;)
The Commentariat -- February 25, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Pam Belluck & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "The coronavirus almost certainly will begin spreading in communities in the United States, and Americans should begin preparations now, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday. 'It's not so much of a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more of a question of exactly when this will happen,' Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a news briefing. In the event of an outbreak, communities should plan for 'social distancing measures,' like dividing school classes into smaller groups of students, closing schools, canceling meetings and conferences, and arranging for employees to work from home."
Thou Shalt Not Disagrees with the Lord Donald. Eli Okun of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday slammed Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, saying both should recuse themselves from cases involving him or his administration. His comments at a press conference in India -- and previous tweets to the same effect -- came after Sotomayor criticized the court's conservative majority for granting a number of the administration's emergency stay requests.... Riffing off Laura Ingraham's commentary on her Fox News show, Trump used Sotomayor's dissent as a jumping-off point to hit the pair of liberal justices." ~~~
~~~ Jim Acosta Is Tired of Trying to Reason with Donald Trump:
Mr. President, I think our record on delivering the truth is a lot better than yours sometimes. -- Jim Acosta of CNN, to Donald Trump, after Trump questioned CNN's credibility ~~~
~~~ Eli Okun: "... Donald Trump was half a world away from his usual Washington fights on Thursday but couldn't resist a press conference spat with an old standby from back home: CNN's Jim Acosta. A question from Acosta at Tuesday' news conference in New Delhi about foreign electoral interference and Trump's new acting director of national intelligence quickly degenerated into a splatter of cross-talk once the president took aim at CNN's credibility." The exchanges starts at 30:05 minutes in this video. Trump seems quite low-energy throughout the presser.
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CBS News: "Seven Democratic candidates for president have qualified for Tuesday's debate in Charleston, South Carolina, to be hosted by CBS News. It's the last opportunity candidates will have to make their pitch on a national stage before Saturday's critical South Carolina primary -- and the last one before voters in 16 states and territories go to the polls on Super Tuesday, March 3." The debate will air from 8 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. ET. The debate will air on CBS & will stream on this page (I think) and on various devices like Roku & on CBS All Access.
Piling on Bernie. (1) Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Mike Bloomberg's presidential campaign plans to unleash its cash-flush media operation against Bernie Sanders in the wake of the Vermont senator's resounding victory in the Nevada caucuses. Senior aides to Bloomberg's campaign have been discussing how they are going to use some of their resources against Sanders, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter who declined to be named because these decisions were made in private. Already, the campaign has spent over $500 million on media ad buys, according to Advertising Analytics. The campaign plans a multipronged attack, including the publication of opposition research on Sanders, these people said. It will also push out digital attack ads focused on Sanders' record. On Monday, the Bloomberg campaign attempted to paint Sanders as a past ally of the National Rifle Association, a gun advocacy group that Bloomberg has fought for over a decade." ~~~
~~~ (2) Natasha Korecki of Politico: "Joe Biden's campaign is airing a new digital ad in South Carolina accusing Bernie Sanders of trying to undermine Barack Obama's 2012 reelection by threatening to primary him. 'When it comes to building on Barack Obama's legacy, Bernie Sanders just can't be trusted,' the new ad ... warns." ~~~
Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the leading Democratic presidential candidate, said in an new interview that it's 'unfair' to classify everything as being 'bad' in Cuba under the authoritarian rule of the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro. 'We're very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba, but you know it's unfair to simply say everything is bad,' Sanders told '60 Minutes' in an interview that aired late Sunday. 'You know, when Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing? Even though Fidel Castro did it?' he added." ~~~
~~~ Marc Caputo of Politico: "Bernie Sanders says he's the Democrat best-equipped to defeat Donald Trump in November. But Florida Democrats insist he's the worst-equipped after Sanders's refusal Sunday night to thoroughly condemn the Cuban Revolution. His comments on 60 Minutes sent shockwaves through the nation's biggest battleground state, where Democratic members of Congress, state legislators and party leaders warned that his nomination -- and Sanders's self-described "Democratic socialism" -- will cost them the biggest battleground state of them all. 'Donald Trump wins Florida if Bernie is our nominee,' said state Rep. Javier Fernandez, a Democratic candidate in a majority-Hispanic state Senate district. 'If Bernie Sanders is atop the ticket, it's going to make it tougher for all of us to win in Florida,' said Fernandez, who has endorsed ... Joe Biden." ~~~
~~~ Eric Levitz of New York: "If offering an (accurately) positive assessment of any aspect of an authoritarian communist regime's record is tantamount to endorsing its form of rule, then Barack Obama is an authoritarian communist[.]... Every modern U.S. president -- and a wide array of liberal commentators -- has found positive things to say about an absolutist Saudi regime that beheads gays, suppresses all dissent, and had ties to 9/11."
Extreme Bernie Bro. Scott Bixby of the Daily Beast: "... at least some of [Bernie Sanders]' most toxic support is coming from inside the house. Using the account @perma_ben, Ben Mora, a regional field director for Sanders' campaign based in Michigan, has attacked other Democrats in the field -- as well as their family members, surrogates, journalists, and politically active celebrities -- in deeply personal terms, mocking their physical appearance, gender, and sexuality, among other things. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mora has tweeted, 'looks like her name: pained, chunky, [and] confused origin/purpose.' Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg 'is what happens when the therapist botches the conversion,' and his husband, Chasten, Mora predicts, will be 'busted for running a meth racket' in 10 years. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a frequent subject of Mora's private account, is called a 'dumb Okie,' 'an adult diaper fetishist' who 'looks like shit' and who lied about having Native American ancestry 'to get into Harvard.'... After this story was published, Mike Casca, the Sanders campaign's communications director, told The Daily Beast that 'we are running a multiracial, multigenerational campaign for justice where disgusting behavior and ugly personal attacks by our staff will not be tolerated.' Mora, the Sanders campaign confirmed, has been fired." Read on. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Bear in mind that Mora -- had he not been caught out -- would get at least a low-level job in a Sanders administration. I doubt he's the only person with this sort of sick, disgusting mindset who has found a place in Bernie's campaign. Bernie bros are not all sweet-faced idealists singing Kumbaya while hoping to make sure the kids get tuition-free PhDs and all the free doctors' visits a hypochondriac could desire. ~~~
~~~ A Wake-up Call from Jonathan Chait: "At the heart of [Bernie] Sanders's campaign is a hard-core socialist vanguard which is indifferent to the Democratic Party except as a potential vessel for the Bernie revolution.... What makes Bernie's profile uniquely toxic is the way his liabilities all reinforce each other. He combines discrete, deeply unpopular policy positions with an unpopular socialist label, which in turn reinforce the fact that his campaign is premised on radically changing the economy, the one thing most voters believe Trump has done well. His historic statements praising various leftist dictators reinforce the impression of kookery.... Satisfaction with economic conditions has risen to the highest level in two decades.... [Sanders' supporters] have every incentive to imagine away his many flaws and seize on the real but unlikely possibility he can defy the odds and win. What is shocking is observing how many other progressives have joined in this fantasy with them."
One of the Many Terrible "Traditions" Trump Started. Matt Viser & Lenny Bernstein of the Washington Post: "A little over three years ago, at age 70, Donald Trump became the oldest person to win the presidency after a campaign in which he released only a letter from his doctor attesting to his 'astonishingly excellent' health. Now, the contenders for the Democratic nomination -- the oldest field in U.S. history -- are following his lead. Four of the six major Democratic candidates are 70 or older, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, the polling leader, suffered a heart attack about five months ago -- an episode he at first failed to disclose. But the candidates, for the most part, have declined to release full dossiers on their health, relying instead on the Trumpian physician testimonial. Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, for example, has released a single page from his doctor declaring the 78-year-old in 'great physical shape' and noting that he 'plays golf avidly' and has a pilot's license."
Here's the Problem. Gabriel Debenedetti of New York: "... the day after a decisive Sanders victory in Nevada, his rivals are all intent on staying in. Given the general agreement among anti-Sanders moderates that the field needs to shrink, why won't anyone drop out?" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Here's something I can see happening: Bernie gets about 40 percent of the delegates in the primaries & caucuses. Barack Obama & Nancy Pelosi & maybe a few other éminences grises get together & pick a consensus candidate. Then they strongarm all the other "moderate" candidates to pledge their delegates to their chosen candidate. And let's hope their choice is not Hillary Clinton.
Mrs. McCrabbie: At the top of his show Monday, Chris Matthews made a fullthroated & appropriate apology to Bernie Sanders for the very inappropriate remarks he made Saturday, comparing Sander's decisive win in Nevada to the Nazis' invasion of France in 1940. ~~~
~~~ Joe Pompeo of Vanity Fair (via Steve M.): "After Matthews's comments on Saturday night, [MSNBC president Phil] Griffin's phone blew up with an angry reaction from the campaign. Griffin quickly discussed the matter with Matthews, who then interviewed campaign cochair Nina Turner on air minutes later. Sources also noted that MSNBC took Sanders's El Paso and San Antonio rallies live on Saturday, and that Sanders people like campaign manager Faiz Shakir and former campaign manager Jeff Weaver both received airtime on Monday. 'The Sanders team is in contact with our senior management,' one source said, 'and they are heard. Phil is doing his best to give Bernie his due.'"
The (South Carolina) State Editors endorse Pete Buttigieg for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Keith Collins, et al., of the New York Times: "The final results of the Nevada Democratic caucuses were released on Monday, and the data appears to contain errors and inconsistencies similar to those that plagued the contests in Iowa a few weeks ago. An analysis by The New York Times found flaws in the results of at least 9 percent of precincts, including some instances in which delegates appeared to have been given to the wrong candidates.... Shortly after the final caucus results were released, the Nevada State Democratic Party chairman, William McCurdy, said in a statement that the state should consider abandoning caucuses." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times has the final results of Nevada's Democratic caucuses here. Politico has the results here.
Benjamin Fearnow of Newsweek: "Regardless of whether or not Americans are voting for ... Donald Trump, almost two-thirds of nationwide registered voters say they think he'll most likely win re-election in November. About 65 percent of U.S. registered voters of all political affiliations say Trump will 'definitely' or 'probably will' defeat whoever the ultimate Democratic challenger is against him in the general election.... Republicans are far more confident than Democrats, with 90 percent of GOP registered voters expecting Trump to win re-election." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Nancy Cook & Caitlin Emma of Politico: "The Trump administration sent to Capitol Hill on Monday night its $2.5 billion supplemental budget request for additional money to fight the coronavirus, but House Democrats immediately labeled it as insufficient, indicating a battle ahead in Congress over the emergency aid. The administration's request would require enhanced authority to move around federal funds -- a non-starter with Democrats, who are already livid over White House moves to reshuffle existing federal funds toward the border wall. The package proposes using untouched money, including hundreds of millions of dollars in fiscal 2020 cash to fight Ebola. In total, the administration is seeking just $1.25 billion in new funding, relying on extra flexibility to unlock the rest. More than $1 billion would go toward vaccine development, and the other funds would go toward stockpiling protective equipment like masks, according to the Office of Management and Budget. While the money is meant to be spent in 2020, the request contains language that would allow the spending to continue through 2021 if needed."
Another Trumpian Flop. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump said Tuesday that he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India had made progress toward what he hopes will be a landmark trade agreement between the two economic giants. But there was no breakthrough to announce after formal talks on the second and final day of the president's visit. A joint public appearance between the two leaders was long on florid language about the strength of their relationship and short on concrete results. While Mr. Trump had said before departing the United States that 'we may make a tremendous deal there,' the two sides appeared far apart on major points of a trade pact." A CNN story is here. ~~~
~~~ Modi Rolls out the Red Carpet for Trump. Anita Kumar of Politico: "Standing alongside Modi, Trump on Monday inaugurated the brand-new Motera Stadium, lined with 110,000 orange, yellow and blue seats -- all filled. Trump is ostensibly in India to help mitigate a long-standing trade dispute while tightening U.S.-Indian relations, but Monday's mega-rally was also designed to appeal to Indian-American voters as Trump heads into his reelection campaign.... It was a political-style rally like no other. Even Trump's popular MAGA rallies couldn't compare to the size and scope of the 'Namaste Trump' rally.&" Mrs. McC: The world's oldest former democracy & the world's largest former democracy keep pretending they're still democracies. Sweet. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: A Daily Beast item headline: "Trump Speaks to Massive Indian Crowd, Mispronounces Almost Everything." It's easy to mispronounce words: put the accent on the wrong syllable, mangle vowel combos, fail to roll Rs, etc. But Trump makes these mistakes because he can't read. Really. For instance, he pronounced "Vedas" as "Vestas." There are a few ways to mispronounce "Vedas," but "Vestas" isn't one of them. There's no "ST" sound in "Vedas," and a soft D doesn't sound like ST. The other reason Trump mispronounces words is that he's an arrogant SOB. When my husband -- who was a native Italian -- taught at NYU, he was friends with the university's then-president, who did not speak Italian. The president would call my husband before he had to make remarks that included Italian words or names to make sure he could pronounce them correctly. The president made this effort because he was polite and didn't want to insult his Italian-speaking guests. Trump doesn't care whom he insults. So Vestas. In front of 100,000 people, plus media listeners. ~~~
~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump and first lady Melania Trump visited the Taj Mahal on Monday, posing for photos and getting a private tour of the iconic monument to cap his first day in India." Mrs. McC: I guess Trump enjoyed seeing a Taj that didn't send one of his companies into bankruptcy and later sold for 4 cents on the dollar. (Also linked yesterday.)
Anita Kumar of Politico: "... Donald Trump arrives Monday in a country featuring the most Trump properties outside the U.S. The White House hopes the visit will advance trade talks and bolster the president's standing with Indian-Americans ahead of the 2020 election. But it's also a trip that will create attention that could help Trump-branded properties amid a slumping real estate market and slowing economy in India." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "President Trump's ongoing purge of his administration is rapidly getting worse.... The real driver here is that Trump is removing officials who committed the sin of trying to defend the rule of law from his efforts to corrupt it. This is forward-looking: It clears the way for more such corruption of the rule of law and sends a message to others about what awaits them if they stand in the way of this as it continues to devolve. Two new reports about Trump's ongoing purge underscore this with great clarity. First, Axios reports that in the view of Trump's aides, the president has 'crossed a psychological line' regarding the 'deep state.' He has concluded multiple agencies are filled with 'snakes,' and he wants them rooted out.... A second report [is] a deep New York Times dive into tensions roiling the Justice Department amid Attorney General William Barr's intervention on behalf of Trump confidant Roger Stone.... Trump is raging at officials who constitute an obstacle to his own active, ongoing corruption of the rule of law. And it's working: The Justice Department actually is carrying out his corrupt bidding in many ways." (Also linked yesterday, as was the linked Axios story.) ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "For the past 18 months, Ginni Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, and other conservatives have plied the White House with memos and suggestions about which people to fire -- and who should replace them. President Trump has generally treated Ms. Thomas's suggestions coolly, passing them off to advisers, according to people familiar with Ms. Thomas's efforts. But since the end of the Senate impeachment trial, the president has become more distrustful of the people filling the ranks of government and has been giving those recommendations a closer look.... Some administration aides have long been suspicious that people like Ms. Thomas ... are less interested in pro-Trump purity than in appointments for their own networks of friends. White House officials have privately questioned Ms. Thomas's lobbying on personnel, and have said Mr. Trump -- who is facing several decisions before the Supreme Court personally and in terms of administration policy -- has made clear he is conscious of whom she is married to.... Administration officials have routinely sent aides to attend weekly Groundswell meetings held at the offices of Judicial Watch, another conservative group led by a vocal defender of the president, Tom Fitton." See also Akhilleus's related comment in yesterday's thread. ~~~
~~~ Summer Concepcion of TPM: "White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley and counselor Kellyanne Conway seemed to add more fuel to the fire that has emerged from Axios' Sunday evening report detailing the Trump administration's list of officials that it's looking to oust." Mrs. McC: When questioned on-air by hard-hitting Fox "News" personalities, neither Gidley nor Conway even bothered to issue non-denial denials, as Concepcion reports.
Spencer Hsu & Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "The federal judge who oversaw Roger Stone's trial and sentenced him last week to 40 months in prison has scheduled a closed-door hearing for Tuesday afternoon regarding his request for a new trial based on allegations of juror misconduct, preceded by a public hearing about his motion to make the matter public.... The order came one day after [Judge Amy Berman] Jackson dismissed Stone's demand that she be taken off the case as a baseless smear." Update: Politico has the story here.
Garrett Graff of Wired: "As Richard Grenell, the current US ambassador to Germany, starts his ... job as the nation's acting director of national intelligence, his arrival also marks the ouster of not only his predecessor, Joseph Maguire, but reportedly also of DNI principal executive Andrew Hallman. By the end of the day, almost all of the roles created after 9/11 literally to prevent the next 9/11 will be either vacant or lack permanent appointees.... There will soon be no Senate-confirmed director of the National Counterterrorism Center, director of national intelligence, principal deputy director of national intelligence, homeland security secretary, deputy homeland security secretary, nor leaders of any of the three main border security and immigration agencies.... No department is in worse shape than the Department of Homeland Security, itself a post-9/11 creation meant to bring together under one roof the key agencies that protect the nation's infrastructure, transportation, and borders." --s (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Emma Brown, et al., of the Washington Post: "Two years before President Trump nominated him to become ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell wrote an op-ed about Nigeria's highly charged 2015 presidential race.... A year later, Grenell defended the government of Moldova against corruption allegations from a whistleblower who, Grenell argued, was a Russian operative bent on destabilizing an Eastern European country trying to move toward the West. And Grenell's public relations firm was paid to do work for a U.S. nonprofit funded almost entirely by the Hungarian government led by far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban.... [Grenell's] promotion is drawing fresh scrutiny to [his] past, including his foreign affairs commentary and consulting work.... [It] is the type of activity that, in other cases, has drawn the attention of Justice Department investigators tasked with enforcing the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).... Grenell also represented people based in countries such as Iran, Kazakhstan, Somalia and China..., [including ]the ex-girlfriend of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, the drug kingpin..., according to an archived version of his personal website." The Raw Story has a summary report here. ~~~
~~~ Natasha Bertrand of Politico: "Attorneys for Julian Assange, who is fighting a U.S. extradition request on espionage and computer hacking charges, plan to introduce evidence in the WikiLeaks founder's extradition hearing involving ... Donald Trump's new intel chief Richard Grenell.... At the heart of the Assange team's argument is an ABC News report from last April alleging that, while serving as Trump's ambassador to Germany, Grenell told Assange's Ecuadorean hosts that the U.S. government would not pursue the death penalty for Assange if Ecuador allowed British officials to enter its embassy in London and arrest him. Assange's legal team will claim that Grenell's role was more extensive than previously known, and that it corrupted the extradition process early on."
Will Bunch of The Philadelphia Inquirer: "It's hard not to believe that ... we are missing the most alarming and important trend of the last decade. That would be the rise of violent, brownshirt-style, right-wing global extremism and the concurrent era of authoritarian-style rulers on every continent, whose angry rhetoric toward migrants, ethnic minorities or women inspires these terrorists.... I'm thinking about the tragic and shocking events that took place on Wednesday night ... in the German community of Hanau.... In all, nine people were slaughtered..., most of Turkish descent.... A German killer ... was fascinated by the rise of Donald Trump and what that said about white supremacy. In addition to supporting ... a wall between the U.S. and Mexico..., he also cited off-the-wall conspiracy theories..., like the internet fake-scandal called QAnon or its cousin, the invented Pizzagate affair.... It's the kind of thinking that screams out for mental health treatment but which, in 2020, might get one, in his or her 'Q' T-shirt, a front-row seat at a Trump campaign rally." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Brian Naylor of NPR: "Historians and activists charge that the White House has failed to keep notes of the president's meetings with foreign leaders, including with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that other papers, including records of alleged abuses of undocumented immigrants, could be destroyed.... The American Immigration Council, an advocacy organization, along with three other groups last week filed Freedom of Information Act requests with ICE asking for the documents, as a way to keep them intact. Emily Creighton, [an attorney for the council..., calls it 'mind boggling' that some documents detailing detention conditions could be destroyed in 10, 20 or 30 years. 'It's almost as though we are, you know, erasing our nation's conscience,' she says.... Historians are fighting on another front with the Trump administration: over the preservation or, in some cases, the creation of presidential records. President Trump is reportedly averse to having note-takers present at his meetings with foreign leaders and is said to have torn up some notes, in violation of the Presidential Records Act." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Congressional Races
Arizona. Ronald Hansen of the Arizona Republic: "Chris Taylor, a Safford[, Arizona,] city councilman who is running for Congress, overdosed on heroin last week and since has suspended his campaign. The Wednesday incident was a relapse for Taylor, a combat veteran who has battled opioid addiction since high school. In a written statement, Taylor said he was seeking treatment and not backing away from what happened."
Texas. Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Dr. [Ronny L.] Jackson left the West Wing i December after rising from President Trump's physician to his unlikely pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs to Trump administration roadkill when he was forced to withdraw his name from consideration amid allegations related to his professional conduct. Now he's running for Congress in Texas' 13th District, one of the most conservative in the country, and his argument is simple.... [His] access [to Trump], he said, would make him an unusually powerful replacement for Representative Mac Thornberry, the Republican who announced last fall he would not seek re-election after representing his district for more than a quarter of a century. But it is not clear if that connection, combined with his background as a Navy rear admiral, will be enough to help Dr. Jackson overcome some rookie mistakes as a candidate. There have been more than a few.... Mr. Trump ... has been silent about Dr. Jackson's campaign.... Dr. Jackson is now facing an uphill battle against two well-funded and connected [primary] opponents...."
Mrs. McCrabbie: I seldom link Fox "News" stories, but the headline here made me laugh out loud: "In Supreme Court dissent, Thomas cites Thomas in arguing to overturn decision authored by Thomas." The post is by Tyler Olson, who "covers politics for FoxNews.com." Really, only Thomas's opinions matter -- even when he disagrees with them.
Keith Bradsher & Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "Stocks on Wall Street plummeted on Monday, following sharp declines in global markets after spreading coronavirus outbreaks in Italy and in South Korea stoked concern among investors about the potential damage they might inflict on the global economy. The S&P 500 dropped nearly 3 percent at the start of trading, after European markets recorded their worst day since 2016 and major benchmarks in Asia closed sharply lower. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 900 points. The number of people infected with the virus has ballooned to more than 79,000 people in Asia, crippling China's economy. Rapidly spreading outbreaks have now been reported in Italy, Iran and South Korea." This is a liveblog of developments related to the coronavirus pandemic. A Politico story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) Update at 6:37 pm ET: "The S&P 500 fell more than 3.3 percent, its biggest daily decline since February 2018, while the Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 1,000 points."
Zack Whittaker of Tech Crunch: "A spyware app designed to 'monitor everything' on a victim's phone has been secretly installed on thousands of phones. The app, KidsGuard, claims it can 'access all the information' on a target device, including its real-time location, text messages, browser history, access to its photos, videos and app activities, and recordings of phone calls. But a misconfigured server meant the app was also spilling out the secretly uploaded contents of victims' devices to the internet.... Although many of these apps are marketed toward parents to monitor their child's activities, many have repurposed the apps to spy on their spouses. That's prompted privacy groups and security firms to work together to help better identify stalkerware." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Daniel Arkin & Adam Reiss of NBC News: "Harvey Weinstein, the once-powerful Hollywood mogul, was found guilty of rape in the third degree Monday but acquitted on the two most serious criminal charges, capping a landmark trial of the #MeToo era. The jury in New York convicted Weinstein, 67, of third-degree rape of Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress, as well as a count of criminal sexual act in the first degree against Mimi Haley, a former 'Project Runway' production assistant. But the jury found him not guilty on two counts of predatory sexual assault, which could have resulted in a life sentence. He was also acquitted on a count of first-degree rape against Mann." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ A New York Times story, comprised of live updates, is here. "Harvey Weinstein is being sent immediately to jail to await his sentencing." Update: The Times' main story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) Update 2: "After the verdict was read, Justice James M. Burke thanked the jurors... [and] announced that Mr. Weinstein would immediately be sent to jail to await his sentencing. But as court officers approached him, the producer seemed stunned and refused to move. Moments later, he was handcuffed and removed from the room, limping with two officers standing by his side. His lawyers said that Mr. Weinstein left the courthouse in an ambulance at about 4:30 p.m. and was taken to an infirmary on Rikers Island, the city's sprawling jail complex. Donna Rotunno, the lead defense lawyer, said he was 'fine,' but would not elaborate on the producer's condition."
Beyond the Beltway
Illinois. Judy Wang & Sean Lewis of WGN-TV: "Actor Jussie Smollett pleaded not guilty Monday to restored charges that accuse him of staging an attack against himself last year. Smollett plead not guilty to six counts of disorderly conduct after special prosecutor Dan Webb announced the charges earlier this month. They stemmed from the alleged staging of a hate crime outside his streeterville apartment last year."
Way Beyond
Egypt. Michael Slackman of the New York Times: "Hosni Mubarak, the former autocratic president of Egypt, whose hold on power was broken and place in history upended by a public uprising against the poverty, corruption and repressive police tactics that came to define his 30 years in office, died on Tuesday. He was 91. His death was confirmed by state TV." CNN's obituary of Mubarak is here.
News Lede
The New York Times' live updates on developments in the coronavirus epidemic are here. "Iraj Harirchi, the Iranian health official who has been leading his country's response to the outbreak, has the virus, according to the government.... An Italian doctor staying at a resort in the Canary Islands was also feared to have the virus. New outbreaks in Europe, Asia and the Middle East are renewing fears of a coming global pandemic."
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Reader Comments (8)
As unrepentant rapist pig Harvey Weinstein is hauled off to the slammer for what hopefully will be the rest of his miserable life, let’s not forget that Donald Trump is just as much a sexual predator. He even admitted it. All the self righteous wingers who ran after Bill Clinton and have been trying to blame liberals for Weinstein’s transgressions have never uttered a word about Trump. In fact, on a Fox show dedicated to whipping up outrage about Pete Buttigieg’s marriage, a guy about whom not a breath of scandal has been heard, a guest who tried to bring up Fatty’s disgusting and sordid history was told to shut up about all that.
Right wing morality on parade.
I wouldn't be too surprised if Agent Orange was telling the truth when he crows about "no one told me!" about the Russians again intervening in the election to help him out. He's probably right. It was probably written down in a footnote in his daily briefing he can't read, and then the oral version just consistently leaves that part out.
Why would the intel community tell him anyway? So he could temper-tantrum at them? Fire them via Tweet once they leave the room? Demand they give up their sources & methods that uncovered Putin's trail? I'm assuming they'd have to give it to him, so better just clam up and say all's well to his face and then go have adult conservations with the patriotic Americans not enthralled to Russia, aka Democrats.
Now that Bernie has risen to the top tier he is fodder for the flaming poo that comes the way of all candidates once they make a headway. It's all part of the game. Last night Christiane Amanpour interviewed Marc Lotter, director of strategic communications for the Trump campaign. He was describing how the campaign gets its data: Every person that buys a ticket to Trump's rallies has to fill out a questionnaire and this information goes into the campaign's data base.
At the end of the interview he was asked about the Bernie upsurge:
"He'll never beat Trump; he's a Communist and a Socialist."
Christiane shot back with "Oh, stop, you know very well Bernie is not a Communist; he is a Democratic Socialist–-same as a Social Democrat in Europe."
Marc just smiled.
When my grandchildren were very young I wrote lots of stories for them and added pictures taken from the marvelous New Yorker illustrators. One story written for Halloween was about a Virus that was going around doing all sorts of mischief and always managed to evade detection. The illustration I used was a scary looking, withered body combing the streets whose caption was, indeed, "A virus that is going around."
I thought of this yesterday when the news of the Coronavirus has spread to many more countries and how we, in this country, don't seem to be prepared for this pandemic–-because that's what it is. As predicted, Doofus does his "Everything's fine here–-no worries." And thinking in terms of what divides us might very well bring us together by a virus––look what 9/ll did for awhile. If the stock market continues to tumble and that virus continues to spread this president of "no concern" will get his clock cleaned––maybe even by that guy he calls a Communist and a Socialist (the two in one).
A couple days ago Anonymous mentioned the new series "Hunters" We watched it last weekend and although it has its weaknesses, it's a terrific series. We could make one very much like it today––rounding up the white suprematists and....
Chait’s column raises the concerns I mentioned the other day about Sanders. There is already talk of inevitability about his “march to the nomination”, to which I say “Jesus, I hope not”.
Marie points out that, for many in the Sanders camp, the Democratic Party is little more than a useful, if annoying tool. If he is the nominee, will he have coattails? Can he help take back the senate? Or will he lose even more seats and possibly the house as well?
I have no idea, but I’m thinking it’s not likely that he will help the Party take control away from the traitors. And that means he will get nothing done. None of those big ideas for wholesale upending of the country will be possible.
It’s true that “nothing” is better than four more years of the Orange Menace, but I just don’t see much upside beyond that. PD mentions an interview in which Sanders is described as a communist. That won’t be the last time we hear such bullshit.
The right will scream “commie!” and “soshulist!” from now until next November. Fox will run scare features in which Bernie and a Bernie senate will institute farming collectives a la 1930 Soviet Russia. Churches will be closed and the Lincoln Memorial will be turned into the Castro Memorial. Depend on it.
The both-siders in the MSM will finger-wag about Bernie’s “love” for communist dictators (they’re already doing it!!) and remind everyone that Trump’s not so bad after all. (They’re already doing that too.) I read these articles about how all the Democratic hopefuls are “flawed”. So what’s Fatty? He’s light years beyond flawed, but he gets a pass on almost everything. But those Democrats! Oooh, watch out for them.
I am not at all sanguine about Bernie Inevitability.
Even if the polls are accurate and he beats Fatty, but loses the senate and maybe the house...we’ll get to see what is meant by the term “Pyrrhic victory”.
I’d rather not see. Already know what it means, thank you. And it ain’t good.
@AK: It's a pretty dreary prospect, isn't it? I'm almost ready to give up on the Dems getting a leg up although heard from Rachel last night that they have a super pack now with oodles of green backs that they intend to put in down ballot races and, of course, the presidential race.
And then there's Bloomberg who looms large in the background spending like he can––and can we see ourselves punching him in on the ballot sheet and feel good about it if it would come to that? The answer, I'm afraid is yes. We are desperate and as you said "It ain't good."
I share the general dis-ease. Last night I had on the usual suspects, and at some point Chris Hayes was trying to contain a woman who was screaming...was it Rebecca Traister?...at any rate, he was hard pressed to talk over two over-talky women, and I could just feel my skin crawl. I am no stranger to screaming, being a very good screamer myself, but all of a sudden I could not watch any more of it.
The thought that we have to put up with untenable candidates with impossible dreams is making me itchy. I just have a sense of dread that won't go away. I know it is because Bernie is simply impossible but looking successful in his quest. WHY would he bring up Castro?? Why lose Florida in one fell swoop?? I think it is because he doesn't care about the art of statesmanship, or candidacy or something-- he just wants what he wants. I do NOT think he can beat a nation of lemmings. I. Just. Don't.
None of this should have happened.
I will be a reluctant Biden voter in next week’s super dooper primary here in VA (will also be the election chief in my precinct so am on the front lines of the election security worries). Would much prefer Liz or Amy but neither one can get enough votes to stop the Bernie train. And although I support lots of Bernie’s ideas, he is simply too much of a risk. The hard part is going to be educating the Berniebots that they can wait until the next cycle when things are not so life or death as they are now. And good luck with that ...
@Rockygirl: I don't think Biden can beat Trump in November. I'd go for one of the ladies, especially because the more votes they get, the sooner Biden will have to drop out. I think either Elizabeth or Amy can beat Donnie.