of Politico: "President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal cleared its final serious Senate hurdle Sunday night, putting the legislation on a glide path to passage as soon as late Monday. In a 68-29 vote, the Senate closed down debate on a bill negotiated by a bipartisan group of 10 senators that spends $550 billion in new money on the nation's physical infrastructure. Sunday's vote came after senators spent the weekend haggling over amendments and time agreements to consider them."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "The battle waged by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) against mask and vaccine mandates is facing challenges on multiple fronts. His ban on vaccine passports was temporarily blocked by a federal judge late Sunday: Norwegian Cruise Line was cleared to require coronavirus vaccines for guests and crew members.... The head of the country's second-largest teachers union on Sunday shifted course to signal support for vaccine mandates for teachers to protect students, especially those under 12 who are not old enough to be inoculated. A group of parents of disabled children in Florida sued Friday to block the state's ban on mask mandates in schools. Florida education officials moved the same day to give students access to a state voucher program that helps pay for private tuition if their public schools require masks -- an acknowledgment that some schools in the state are moving ahead with mask mandates despite the law."
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Fred Hiatt of the Washington Post: "As of this week, only 112 [positions requiring Senate confirmation] have been filled. [Link fixed.] More than six months into his presidency, in other words -- more than an eighth of the way through his term -- Biden hardly has the beginning of an executive team in place.... [The administration has to fill] 4,000 political positions.... This is totally out of line with every other democracy, says Max Stier, who heads the Partnership [for Public Service].... Requiring that 1,237 of those 4,000 political positions win Senate confirmation compounds the damage.... The Senate could insist on true accountability: Confirm the truly senior positions, let those officials appoint the teams they want, and then hold those executives responsible for results." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I've been noticing this as news outlets dribble out report nominations and confirmations. This weekend, we learned the Senate just had confirmed the Secretary of the Navy. Either the job is superfluous or we expect our enemies to politely defer attacking U.S. ships until we have a proper civilian leader in place (said enemies have not been so polite).
Simon Tisdale of the Guardian: "Trumpism, like other fascist variants, is a disease, a blight -- a noxious far-right populist-nationalist miasma that taints and rots all it touches.... By refusing to confront his crooked predecessor and bring him to justice, Joe Biden feeds delusional Trump's sense of godlike impunity, and the dread prospect of a blasphemous second coming. To a watching world, his paralysis smacks of weakness.... Disqualifying [Trump] as criminally unfit for public office is the obvious way to avert more West Wing mayhem. Yet 'Gentleman Joe' and his fight-shy attorney general, Merrick Garland, keep pulling their punches." Thanks to citizen625 for the link.
Shayna Greene of Politico: "Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin said Sunday that an ongoing congressional investigation of ... Donald Trump's last days in office has found him to have been deeply involved with the Justice Department in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.... Durbin said that [former acting AG Jeffrey] Rosen appeared voluntarily and was 'very open' during his seven hours of testimony. 'It really is important that we ask these questions, because what was going on in the Department of Justice was frightening, from a constitutional point of view,' Durbin said.... Asked if what he was describing was an attempted coup, Durbin told CNN host Dana Bash, 'Well, it was -- they were going through the ordinary process.... It isn't as if the president was removing the attorney general and making pronouncements, which would happen in a coup, I suppose, by classic definition,' Durbin added. 'But it was leading up to that, that kind of process.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Andrew Van Dam & Heather Long of the Washington Post: "For the first time, average pay in [U.S.] restaurants and supermarkets climbed above $15 an hour. Wages have been rising rapidly as the economy reopens and businesses struggle to hire enough workers. Some of the biggest gains have gone to workers in some of the lowest-paying industries. Overall, nearly 80 percent of U.S. workers now earn at least $15 an hour, up from 60 percent in 2014. Job sites and recruiting firms say many job seekers won't even consider jobs that pay less than $15 anymore. For years, low-paid workers fought to make at least that much. Now it has effectively become the new baseline."
Brady Dennis & Sarah Kaplan of the Washington Post: "On Monday..., the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its latest and most dire assessment about the state of the planet, detailing how humans have altered the environment at an 'unprecedented' pace and cautioning that the world risks increasingly catastrophic impacts in the absence of rapid greenhouse gas reductions. The landmark report, compiled by 234 authors relying on more than 14,000 studies from around the globe, bluntly lays out for policymakers and the public the most up-to-date understanding of the physical science on climate change. Released amid a summer of deadly fires, floods and heat waves, it arrives less than three months before a critical summit this November in Scotland, where world leaders face mounting pressure to move more urgently to slow the Earth's warming." CNN's report is here.
The Pandemic, Ctd.
Steve M.: "I have positive feelings about Barack Obama, but maybe his scaled-back but still supersized birthday party wasn't the greatest idea while the Delta variant continues to rage, not when the right-wing media is eager to leap on anything that looks like Democratic COVID hypocrisy.... When opponents of public health are looking for any evidence that advocates are bad people, why make it easy for them?... The dominant message of right-wingers today is that their Democratic enemies are 'elitists' who have contempt for ordinary Americans. I realize that these people are hypocrites themselves.... We're serious about the pandemic -- but I wish some of the most famous among us would spend a bit more time walking the walk."
Judge Clips Florida's Pro-Covid Governor, Party. Jaclyn Diaz of NPR: "Norwegian Cruise Line can require passengers show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination before boarding any of its ships in Florida, a federal judge has ruled. The decision by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami to grant Norwegian's request for a preliminary injunction comes despite a state law passed in May that fines businesses which require proof of such vaccinations. The law, championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, slaps businesses with a fine of $5,000 per violation for asking customers to prove they were inoculated against the coronavirus. In her decision, Williams said Norwegian would likely succeed in a court trial with its argument that Florida's so-called 'vaccine passport' ban risks public health and infringes on the cruise line's First Amendment rights. Williams' decision also allows Norwegian to pr0ceed with its first trip from Miami since the pandemic widely disrupted the cruise line industry in March 2020. Norwegian Cruise Lines is one of several companies that sail from ports in Florida."
Texas. David Montgomery of the New York Times: "... Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas ... is facing withering criticism as I.C.U. beds have dwindled to the single digits in Austin and health officials in San Antonio have labeled its risk level just a step below critical. But Mr. Abbott remains firm in his refusal to enact any statewide mandate while he prohibits local officials from doing so in their own communities. The fear and frustration comes as schools are prepared to reopen in the nation's second most populous state.... Last month..., Mr. Abbott ... issued an executive order that prohibited local governments and state agencies from mandating vaccines, and reaffirmed previous decisions to prohibit local officials from mandating masks. The governor also affirmed that schools could not enact mask mandates for students...."
Beyond the Beltway
New York. The "Vile Procuress." Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's top aide, Melissa DeRosa, said late Sunday that she had resigned, less than a week after the New York State attorney general released a report concluding Mr. Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women. The report found that Ms. DeRosa, one of Mr. Cuomo's most trusted confidantes and strategists, had spearheaded efforts to retaliate against one of the women who had spoken out publicly about her allegation in December." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Perhaps getting the MoDo treatment was the straw that broke the camel's back. MoDo begins her evisceration of DeRosa by comparing her to Mr. B's housekeeper Mrs. Jewkes, "who holds down Pamela in bed while the master tries to have his way with the teenager," in one of the first English novels -- Pamela, by Samuel Richardson. ~~~
~~~ CBS News: "An executive assistant to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo -- in her first public comments since accusing Cuomo of sexual harassment -- told 'CBS This Morning' and the Times Union that 'the governor needs to be held accountable.' Brittany Commisso is one of 11 women referenced in a scathing report from New York State Attorney General Letitia James that alleged Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and violated state and federal law. Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing. Until now, Commisso had remained anonymous, referred to only as 'Executive Assistant #1' in the report.... According to the attorney general's report, Commisso claimed that in 2019 and 2020 the governor 'engaged in close and intimate hugs' on multiple occasions, including one incident when he 'reached under her blouse and grabbed her breast.' During another incident, while the executive assistant snapped a selfie, she said Cuomo 'put his hand on and then rubbed and grabbed her butt.'" The New York Times story is here. ~~~
~~~ Governor-in-Waiting. Dana Rubenstein of the New York Times: "If [Andrew Cuomo] steps down or is forced out, [Lt. Gov. Kathy] Hochul, 62, will take his place, becoming the first woman to lead New York State -- a remarkable rise for someone who has largely toiled in obscurity since joining the governor's team in 2014. Mr. Cuomo has a long and deserved reputation for governing by brute force and fear, alienating countless people through his tactics of bullying and intimidation. Ms. Hochul, in contrast, has established deep reservoirs of political good will, spending much of her tenure on the road, highlighting the administration's agenda and engaging in extensive on-the-ground politicking."
Michigan. Househunting While Black, Ctd. Looks as if it was the cops who were racist, not the neighbors who called them. Alyssa Lukpat & Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: When a Black real estate agent showed a house in Wyoming, Michigan, to a Black man and his son, neighbors called the cops about a possible break-in. When the police arrived, one pointed a gun at the trio, told them to come out with their hands up. cuffed them & put them in squad cars. "The neighbor thought Mr. Brown's car, a black Hyundai Genesis, looked like a black Mercedes-Benz sedan that had been parked in the driveway at the time of the previous arrest, according to a recording of the call provided by the police.... Kyle Gummere, the property's listing agent working for the owners of the house, said he did not believe the neighbor called the police based on the race of those who were inside the house. That assessment, he said, is based on a conversation he had with the owners of the house, who told Mr. Gummere that a neighbor had called the police only after seeing a black vehicle parked outside the house -- not after seeing Mr. Brown, Mr. Thorne and his son." Gunmere said the neighbors were elderly. ~~~
~~~ Marie: The realtor, Eric Brown, pooh-poohed the neighbor's claim they couldn't tell a Hyundai from a Mercedes. But I looked up photos of the Hyundai Genesis & a Mercedes coupe, and frankly, from a distance across a street, without being able to see the logo, I can't tell which is which, either. Their explanation is plausible. What is not understandable is why the cops held the house's viewers at gunpoint, cuffed them & detained them.
Way Beyond
Afghanistan. Thomas Gibbons-Neff, et al., of the New York Times: "Taliban fighters captured another northern provincial capital on Sunday afternoon, local officials said, marking the third city to fall to the insurgent group in a single day. The fighters had been contained at the gates of Taliqan, the capital of Takhar Province, since June. But as the Kunduz city center fell to the Taliban on Sunday, the insurgents moved into Taliqan, just a few miles away, pushing back government forces there in a bout of vicious fighting. By sunset, the Taliban had seized the police headquarters and the provincial governor's office, said an Afghan official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ The New York Times ran live updates of developments in Afghanistan Sunday, because the developments are so bad. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: "The muted American response [to the Taliban's advances] on Sunday showed in no uncertain terms that America's 20-year war in Afghanistan is over. The mismanaged and exhausted Afghan forces will have to retake the cities on their own, or leave them to the Taliban for good."
Japan. Ted Anthony of the AP: "The Tokyo Olympics, christened with '2020' but held in mid-2021 after being interrupted for a year by the coronavirus, glided to their conclusion in a COVID-emptied stadium Sunday night as an often surreal mixed bag for Japan and for the world." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Hannah Beech of the New York Times: "The United States has won the most medals at the Tokyo Olympics and will be the only country to take home more than 100. But on the last day of competition, the race for the most gold medals was a tight contest between the United States and China.... With only a few events left, the United States clinched the race on Sunday afternoon by reaching 39 golds. As the day began in Tokyo, China had 38 gold medals to 36 for the United States. But American teams then won gold medals in women's basketball and women's volleyball, and Jennifer Valente won the women's omnium in track cycling, putting the United States into the lead by one." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I guess that's great, but winning the most sports prizes is not my idea of an especially significant achievement. The one good part is that the U.S.'s narrow dominance of the games should (but won't, of course) shut up Donald Trump, who -- in another vivid display of anti-American sentiment -- a few days ago called our own women's soccer team "leftist maniacs" and said the team might have taken gold if the players weren't so "woke." (They won the bronze.)
~~~ Aamer Madhani of the AP: "President Joe Biden praised U.S. Olympians for navigating the difficulties of a coronavirus-tarnished games with 'moral courage' that made Americans' 'hearts swell' with pride. Biden, along with first lady Jill Biden, spoke with Team USA in a Zoom call Saturday evening from their home near Wilmington, Delaware. The couple extended an invitation to the athletes to visit the White House in the fall to celebrate their accomplishments." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
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Reader Comments (14)
Sludgy brain senility, bag of rocks stupid, or just the usual self-serving mendacity?
The Orange Monster, still as monstrously mendacious (stupid, senile?) as ever, goes on another unbalanced Faux show to ask the host (the ever assholic Dan Bongino) and the screaming droolers at home behind barricaded doors, should Joe Biden show up at their house, wrestle them to the floor and inject them with a vaccine that could save their miserable lives, to imagine what it would have been like had the coronavirus surged while he was president*. How unfairly he would have been treated!
Say what? Um, we don’t have to imagine it, fat ass. Or maybe those 400,000 Americans you killed died of ennui. And speaking of injections, imagine what it would have been like if you had suggested that those infected with the virus you promoted inject Clorox or guzzle some other disinfectant. Wow. That would have been something.
And you know what’s worse? There are likely millions of morons listening to this drivel saying “Yeah, the media would have been so unfair to our dear leader if he had been president when the virus hit. So unfair! Kill them all!”
I don't often listen to Bill Maher because I don't have HBO but found this on the Tube and think it's terrific.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyCNxugvs6s
MoDo, in her take down of DeRosa, comparing her to Mrs. Jewkes was pure literary hutzpah; she could have gone with the Commander's wife Serena or my favorite Aunt of all time–-Aunt Lydia although she wasn't the one who facilitated the rapes or was an active participant during them in the "Handmaid's Tale." But of course I'm being unfair, it's that old "Barry" bashing that did it for me––it lingers like an old melody.
I think it was Marie who said the other day that many times it's not about sex for these men, but power. We see this in wars where rape is rampant. In Cuomo's case this certainly seems to be the story–-hands across the borders especially on the soft parts and as a woman you were expected to take it in stride and abide by the protocol. Suck it up and smile cuz if you make a fuss you might lose your job. Yup! one of those old stories like Samuel Richardson might have told.
Tisdale of the Guardian after giving us one of the best descriptions of Fatty says:
"By refusing to confront his crooked predecessor and bring him to justice, Joe Biden feeds delusional Trump’s sense of godlike impunity, and the dread prospect of a blasphemous second coming" and he throws in Merrick Garland for good measure. I felt excited reading this–-I'm curious as what others here think about Tisdale's assessment.
The asymmetry of our governance continues to increase by the day. R’s get away with pouring sugar into the gas tanks of any Democratic president while demanding instant accommodation for their own.
While Democrats insisted on actual confirmation hearings (as opposed to the confederate rubber stamp treatment) when confronted with the ridiculous roster of astonishingly unqualified crooks and racist jamokes put forward by the Fat Fascist, the screams from his congressional stooges were deafening.
And for four years Trump demanded the arrest and immediate imprisonment of any he considered an enemy. But now, neither Biden nor Garland can bear to consider even a wrist slap for the traitor who almost brought down the nation.
I’m so sick of this shit.
We all are. It's like a sick vu of deja...We waited for the hateful legions to be slapped by Obama, and he was so terrified of being an "angry black man" he just could not, and it was enlarged upon by his not being a vengeful sort of person to begin with. Now, when the vicious usurper of all still goes on pretending to be president, the actual president is taking a page from the Obama playbook. Rather than take him out, and he deserves nothing less, Biden is being all noble. Garland is a wuss. I can't wait to lose the next two+ elections and have to listen and watch "this shit" for the next 20 years.
Apropos of yesterday's comments re: the atomic bomb and its aftermath here is a story in the NYT's today about Charles Loeb, a black war correspondent, who reported on the deadly radiation on Japan's populace.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/09/science/charles-loeb-atomic-bomb.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
"His perspective, while cooly analytical, cast light on a major wartime cover-up."
He never got the recognition his reporting deserved–––gosh, I can't imagine why–-until now his insights were lost to history.
PD,
Loved the Bill Maher clip. And he’s right. The vast majority of R liars and Trump ball lickers in Congress are in it for the perks, which is orders of magnitude worse than if they were yelping about the Big Lie and the horrors of vaccination because they believed those things. It’s not ideology, it’s “I-be-all-for-me”.
Where else could an arm-flapping, gape-mouthed moron like Devin Nunes get a job with a big salary, a staff to clean up the cow flaps, limos to take him to the Steak and Shake, 100% job security, people calling him “Sir” and “Congressman” instead of “Hey stupid”, interviews on national television just for being a dim lackey, and the sort of free healthcare he would deny to everyone else? He’d be lucky to be one of those guys spraying down your tires at the car wash if he wasn’t in Congress. And that would only be after 10 years on the job.
It’s all about “What’s in it for me?”.
That is the real treason.
A very good on site eye witness account of the bombing of Nagasaki is, "Doctor at Nagasaki," by Masao Shiotsuki, but it wasn't published in english until 1987. It's factual and neutral. Don't eat anything before reading this, and have tissues ready. Hersey was brave for the time; but Shiotsuki starts with the lovely quiet hot morning, then the blinding white light, and goes on from there.
Now, not only are confederate virus spreaders demanding that no one get vaccinated (because freeeedom, and to “own the libs”), but encouraging the droolers to murder anyone who suggests they help keep their family, friends, and neighbors alive by getting the shot. I’ll give you three guesses who came up with this idea (you may need more because there are likely dozens who love this idea, but I’ll give you a hint: no conscience, no responsibility, crazy brain, crazy eyes).
https://mobile.twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/1423297006676570117?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1423297006676570117%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdigbysblog.net%2F
Time’s up for the non-vaccinated, as far as I’m concerned. Our family gathering in SW Michigan (Hi FoMo!) has a pall over it, making me unspeakably sad and angry.
No more free vaccines. 30 day warning. After that, $50, going up by a dollar each day. And no free testing for the unvaccinated. No more mooching off of my taxes and good health.
@NiskyGuy: I read a comment somewhere to the effect that if
we could get that vaccine put in Mountain Dew it would take care
of most of the unvaccinated. And welcome to SW Michigan.
PD: Bill at his snarky best!! Thanks so much!
@NiskyGuy: I'm with you. What a shame Trump couldn't pull off buying Greenland (or invading & conquering it & declaring it U.S. territory -- what the heck). By now, most Greenlanders probably would have left. We could give those remaining an attractive escape hatch, then move all the U.S.'s unvaccinated adults to Greenland. True, there isn't enough housing in Greenland to accommodate all the U.S. antivaxxers, but since they're so smart, I'm sure they can work something out. If not, we'll put Li'l Randy in charge. He knows everything.
I just want those people out.
Snowflakes Deluxe
The propensity for red state anti-vaxxers to describe themselves as being treated like slaves because they are being asked to help ward off a worldwide medical crisis spotlights their astounding sense of unmediated victimization and thoroughly warped solipsism.
Then there’s the astonishing historical dissonance surrounding the fact that these states that at one time fought to maintain their right to own, sell, beat, and murder other human beings now see themselves as suffering the same fate. All because Joe Biden wants them to get a shot and not die. And leave us not overlook how these former slave states now characterize themselves as “free states” for refusing to help deter a terrible pathogen.
They’re slaves, they’re free, their heroes, they’re put upon victims.
What they really are is ignorant, pansy-ass, selfish snowflakes.
Get the fucking shot you whiny cowards. Grow up.