The Ledes

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

The Washington Post's live updates of Hurricane Milton developments are here: “Hurricane Milton, which has strengthened to a 'catastrophic' Category 5 storm, is closing in on Florida’s west coast and is expected to make landfall Wednesday night or early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane, which could bring maximum sustained winds of nearly 160 mph with bigger gusts, poses a dire threat to the densely populated zone that includes Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers. As well as 'damaging hurricane-force winds,' coastal communities face a “life-threatening” storm surge, the center said.” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here.

Washington Post: “The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to David Baker at the University of Washington and Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper of Google DeepMind.... The prize was awarded to scientists who cracked the code of proteins. Hassabis and Jumper used artificial intelligence to predict the structure of proteins, one of the toughest problems in biology. Baker created computational tools to design novel proteins with shapes and functions that can be used in drugs, vaccines and sensors.”

Sorry, forgot this yesterday: ~~~

Reuters: “U.S. scientist John Hopfield and British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for discoveries and inventions in machine learning that paved the way for the artificial intelligence boom. Heralded for its revolutionary potential in areas ranging from cutting-edge scientific discovery to more efficient admin, the emerging technology on which the duo worked has also raised fears humankind may soon be outsmarted and outcompeted by its own creation.”

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The Ledes

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

The New York Times is live-updating developments Tuesday as powerful Hurricane Milton moves through the Gulf of Mexico toward Central Florida.

New York Times: “Cissy Houston, a Grammy Award-winning soul and gospel star who helped shepherd her daughter Whitney Houston to superstardom, died on Monday at her home in Newark. She was 91.”

Help!

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Public Service Announcement

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Washington Post: “Comedy news outlet the Onion — reinvigorated by new ownership over this year — is bringing back its once-popular video parodies of cable news. But this time, there’s someone with real news anchor experience in the chair. When the first episodes appear online Monday, former WAMU and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson will be the face of the resurrected 'Onion News Network.' Playing an ONN anchor character named Dwight Richmond, Johnson says he’s bringing a real anchor’s sense of clarity — and self-importance — to the job. 'If ONN is anything, it’s a news organization that is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it has the confidence of a serial killer,' says Johnson, 44.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figured out how to watch ONN. If anybody knows, do tell. Thanks.

Washington Post: “First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Scientists suspected that gravity and the magnetic field alone could not fully explain the stream. There had to be another source creating this leaky faucet. It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field, a recent study found. The field is only about the strength of a watch battery — but it’s enough to thrust lighter ions from our atmosphere into space. It’s also generated unlike other electric fields on Earth. This newly discovered aspect of our planet provides clues about the evolution of our atmosphere, perhaps explaining why Earth is habitable. The electric field is 'an agent of chaos,' said Glyn Collinson, a NASA rocket scientist and lead author of the study. 'It undoes gravity.... Without it, Earth would be very different.'”

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

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The Commentariat -- February 12, 2021

Afternoon Update:

The Senate impeachment trial went into Q&A session at about 3:55 pm ET.

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Whatever you think about Trump's culpability for the Capitol riot, the Trump team's presentation early on was overwhelmingly focused on things that didn't involve him. It was almost 100 percent whataboutism.... To rebut the argument from impeachment manager Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.) that Trump had laid a predicate for what became the Jan. 6 riot by predicting a stolen election, Trump's legal team played videos that showed Democrats ... not doing that.... We knew based upon briefs filed by that Trump team that it would lean on the free speech argument, but we didn't know just how absolute it would assert that right is -- especially given that there are well-established limits on such rights in public discourse, including defamation and incitement." MB: If you have a WashPo subscription, definitely read the part about cavalry/calvary. It's a hilarious argument, boiling down to, "No, no, no, she really meant she was bringing a holy mountain."

It Was Just a Field Trip to an Historic Site. Or Something. Kyle Cheney & Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Donald Trump's lead impeachment attorney on Friday denied that the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 amounted to an insurrection, a novel claim that contradicts the Justice Department and the broadly accepted version of events. 'Clearly, there was no insurrection,' Bruce Castor told senators as the former president's legal team mounted their first and only day of arguments in the Senate's impeachment trial. Federal indictments against those who participated in the violence at the Capitol referred to the events as an 'insurrection,' and Republican congressional leaders have echoed that characterization."

Haley Bets Against the Hawley/Cruz Horse. Celine Castronuovo of the Hill: "Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley issued stunning remarks breaking with former President Trump, telling Politico in an interview published Friday that she believes he 'let us down.... He went down a path he shouldn't have, and we shouldn't have followed him, and we shouldn't have listened to him. And we can't let that ever happen again.' Haley's remarks are her strongest yet against the former president in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and come as Trump's legal team is set to present its defense of Trump on Friday in his second Senate impeachment trial." The interview, which is long & rambling, is by Tim Alberta & is published in Politico Magazine. As Alberta points out near the top, "Haley had navigated the Trump era with a singular shrewdness, messaging and maneuvering in ways that kept her in solid standing both with the GOP donor class as well as with the president and his base."

Melanie Is at the Spa Griping about Dr. Jill. Kate Bennett of CNN: "While ... Donald Trump watches his second impeachment trial unfold, Melania Trump spends most of her time post-White House relaxing at the spa and staying out of the fray.... Yet there have been moments of bitterness and regret, say several people with knowledge of Trump's conversations of late, most notably since Joe Biden's inauguration and with respect to the activities of her successor, Jill Biden." Although Melania Trump refused to sit for interviews with popular magazines, she is apparently upset that Jill Biden is getting so much press attention, uh, because she's will to sit for interviews. Also, too, Melania is upset Jill is getting attention for the work she is doing, even though Melania spent the first five months of Donald's presidency in New York. "... the former first lady is not blaming herself in hindsight, she's blaming others -- former staff members, magazine editors, and corporations and foundations...."

Matt Spetelnick, et al., of Reuters: "President Joe Biden's aides have launched a formal review of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, reviving the Obama-era goal of closing the controversial facility with the aim of doing so before he leaves office, the White House said on Friday. Aides involved in internal discussions are considering an executive action to be signed by Biden in coming weeks or months, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, signaling a new effort to remove what human rights advocates have called a stain on America's global image."

Alexandra Jaffe of the AP: "White House deputy press secretary T.J. Ducklo has been suspended for a week without pay after he reportedly issued a sexist and profane threat to a journalist seeking to cover his relationship with another reporter. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that Ducklo's conduct was 'completely unacceptable.' Psaki said while she had not spoken about the incident with President Joe Biden, Ducklo and aides 'at the highest levels' of the White House's communications team had apologized for the incident.... Psaki said in a statement earlier Friday that Ducklo had been suspended without pay with the approval of White House chief of staff Ron Klain. She said Ducklo 'is the first to acknowledge this is not the standard of behavior set out' by Biden, and that Ducklo had sent the reporter in question 'a personal note professing his profound regret.'... On Friday, Vanity Fair published a report citing two unnamed sources that Ducklo had threatened the Politico reporter to try to suppress the story, telling her 'I will destroy you.'" MB: Assuming the Vanity Fair story is true, I would have fired Ducklo.

Jesse McKinley & Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and his top aides were facing new allegations on Friday that they covered up the scope of the death toll in the state's nursing homes from the coronavirus, after admissions that they withheld data in an effort to forestall potential investigations into state misconduct. The latest revelations came in the wake of private remarks by the governor's top aide, Melissa DeRosa, and a cascading series of reports and court orders that have nearly doubled the state's official toll of nursing home deaths in the last two weeks. The disclosures have left Mr. Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, scrambling to contain the political fallout, as lawmakers of both parties call for censure, including stripping the governor of his emergency powers during the pandemic, federal and state investigations and resignations of Ms. DeRosa and other top officials. In a conversation first reported on by the New York Post, Ms. DeRosa told a group of top lawmakers on Wednesday during a call to address the nursing home situation that 'basically, we froze,' after being asked last summer for information by the Trump administration's Department of Justice."

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: It's 2/12 and the 212th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, deemed by many to be the U.S.'s "best" president, an apt day for lawyers to try to mount a defense of the worst president. The defense, sadly, will succeed, no matter if they do nothing but find and old phone book & read it, because the ladies & gentlemen sworn to be "impartial jurors" are more aligned with Jeff Davis than with Abe Lincoln. Happy Birthday, Abe!

~~~~~~~~~~

Eric Tucker, et al., of the AP: "After a prosecution case rooted in emotive, violent images from the Capitol siege, Donald Trump's impeachment trial shifts on Friday to defense lawyers prepared to make a fundamental concession: The violence was every bit as traumatic, unacceptable and illegal as Democrats say. But, they will say, Trump had nothing to do with it." MB: This is the "People don't kill people; guns kill people" argument. ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' story is here.

"Impartial Jurors" Meet with Trump Lawyers. Manu Raju & Alex Rogers of CNN: "A trio of Republican senators allied with ... Donald Trump met with his defense team Thursday evening, in the middle of an impeachment trial in which they will vote on whether to convict Trump and potentially bar him from holding public office again. Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah were spotted going into a room in the US Capitol that Trump's lawyers were using to prepare for their arguments. Trump lawyer David Schoen said that the senators were 'very friendly guys' who just wanted to make sure they were 'familiar with procedure' on the eve of their rebuttal to the House impeachment managers' presentation.... Cruz said the meeting with the Trump defense team was an opportunity for 'sharing our thoughts' about their legal strategy." ~~~

~~~ "Impartial Jurors" Sit Out Trial. David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement: "Fifteen of the 50 Republican Senators refused to show up for at least 'the first few hours' of Thursday's arguments by the Democratic managers in the Senate impeachment trial of ... Donald Trump, CNN's Manu Raju and Forbes report. That's 30 percent of the Republican caucus in the Senate, or nearly one-third of the GOP members. 'Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) were both away from their desks, for instance, while Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) was in the basement on his phone, CNN's Manu Raju reported,' Forbes adds. 'Many within the chamber were preoccupied with other activities: Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) were reading papers, while, according to CNN's Jeremy Herb, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) 'had a blank map of Asia on his desk and was writing on it like he was filling in the names of the countries.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I would not have been as nice to the "jurors" as the impeachment managers were. I would have told Hawley to get his feet off the furniture. I would have grabbed the map out of Rick Scott's hands & asked him how he could get Cambodia & Laos mixed up. I would have taken Burr's snacks away from him; "Just because I showed a video clip doesn't mean you're at the Bijou, buddy."  ~~~

~~~ The "Impartial Jurors" Are the Accomplices, (And They're About to Drive the Getaway Car). Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "The most powerful moments of their presentation were the temporal juxtapositions, like Trump tweeting, 'Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution,' even as cable news showed the MAGA horde hunting him. (One insurrectionist read Trump's tweet through a bullhorn.) It was both gutting and more riveting than I would have expected, an indelible documentary of Trump's culminating crime against the Republic. Yet in one regard, the story the House managers told was a distortion.... Many Republicans were not Trump's victims, but his enablers. Indeed, one of the most perverse things about this impeachment is that the jury is stacked with the defendant's accomplices. Several Republican senators were eager participants in Trump's big lie.... They're being given a chance to rewrite the shameful history of how the Republican Party has behaved for the last four years.They will almost certainly not take it."

Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The House Democrats prosecuting ... Donald J. Trump rested their case on Thursday, branding him a clear and present danger to United States democracy who could sow new violence like the deadly assault on the Capitol last month if he was not barred from holding office again. Calling on senators to render 'impartial justice' and embrace the 'common sense' of the country's founders, the nine impeachment managers closed their case by laying out the grave damage the Jan. 6 riot had caused not just to lawmakers or police officers at the Capitol, but to the democratic system and America's standing around the world. None of it, they argued, would have happened without Mr. Trump.... 'I'm not afraid of Donald Trump running again in four years,' said Representative Ted Lieu of California. 'I'm afraid he's going to run again and lose, because he can do this again.'... [Lead House manager Jamie] Raskin [D-Md.] said the evidence that Mr. Trump cultivated, incited and then showed no remorse for the attack warranted making him the first impeached president ever to be convicted and the first former president to be disqualified from holding future office." ~~~

~~~ Mike DeBonis & Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "House Democrats closed their impeachment case against Donald Trump on Thursday by linking his history of incendiary rhetoric and months-long campaign to undermine the November election to the statements of insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 -- and raising the prospect of future violence without a conviction.... Trump's defense will begin at noon Friday. Although his lawyers are entitled to 16 hours of argument over two days, a spokesman said Thursday that they expect to rest their case in one day.... A short defense presentation could put the Senate on track to vote on Trump's conviction as soon as Saturday, particularly after key Democratic senators said they believed that the managers had proved their case against Trump and saw no need for testimony from additional witnesses."

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post provides a fairly good summary of Day 3 of the Trump Impeachment Trial 2.0 when he outlines key takeaways. MB: A few of the details embedded in the takeaways I didn't know before today, like this one: "Trump also endorsed a clip from a supporter saying 'the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat' -- before that supporter was arrested for his part in the Capitol riot." Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times outlines some takeaways here.

Preview of the Insurrection. An example of the case against Trump. House manager Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) lays out how the violent attacks on the Michigan state house & the plot to kidnap & execute Gov. Gretchen Whitmer presaged the January 6 attack on the Capitol: ~~~

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "With conviction in a polarized Senate seemingly out of reach, the House managers ... are aiming their arguments at two other audiences beyond the chamber: the American people whose decision to deny Mr. Trump a second term was put at risk and the historians who will one day render their own judgments about the former president and his time in power. Through the expansive use of unsettling video footage showing both Mr. Trump's words and the brutal rampage that followed, the managers are using their moment in the national spotlight to make the searing images of havoc the inexpungible legacy of the Trump presidency. Rather than let the outrage subside, the managers are seeking to ensure that Mr. Trump is held accountable even if he is acquitted in the Senate."

The New York Times' live updates of the impeachment trial Thursday are here. The Guardian's live updates are here. The Washington Post's live updates are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Chilling new details emerged on Thursday about the plot by the Oath Keepers militia group to attack the Capitol as prosecutors said that members discussed a brazen plan to ferry 'heavy weapons' in a boat across the Potomac River into Washington and began training sessions 'for urban warfare, riot control and rescue operations' well before Election Day. The new accounts about the Oath Keepers' role in the Capitol assault came on the third day of ... Donald J. Trump's impeachment trial and included allegations that a member of the militia group was 'awaiting direction' from Mr. Trump about how to handle the results of the vote in the days that followed the election.... The Justice Department has brought charges against more than 200 people in the attack on the Capitol last month, but the case against [Jessica] Watkins and her two co-defendants, Thomas E. Caldwell and Donovan Crowl, is among the most serious to have emerged from the vast investigation." ~~~

     ~~~ Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "The Justice Department is now making clear that a leader among the Oath Keepers paramilitary group -- who planned and led others in the US Capitol siege to attempt to stop the Biden presidency -- believed she was responding to the call from ... Donald Trump himself. 'As the inauguration grew nearer, [Jessica] Watkins indicated that she was awaiting direction from President Trump,' prosecutors wrote in a filing Thursday morning. This is the most direct language yet from federal prosecutors linking Trump's requests for support in Washington, DC, to the most militant aspects of the insurrection.... 'Her concern about taking action without his backing was evident in a November 9, 2020, text in which she stated, "I am concerned this is an elaborate trap. Unless the POTUS himself activates us, it's not legit. The POTUS has the right to activate units too. If Trump asks me to come, I will. Otherwise, I can't trust it." Watkins had perceived her desired signal by the end of December.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Rachel Weiner & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A former U.S. Navy intelligence officer and FBI official from Virginia has emerged as a key figure in the federal investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, as U.S. prosecutors alleged Thursday that he organized a group of trained fighters and was in contact with self-styled militia groups including the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and Three Percenters. In asking a federal judge to detain Thomas Edward Caldwell, 66, pending trial, prosecutors revealed some of the most explicit evidence to date of discussions allegedly indicating coordination and planning among groups under scrutiny for the assault on Congress that left one police officer and four others dead, delayed the confirmation of President Biden's victory.... Prosecutors allege Caldwell used his military and law enforcement background to plan violence -- including possible snipers and weapons stashed on a boat along the Potomac River -- weeks ahead of the Capitol insurrection."

Spencer Hsu & Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "Five people worked with Proud Boys from Kansas City and other unnamed individuals to breach the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, U.S. prosecutors alleged, unsealing charges Thursday in one of the largest co-defendant cases yet brought in an investigation in which more than 200 have been charged. The defendants, wearing helmets, vests and tactical gear marked with fluorescent orange tape, 'appeared to gesture and communicate to one another' to coordinate efforts during and after forcing entry to the Capitol, the FBI alleged. Surveillance footage showed at least four taking actions to prevent police from deploying descending metal barriers to seal off underground access to the Capitol, allowing the invading crowd to surge forward, the FBI said in a 28-page affidavit dated Wednesday. The arrests of William Chrestman, Christopher Kuehne, Louis Enrique Colon, all of Kansas City, and siblings Felicia and Cory Konold bring the number of those affiliated with the Proud Boys to nearly 18 among those charged with battling law enforcement and obstructing the electoral vote confirmation of President Biden's victory." ~~~

~~~ Marie: It's worth remembering that members of both the Proud Boys & the Oath Keepers served as "bodyguards" for Roger Stone, the criminal dirty-trickster & friend of Trump whom Trump pardoned in December. While I have no idea what Stone & the gang discussed, it doesn't seem likely they just chatted about car engines, great Midwest bars & muscle shirts. I'm not saying there was a Jan. 6 conspiracy in which Trump was directly involved via Stone, but -- given what we know about Trump & his mob-boss methods -- it doesn't seem nuts to think there well might have been.

Barbara Starr & Caroline Kelly of CNN: "Military officials overseeing the authorization process to launch nuclear weapons were unaware on January 6 that then-Vice President Mike Pence's military aide carrying the 'nuclear football' was potentially in danger as rioters got close during the violent Capitol insurrection, according to a defense official. The vice president is always accompanied by a backup of the 'football,' which contains the equipment to carry out orders to launch a nuclear strike. It must be ready at all times and is identical to what the president carries, in case he becomes incapacitated. US Strategic Command became aware of the gravity of the incident after seeing a video played at the Senate impeachment trial Wednesday showing Pence, his Secret Service agents and a military officer carrying the briefcase with classified nuclear launch information running down a flight of stairs inside the Capitol to get to safety, the official said."

Michael Schmidt & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "A little more than a month after the Capitol siege, a fuller picture of the injuries sustained by the police has emerged from court documents, footage revealed at ... Donald J. Trump's impeachment trial, accounts provided by officers and interviews with law enforcement officials and experts. The Capitol assault resulted in one of the worst days of injuries for law enforcement in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. At least 138 officers -- 73 from the Capitol Police and 65 from the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington -- were injured, the departments have said. They ranged from bruises and lacerations to more serious damage such as concussions, rib fractures, burns and even a mild heart attack.... The number of those injured does not account for the dozens, if not hundreds, of officers whom law enforcement officials estimate will suffer in years to come with post-traumatic stress disorder and the dozens who most likely contracted the coronavirus from unmasked Trump supporters who overran the Capitol, the experts and officials said."

Michigan. WXYZ Detroit: "Mike Shirkey, the Republican majority leader of the Michigan state senate, was caught on a hot mic Wednesday seemingly walking back an apology he made earlier this week for calling the riots at the U.S. Capitol a 'hoax.' Earlier this week, a video of Shirkey's meeting with Republican leaders from Hillsdale County leaked in which Shirkey referred to the Jan. 6 riots as a 'hoax,' and placed blame on Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, claiming he 'wanted to have a mess.' On Tuesday, Shirkey apologized for those comments, saying that he 'regrets the words that I chose and I apologize for my insensitive comments'. But on Wednesday while on the Senate floor, Shirkey was caught on a hot mic appearing to completely walk back the apology he made the day before. 'Frankly, I don't take back any of the points I was trying to make,' Shirkey said during a conversation with Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist, a Democrat." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In the context of this NYT story, linked here a few days ago, Shirkey's walk-back of a walk-back are especially frightening.

Trump Has Taught Nutjobs that "Free Speech" Includes Making Death Threats. Tina Burnside & Hollie Silverman of CNN: "A North Carolina man has been charged with making threats to kill President Joe Biden, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed in court Thursday. David Kyle Reeves, 27, of Gastonia, North Carolina, was arrested February 5 for knowingly and willfully making threats to take the life of and inflict bodily harm upon the President, according to newly unsealed court documents. Prosecutors allege that between January 28 and February 1, Reeves contacted the White House switchboard multiple times by phone and made threats against President Biden and others.... Reeves called [a Secret Service] agent several times ... making threats against the President, the agent and others. Reeves told the Secret Service agent 'that he had free speech and did nothing wrong,' according to an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint."

Made in China. Lara Jakes of the New York Times: "In his more than two years as secretary of state, Mike Pompeo pulled no punches against China, regularly criticizing it for human rights abuses, military aggressions and the spread of the coronavirus. But when it came to passing out party favors, Mr. Pompeo relied on the country to help produce the perfect pen. Documents released on Thursday show that Mr. Pompeo used taxpayer funds to buy 400 specially embossed pens, worth more than $10,000 in total, for guests who attended private dinners at the State Department as he mulled his political future."

If you would like to think about Rep. Marjorie Greene (Q-Ga.) having extramarital sex, then this Daily Mail story is for you. MB: Even though I didn't actually read the story, I, for one, am glad to see the Mail getting back to its regular beat. For some reason I thought the Mail had become a Murdoch enterprise, but I was wrong. The controlling shareholder is Jonathan Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere. It is nice to know what it means to be upper-crust in the U.K.

Meanwhile ~~~

Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "The Biden administration on Friday rolled out its plans for addressing tens of thousands of migrants camped out at the southern border as it seeks to replace the Trump administration's 'remain in Mexico' policy. President Trump's policy, rolled out in 2019, blocked migrants at the Mexican border from entering the U.S. to apply for asylum, leaving what the Biden administration estimates is now around 25,000 people awaiting their fate in Mexico. In what the administration deemed as Phase 1 of their plan, the U.S. will begin processing as many as 300 people per day at three different undisclosed ports of entry starting Feb. 19.... The U.S. will begin by processing those who have already enrolled in Trump's Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program who must then coordinate with a forthcoming international organization who will help coordinate housing and test migrants for Covid-19. Only those with a negative test will be permitted to enter. Administration officials said they would 'start small' in an effort to ensure the system is working and that migrants can 'be processed in a timely fashion with due regard for public health in the middle of a pandemic.'"

Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "America's federal debt is set to exceed the size of the entire U.S. economy this year for only the second time since the end of World War II, a reflection of the extraordinary emergency measures approved by Congress in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Thursday.... It's the second time it's happened, in two years. Democratic lawmakers and many economists say another spending blitz is necessary to stabilize an economy that has stalled out and a job market that faces the prospect of permanent scarring. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said the unemployment rate for January should be considered closer to 10 percent, rather than the official number of 6.3 percent, due to misclassification errors and workers permanently leaving the labor force.... The CBOs debt estimates are based on current policy and do not account for the $1.9 trillion stimulus package Democrats are expected to pass in a matter of weeks."

Stacey Abrams & Lauren Groh-Wargo in a New York Times op-ed on "how to turn a red state blue" (or purple): "The steps toward victory are straightforward: understand your weaknesses, organize with your allies, shore up your political infrastructure and focus on the long game. Georgia's transformation is worth celebrating, and how it came to be is a long and complicated story, which required more than simply energizing a new coterie of voters. What Georgia Democrats and progressives accomplished here -- and what is happening in Arizona and North Carolina -- can be exported to the rest of the Sun Belt and the Midwest, but only if we understand how we got here."

Anna Kambhampaty of Politico: "The conservative activist organization Project Veritas was suspended from Twitter on Thursday for violating platform rules. The account was 'permanently suspended for repeated violations of Twitter's private information policy,' a Twitter spokesperson said. The group's founder, James O'Keefe, had his account temporarily locked, also for violation of the private information policy. 'The account owner is required to delete the violative Tweet to regain access to their account,' the spokesperson said."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. The New York Times' live updates Friday are here.

** Isaac Stanley-Becker, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden said Thursday his administration had finalized deals for another 200 million doses of the two coronavirus vaccines authorized in the United States, securing sufficient shots to cover everyone currently eligible for inoculation by the end of July. In remarks capping an afternoon tour of the National Institutes of Health, Biden said the federal government had purchased 100 million more doses from Pfizer and German company BioNTech, as well as 100 million more from Moderna, using options built into existing contracts with those companies. The announcement was the centerpiece of an emotional address from Biden, who made a point of speaking through his mask as he called it a 'patriotic responsibility' to wear one." ~~~

     ~~~ Katie Rogers & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: “... but President Biden warned that logistical hurdles would most likely mean that many Americans will still not have been vaccinated by the end of the summer.... Both vaccines are two-dose regimens, spaced three and four weeks apart. Mr. Biden lamented the 'gigantic' logistical challenge he faces during an appearance at the National Institutes of Health. He also expressed open frustration with the previous administration. 'It's one thing to have the vaccine,' Mr. Biden said. 'It's another thing to have vaccinators.'... Dr. Anthony S. Fauci predicted on Thursday morning that as early as April, any American could begin seeking a vaccine in an 'open season' that would extend availability beyond priority categories."

Amanda Holpuch of the Guardian: "The US could have averted 40% of the deaths from Covid-19, had the country's death rates corresponded with the rates in other high-income G7 countries, according to a Lancet commission tasked with assessing Donald Trump's health policy record. Almost 470,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus so far, with the number widely expected to go above half a million in the next few weeks. At the same time some 27 million people in the US have been infected. Both figures are by far the highest in the world. In seeking to respond to the pandemic, Trump has been widely condemned for not taking the pandemic seriously enough soon enough, spreading conspiracy theories, not encouraging mask wearing and undermining scientists and others seeking to combat the virus's spread." Thanks to RAS for the link. MB: I have been wondering what sort of number could be attached to Trump's Covid-19 failures. This scientific effort is useful. (Also linked yesterday.)

Noah Weiland, et al., of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump was sicker with Covid-19 in October than publicly acknowledged at the time, with extremely depressed blood oxygen levels at one point and a lung problem associated with pneumonia caused by the coronavirus, according to four people familiar with his condition. His prognosis became so worrisome before he was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center that officials believed he would need to be put on a ventilator, two of the people familiar with his condition said.... The new details about his condition and about the effort inside the White House to get him special access to an unapproved drug to fight the virus help to flesh out one of the most dire episodes of Mr. Trump's presidency. The new revelations about Mr. Trump's struggle with the virus also underscore the limited and sometimes misleading nature of the information disclosed at the time about his condition.... Mr. Trump's physician, Dr. Sean P. Conley, repeatedly downplayed concerns about Mr. Trump's condition during his illness." A CNN story is here.

New York. Bernard Condon & Jennifer Peltz of the AP: "More than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients in New York state were released from hospitals into nursing homes early in the pandemic under a controversial directive that was scrapped amid criticism it accelerated outbreaks, according to new records obtained by The Associated Press. The new number of 9,056 recovering patients sent to hundreds of nursing homes is more than 40% higher than what the state health department previously released. And it raises new questions as to whether a March 25 directive from Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration helped spread sickness and death among residents, a charge the state disputes.... The new figures come as the Cuomo administration has been forced in recent weeks to acknowledge it has been underreporting the overall number of COVID-19 deaths among long-term care residents. It is now nearly 15,000 up from the 8,500 previously disclosed."

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Savador Hernandez of BuzzFeed News: "Felony charges were dropped Thursday against two police officers in Buffalo, New York, who violently shoved a 75-year-old protester, causing him to fall, hit his head on the sidewalk, and bleed from his ear, officials said. Graphic video of the incident captured by local NPR station WBFO showed the moment officers shoved the peace activist during a Black Lives Matter protest in June, and quickly went viral. The footage shows the man, Martin Gugino, walking up to police officers as they begin to yell 'Move!' and 'Push him back!' while enforcing a city curfew.... Police had initially told reporters Gugino 'tripped and fell,' without making any mention of the officers' role.... Two of the officers seen in the video, Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe, had faced second-degree assault charges, but a grand jury that reviewed the cases voted to dismiss them, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said at a news conference Thursday."

Texas. Alex Samuels & Kate McGee of the Texas Tribune: "Late last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fired multiple senior aides who accused him of accepting a bribe. A court filing obtained by The Texas Tribune reveals for the first time what four of those aides believe Paxton received in exchange for helping a donor with his business affairs. An updated version of a lawsuit filed by the four whistleblowers claims that Austin real estate developer Nate Paul helped Paxton remodel his house and gave a job to a woman with whom Paxton allegedly had an affair. In return, the aides allege, Paxton used his office to help Paul's business interests, investigate Paul's adversaries and help settle a lawsuit. The claims in the filing provide even more details about what the former aides believe Paxton's motivations were in what they describe as a 'bizarre, obsessive use of power.'"

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Reader Comments (11)

There is a wonderful scene in the film, "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie." The crux of the film is that Brodie imagines herself to be a great force for good, a teacher who educates "little girls" to live full lives as romantic figures amidst the mediocrity of those who surround them. In a confrontation with Sandy, one of the "little girls" who is growing up -- and has grown away from Brodie -- Brodie expresses great pride in her teaching of Mary MacGregor, an impressionable girl who has so succumbed to Miss Brodie's teachings on valor that she goes off to fight in the Spanish civil war. News comes that Mary MacGregor has been killed for her effort.

When Sandy confronts Miss Brodie about Mary's mission, Brodie responds with great indignity: "I feel responsible for teaching her [Mary] that service to a cause is a privilege.... By the way she died, Mary MacGregor illumined her life. She died a heroine!"

Sandy retorts, "She died a fool. Joining her brother to fight for Franco. Wasn't that just like Mary. Her brother is fighting for the other side.... Her brother is fighting for the Republicans. Mary was headed for the wrong army."

This is what Republican senators are doing. They pride themselves on their lofty positions and their great powers to "lead" the country. They strut around like silly Josh Hawley raising a fist of solidarity to the insurrectionists, & like Marco Rubio, who wears lift boots to make himself seem taller, more "manly," more in command. Alas, their grandchildren will remember them not as great men but as fools, not for the greatness these senators see in the mirror, but for "fighting for the other side." They're in the wrong army.

February 12, 2021 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

@Marie: One of my favorite films. And you cited exactly the perfect episode to expose the senate's failures. Today, by the way, Ezra Klein has an excellent piece which pertains to this very problem:

"The Senate is Making a Mockery of Itself:

Ezra interviews Adam Jentelson who served as chief of staff to Harry Reid and has spent the past few years researching the senate's history in order to understand how it led to this grim present in his new book: "Kill Switch: the Rise of the Modern Senate & the Crippling of American Democracy."
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-adam-jentleson.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

Yesterday's hearing was again done with precision and expertise exposing the mendacity of the man who incited millions who stormed the Capitol because he ordered them to do so. The reports of the usual suspects deliberately ignoring the presentations makes my blood boil–-like Mary MacGregor they will end up fools but unlike Mary they KNOW they are in the wrong army; they just pretend it's the right one.

The last words from Raskin who practically pleaded with the senate to throw off their coats of defiance :

"Because we love our country that much."

February 12, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Never watched the movie, Marie.

Had heard of it, but seems like a sad little thing that in present circumstances that I'm not sorry I missed.

Get the delusions of grandeur that infect so many Republican goose steppers. Whether they are on the right or wrong side only time will tell. I know we all here have our druthers.

Two thoughts occur.

Heroism, like so many human judgments, is malleable, defined in the beholder's eye. I'm thinking of the way those recently trashed statues and re-named buildings are restating our view of what and who we're willing to say was heroic about our first Civil War. As the country's conscience changes so do our definitions of what we're willing to revere.

With a nod to Lincoln on his natal day, I'd add that now that we're engaged in a not very great civil war, those fomenting the insurrection are unlikely ever to have statues erected to honor them.

Aside from the fact that they are themselves buffoons, led by an even greater buffoon to whom they are in thrall, they do not represent any political or social contingent powerful or numerous enough to prevail. Every day it becomes clearer that they represent only themselves.

Franco had the army, the church and massive German and Italian military aid. The Pretender and his gang have only too much money, old white grievance and an assortment of ignorant lunatics given voice by the anti-social media behind them.

That loose coalition has and will continue to inflict harm on our democracy; the money and the grievance will not just go away, no more than did the aftereffects of the first Civil War disappear.

But this time around I expect a quicker resolution. The line between Black and White, as it is between all races, is far more blurred today than it was 150 years ago, big money is in disrepute, the older racists are dying off, and the spoiled boy image the Hawleys, Cruzes, Rubios and Grahams present--not to mention the every day more obviously pathetic man they are so eager to defend--is certainly no portrait of emerging heroism.

For them there will be no statues, no buildings erected in their names.

I'm thinking maybe a few Porta-Potties.

February 12, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/12/georgia-voting-rights-stacey-abrams

Reminiscent of the hit job snot-nosed James O'Keefe did on Acorn some years ago. Can't have too many of "those people" voting, now can we?

Took much too long, but see above that Jimmy's Project Veritas (sledgehammer irony) has been un-twitted, but that the little twit himself could yet again rise from the ashes of his self-immolation.

Would hope that it won't happen soon. Maybe the de-platforming of these scoundrels is trending....

In the paper today (sometimes we're a little slow up here), this Cass Sunstein column published in Bloomberg last week:


https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-02-07/facebook-can-use-psychology-to-fight-lies

February 12, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

Ken - appropriate memorials to those insurrectionistas could include the stickers created in the 1970s to honor Jane Fonda. Her face graced many a urinal in the latrines of USAF bases and USN Aviation bases and carriers. Some entrepreneur could create a line of Cruz, Graham, Lee, DiJiT, etc. and sell them on the internet. Maybe they're already there.

And ... I never saw any Hanoi Jane stickers in Army latrines. But then, we didn't have to fly over Hanoi, Haiphong, Nam Dinh, etc. like those zoomies. For those guys, it was personal.

February 12, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick

SIGNS OF THE TIMES: from March--2016 PD

After reading Chait on Jindal I read some of the comments. Once again we find commenters blasting one another, some in extremely crude language and soon the topic that was being discussed is dismissed replaced by abuses flung about at each other. I am always, perhaps not shocked, but very troubled by these examples of ignorance and anger. Yet, here we are experiencing GOP candidates flinging poo at one another as though this was the normal way of politicking. The crowd eruptions at all the Trump rallies where people are getting physically hurt is something we should be frightened about. I watched a video last night where Trump is yelling once again, "Get em out! Get em OUT! KICK THE CRAP OUT OF THEM" and people are pushing, screaming obscenities at a group of black participants, and the crowd goes wild. The word, "eruption" came to mind––and the image of a wasp nest being fooled with and hundreds of wasps come flying out, surrounding you, landing on you and finally stinging you in all the right places. It's as though all this ugliness has laid dormant and suddenly we see it erupting in full flower. And yet we know that's not true. We are just witnessing its revival because a rogue candidate for President has given permission to show its face.

February 12, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Defense is going full Kavanaugh. Pure gaslighting.

February 12, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterNiskyGuy

I don't understand how the Republicans think that they were exempt from the violence that was rushing toward them on January 6th. The Republicans were in as much danger as the Democrats that day. They had failed Donald Trump. They were supposed to secure the presidency for Trump. But because they are losers the insurrectionists had to come in to the Capitol that day to undo the failure of the Republicans in Congress. Lindsey Graham would have been torn apart by that mob just as quickly as if they had found Nancy Pelosi.

February 12, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

According to www.businessinsider.com, room rates at the
trump hotel in D.C. have tripled for March 3rd and 4th in
anticipation of his inauguration on the 4th.
Sad, I'll have to skip it.

February 12, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterForrest Morris

A real President and First Lady. What a difference it makes to have actual human beings in the White House.

February 12, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

I'm not a WAPO subscriber so I am sorry to miss out on Aaron Blake's word play. I think the Merriam-Webster daily blog puts the Calvary/cavalry issue to bed.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-words-of-the-week-february-12-2021?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=wotd-wir&utm_content=wotw

However, I wouldn't put it past some of those holding the tin-hat evangelical viewpoint that, by some convoluted logic, crucifying their chosen, golden-haired son of god will usher in a thousand year reign of justice when their messiah comes back to life and is inaugurated on, you guessed it, April 3rd 2021, the day before Easter Sunday. These are the same people who want to bring Armageddon, and the end of the world, and their hoped-for rapture. The world and its sad reality is merely a temporary test if their faith and worthiness for "heaven".

How we suffer today for the misogynous writings of St. Paul, the hallucinations of St John.

February 12, 2021 | Unregistered Commenterperiscope
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