The Commentariat -- February 28, 2021
Bethan McKernan of the Guardian & Agencies: "Joe Biden has carried out his first military action as president, with airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed fighters in Syria, in what the Pentagon said was retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and other coalition troops. The overnight strikes killed 22 people after hitting three trucks loaded with munitions near the border town of Abu Kamal, a war monitor said on Friday." MB: A report I ran Friday said at least one person was killed. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
"These People Are Dangerous." Mike Lillis & Scott Wong of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said her proposal to install a Democratic majority on the investigative Jan. 6 commission is rooted in historic precedent and the simple prerogatives of sitting presidents. But rank-and-file Democrats are citing a very different reason they don't want the panel's power split evenly between the parties: They simply don't trust Republicans to investigate an attack on the Capitol that, in the eyes of livid Democrats, was kindled by those same GOP lawmakers. 'We do not owe delusional deniers a role or a platform in a commission designed to try to ferret out extremism and violence to prevent its recurrence,' said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who had predicted the Jan. 6 violence based on the rhetoric from then-President Trump and his GOP allies. 'These people are dangerous.'"
Helaine Olen of the Washington Post: "Bernie Sanders wants you to know the high cost of our low minimum wage.... Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) [held] his debut hearing [Thursday] as chairman of the powerful Budget Committee. Sanders, a longtime champion of the Fight for $15, made the consequences of our much-too-low federal minimum wage, set at $7.25 an hour since 2009, his focus.... All too many Americans work full-time, but are paid so little that they still need to rely on such government benefits as food stamps and Medicaid to get by. In his view, that amounts to corporate welfare.... Last year, the Government Accountability Office -- at Sanders's behest -- released a survey showing that Walmart employees were the largest group of employees using safety-net benefits in the 11 states it studied. McDonald's came in second.... Sanders invited the chief executives of McDonald's and Walmart to testify at the hearing and talk the issue out. Both turned the invitation down."
Right Wing World
The Great GOP Plot Against Democracy, Ctd. Michael Wines of the New York Times: "Led by loyalists who embrace ... Donald J. Trump's baseless claims of a stolen election, Republicans in state legislatures nationwide are mounting extraordinary efforts to change the rules of voting and representation -- and enhance their own political clout. At the top of those efforts is a slew of bills raising new barriers to casting votes, particularly the mail ballots that Democrats flocked to in the 2020 election. But other measures go well beyond that, including tweaking Electoral College and judicial election rules for the benefit of Republicans; clamping down on citizen-led ballot initiatives; and outlawing private donations that provide resources for administering elections, which were crucial to the smooth November vote. And although the decennial redrawing of political maps has been pushed to the fall because of delays in delivering 2020 census totals, there are already signs of an aggressive drive to further gerrymander political districts, particularly in states under complete Republican control."
Trump de Oro: Hecho en Mexico. Guardian: "A golden statue of Donald Trump that has caused a stir at the annual US gathering of conservatives was made in Mexico -- a country the former president frequently demonized. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Lee Moran of the Huffington Post: "A former chair of the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday slammed what the event has now become.... Mickey Edwards -- who led the American Conservative Union, which organizes the event, for five years until 1983 -- ripped Republicans attending this year's CPAC in Orlando for their devotion to ... Donald Trump. In an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett, Edwards likened the GOP to a cult whose members are living in an alternate reality. Edwards served as a GOP representative for Oklahoma for 16 years until 1993 but quit the GOP in January following the deadly U.S. Capitol riot." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "The Republican Party on display at CPAC this weekend was anti-monopoly, anti-free trade, skeptical of foreign wars, girded for economic conflict with China -- and frequently invested in things that aren't true. Election myths were mentioned often, though rarely the damage they'd led to on Jan. 6, when hordes of Trump supporters fueled by the falsehoods and seeking to block Joe Biden's election stormed the Capitol.... They suggested that the election had not been honest -- a topic that spilled from panel to panel, fact or no fact."
Worse Than CPAC. Will Sommer of the Daily Beast: "A sitting member of Congress appeared at a white nationalist convention Friday night, marking new GOP support for the racist movement. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) spoke in Orlando, Florida, at the America First Political Action conference, a far-right event meant to mimic the establishment Republican Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). After Gosar's speech, AFPAC organizer Nick Fuentes, who marched in the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville and was outside the Capitol with his supporters during the Jan. 6 riot, took the podium that warned that 'white people are done being bullied.' Fuentes praised the fatal riot as 'awesome,' describing it as 'light-hearted mischief.' He also mocked Gosar's colleague, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), for needing a wheelchair, saying Cawthorn couldn't 'stand up' for his constituents." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "... an examination by The Post of how [Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.)] ascended so quickly shows how even one of the most neophyte elected Republicans is adopting the Trump playbook, making false statements about his background, issuing baseless allegations about voter fraud and demonizing his political opponents.... [He told multiple lies about an auto accident that left him wheelchair-bound.] A campaign video ad repeated his false claim that the car wreck had derailed his plans to attend the Naval Academy. He promptly used his newfound fame to push baseless allegations about voting fraud on Twitter in a video viewed 4 million times, which... Donald Trump retweeted, saying, 'Thank you Madison!' Then Cawthorn spoke at the Jan. 6 rally where a mob was incited to storm the U.S. Capitol, again alleging fraud and extolling the crowd's courage in comparison with the 'cowards' in Congress. He returned to the Capitol, where he falsely claimed that insurrectionists had been 'paid by the Democratic machine.' Cawthorn won his campaign with a brief résumé that included working at a Chick-fil-A, a part-time role in a congressional office, the single semester of college [where his grades were mostly D's,] and fledgling work as a real estate investor.... Republican House leaders, meanwhile, rewarded Cawthorn with assignments that belied his background of a single college semester of mostly D's and rejection by the Naval Academy. He now serves on the Education Committee and the Veterans' Affairs Committee." ~~~
~~~ Marie: A good deal of what Kranish has put together about Cawthorn cam out before the 2020 general election. So if you'd like to know what to think of the voters of Western North Carolina, here's the Wiki page on Cawthorn's general election opponent, Democrat Moe Davis.
~~~ Addy Baird & Brianna Sacks of BuzzFeed News: Former students former Patrick Henry College, a small, Christian school in Northern Virginia, "aid it didn't take long for women on campus to start warning one another: You don't want to be alone with [fellow student Madison Cawthorn], especially in his car. BuzzFeed News spoke with more than three dozen people ... who described or corroborated instances of sexual harassment and misconduct on campus, in Cawthorn's car, and at his house near campus. Four women told BuzzFeed News that Cawthorn, now a rising Republican star, was aggressive, misogynistic, or predatory toward them. Their allegations include calling them derogatory names in public in front of their peers, including calling one woman 'slutty,' asking them inappropriate questions about their sex lives, grabbing their thighs, forcing them to sit in his lap, and kissing and touching them without their consent.... According to more than a dozen people ... Cawthorn often used his car as a way to entrap and harass his women classmates, taking them on what he could call 'fun drives' off campus. Two said he would drive recklessly and ask them about their virginity and sexual experiences while they were locked in the moving vehicle." Madison became a student at the college when he was 21, so older than most of the women he allegedly harassed. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Keith Coffman of Reuters: "An avowed white supremacist was sentenced on Friday to 19-1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty months ago to a federal hate-crimes case stemming from a botched plot to bomb a historic Colorado synagogue in 2019. Richard Holzer, 28, appeared in a federal courtroom in Denver for a sentencing that capped an undercover FBI investigation of a plan to blow up Temple Emanuel in Pueblo, Colorado, the second-oldest synagogue in the state. Although the plot was thwarted, U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore said Holzer had sought 'to terrorize the Jewish community' of Pueblo...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.
Lauran Neergaard & Matthew Perrone of the AP: "The U.S. is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two. Health experts are anxiously awaiting a one-and-done option to help speed vaccinations, as they race against a virus that already has killed more than 510,000 people in the U.S. and is mutating in increasingly worrisome ways. The FDA said J&J's vaccine offers strong protection against what matters most: serious illness, hospitalizations and death. One dose was 85% protective against the most severe COVID-19 illness, in a massive study that spanned three continents -- protection that remained strong even in countries such as South Africa, where the variants of most concern are spreading."
Matt Egan of CNN: "A former Republican operative who now leads one of the nation's most powerful business groups is praising President Joe Biden's efforts to defeat the coronavirus pandemic. 'It is fantastic to have a partner in the White House,' Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, told CNN Business. 'We felt like we were fighting this fight, frankly, all alone for the last year.' NAM, which represents more than 130,000 manufacturers, announced Friday it is planning to partner with the Biden administration to help fight the pandemic. Timmons, who said his father died from Covid, criticized the Trump administration's track record on the health crisis." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Beyond the Beltway
New York. Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "A second former aide to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is accusing him of sexual harassment, saying that he asked her questions about her sex life, whether she was monogamous in her relationships and if she had ever had sex with older men. The aide, Charlotte Bennett, who was an executive assistant and health policy adviser in the Cuomo administration until she left in November, told The New York Times that the governor had harassed her late last spring, during the height of the state's fight against the coronavirus. Ms. Bennett, 25, said the most unsettling episode occurred on June 5, when she was alone with Mr. Cuomo in his State Capitol office. In a series of interviews this week, she said the governor had asked her numerous questions about her personal life, including whether she thought age made a difference in romantic relationships, and had said that he was open to relationships with women in their 20s -- comments she interpreted as clear overtures to a sexual relationship. Mr. Cuomo said in a statement to The Times on Saturday that he believed he had been acting as a mentor and had 'never made advances toward Ms. Bennett, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate. He said he had requested an independent review of the matter and asked that New Yorkers await the findings 'before making any judgments.'" The Daily Beast has a summary report here. The AP's story relies on the NYT reporting, but adds some content.
New York. Paul Liotta of the Staten Island Advance: "Andrew Yang, a former Democratic presidential candidate and current frontrunner in the race for NYC mayor, came to the rescue of a photojournalist who was attacked Friday on the Staten Island Ferry.... When a ferry passenger carrying what appeared to be a metal pole approached the photographer, shoved him, and threateningly raised the implement, Yang sprang into action.... The man recognized Yang, who engaged and calmed him, speaking with him briefly and allowing the photographer to get away from the tense situation.... The incident happened at about 11:15 a.m., on an outdoor portion of the ferry's top deck. [Spencer] Platt, the photographer, expressed gratitude to Yang and his team." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Texas. Will Englund & Neena Satija of the Washington Post: "As millions of Texans went days without heat, light or water, as store shelves were emptied, as deaths blamed on the cold began to add up, Texas' frenzied and deregulated electricity market opened the door for some companies to reap windfalls that may mount into the billions of dollars. The nation's most deregulated energy economy was supposed to be a win for consumers and for energy companies nimble enough to do business in a bustling, cacophonous market. But the cold snap -- rare but by no means unprecedented -- shattered it last week, plunging consumers into misery and leaving a badly prepared and dislocated energy sector in pieces. Wholesale prices for electricity spiked 300-fold, and for natural gas almost as much, and when supplies dwindled firms that had some of either commodity to sell were in line for tremendous short-term profits. But other companies are looking at stupendous losses." ~~~
~~~ Return of the Sea Turtles/Best Waterslide. Thanks to RAS for the lead:
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It's been two weeks, so a Sunday Sermon, with thanks to Citizen 625, from whom I swiped the best line.
"Some wise words I heard just the other day fit firmly in the family of obvious truths.
“If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it,”
These days any visit to a doctor, dentist or vaccination site requires a forehead temperature scan. Because we care enough about our health to wish to manage it, we measure it first. People who want to manage their money, count it. People concerned about their weight track calories.
The measure/manage truism has universal application. What we measure tells very clearly what we wish to manage--or what we don’t.
One political party doesn’t want to measure or manage much. Over the last thirty years Republicans have frequently eliminated or re-written regulations that required measurements they didn’t like and even legislated against others.
The Trump administration was notorious for the practice. Methane from fracking? Nope, don’t want to know, so we’ll drop the required twice-yearly methane emission inspections of fracked wells and pipelines (ap.news.com). Methane problem solved.
Workplace safety? If you don’t care about it, don’t measure it, and the Trump administration did not. Rules for reporting workplace safety issues were gutted as early as 2017. The number of workplace inspectors and the fines imposed for workplace safety violations declined even before Covid ravaged the meatpacking industry and killed many of its workers (the intercept.com).
But deadly Republican incuriosity began before Trump. In the 1990’s Republican Representative Jay Dickey of Arkansas became famous for his amendment that prohibited government funding for gun safety research.
Republicans, as early as 2009, have similarly discouraged publication of studies of domestic terrorism (usatoday.com).
So what do Republicans care enough about to measure and manage? Across the country, Republicans have recently proposed more than one hundred fifty voter restriction laws (brennencenter.org).
Republicans do care whose votes should count.
Only theirs."
Talk about false idols. It’s not even real gold, which is appropriate. He wasn’t a real president. Wonder how the Christianists down at CPAC square worshiping a golden ass with their supposed faiths. Oh, that’s right. They’re not real Christians either. And not a one of them is a real American, at least not believers in the what the United States stands for, its constitution, democracy, or the rule of law.
Where’s Moses when you need him?
They really don’t have anything...
So what is frying the fat in Right Wing World? The pandemic pushed by their false god? Kids going to bed hungry in the richest land on the planet? World peace?
Nah.
A dog and a potato, or a potato head to be more precise. Idiots at Newsmax are beside themselves because the Bidens’ dog doesn’t look presidential enough. Seriously. A picture of Joe Biden’s dog has them in a tizzy. “He needs a comb!” snickered one douchebag. (Who combs their dog?). I guess they have to be mad about something. They sure don’t give a shit about their loyal viewers storming the Capitol looking for people to kill.
Over at Fox they’re really lathered up about the fact that Hasbro is calling their longtime toy “Potato Head”. Suddenly this has become a sneaky new front in the Gay Agenda because, according to Steve Douchey, the company is no longer letting buyers know if they’re getting a Mr. or Mrs. Potato Head (this is not true, of course). Kids will be turned into gender-less robots. Or something. I couldn’t really figure it out, and decided after spending 60 seconds scanning the story (60 seconds I’ll never get back), to bag it. Anyway, I texted a couple of gay friends and gave them hell, just in case. They admitted to planning the whole thing.
So this is what the giant brains over in Trump World are worried about.
Jesus. They really got nothin’.
I'd have lost some serious money over the idle Trump idol. When I heard it was made in Mexico my first thought was that it was a product of a pinata factory, and was probably filled with either cocaine or crap. The first to smuggle, the second as an opinion.
Free Market, My Ass
The energy fiasco in Trumpas should be exhibit one, two, three, and all the way up to eight hundred in the case against the ridiculous fantasy of the “free market”. There is no such thing. This bullshit became turbocharged by Reagan in concert with his mantra that government (and regulation) is always the problem and free market, unregulated capitalism is the solution to everything from baby blankets to energy.
It’s an insidious lie. Markets are rigged: rigged by those who can and aided by those friendly to the aims of opportunistic, monopolistic control. In Texas, Republicans have relegated their responsibilities for caring for their constituents to the tender offices of unbridled, irresponsible capitalism.
Enron was the red flag, but plenty of Texan politicians who gleefully allowed Enron to rape consumers lined up to do the same with this private energy grid idea, because that way they could “own the libs” who believe oversight of these phony “free” market schemes is a prudent idea.
Markets are rigged. Period. It’s in the DNA of capitalism to finagle a way to get idiots to believe their bullshit that unregulated markets know best and will deliver the best service at the lowest price. Please to be showing me where that has ever happened in the last 75 years.
No self-respecting Wall St. emperor of the universe says “Hey guys, let’s maximize value for consumers and not gouge them for as much as we can”. He or she would be laughed out of the board room.
So, the evidence is clear. Will it make a difference? In Trumpas? Hell no. The confederates tied into big gas and oil will find some scapegoats, do a little dance, and offer up some window dressing until the next, more opaque scam to bilk consumers comes along.
They’re at CPAC right now, already gearing up to help big business fuck the country, some more. Because running the country is not the job of big business, but it’s also, obviously, not the job of Trump and the Republicans.
Re Texas electric: picture Sam Rayburn, overlooking a darkling plain, silently weeping.
"Freedom of the markets is guaranteed only to those who own them."
--Akhilleus (2021)
Best stories ever and since it's the Lord's Day, word came down how pleased he be:
(l)Saving all those turtles! There ARE people who care.
(2)Yang "sprang into action" just like Superman on the deck of the Staten Island Ferry and saved the day. Looks like Andrew might just unseat that other Andrew whose governorship has a leaky boat due to too many hands across the border.
The dismal tale of Madison Cawthorn who also, it appears, has a problem with his masculinity and was a thorn in many damsels back in his short stint at University–-is again proof that voters are ignorant of his background or if having knowledge, don't care OR think someone with the name of Madison sounds "Founder like" OR that he fits the playbook of the Republican Party and that's just hunky-dunky with them.
I don't remember who it was that told us about Marvin's death–-perhaps that person could tell us if Marvin had been struggling with a life threatening disease. I think of Marvin off and on remembering some of the comments he made especially the time we were talking about end of life situations. Marvin was all for dying with dignity ( he had stopped all those useless tests for various and sundry as I had because after a certain age they are not relevant) So when I read this story from the Hartford Courant I thought of Marvin––who I still miss a lot.
THE RIGHT TO DIE: Ct. lawmakers weigh the issue:
https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-aid-in-dying-20210226-yll3gt42zjauvhldrifc524a6i-story.html
@AK: Those "giant brains" over on the other side care a whole lot about insignificant items because they are running on empty as you so well described. The fact that Obama not having catsup on a burger or was it a hot dog?–- was "un- American" complained lovely Laura over on Fox––that wearing a tan suit was beyond the pale–-that Obama sprinting down the steps of planes–-NOT presidential the little foxes fumed–-the amount of time Obama played golf –-blah, blah blah.... so of course they will hit on Biden's pooch. It's really very funny but then you realize how pathetic it all is–-besides revealing their vile temperaments and pea size brains.
And speaking of dogs: Last night saw the film "Best in Show," a hilarious take on the premier dog show–-portrayals of these dog owners are the"best in show"––I had such fun––I needed to laugh.
Jennifer Granholm at the DOE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/02/27/energy-secretary-granholm-texas-oil/. Boy, do we have a long ways to go. Did you know that many places make it against housing covenants to hang dry laundry? Some folks up in New Hampshire thought this was pretty stupid, so I joined them: Project Laundry list. Furthermore Grandholm talks about mini nuclear plants. When will these fuckers go away. If you believe in leaving the campsite cleaner when you leave than when you arrived, there is no way to support nuclear energy. Period.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Power. These hippy off-gridders were the epitome of do-it-yourself experts. They had 100,000 subscribers at one time. Now they're out of business. Texas learned nothing from the ingenuity and years of study from the Home Power crew out of Ashland. If we don't examine the past we're not making progress. The Texas grid situation and their lack of reflection about it reminds me about a book I got in Harvard square a long time ago "Surrogate Proletariat". Study up to progress versus regress. Otherwise we're just dropping bombs and raining missiles in the dark: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/25/us/politics/biden-syria-airstrike-iran.html.
P.S. @Jeanne: Meant to thank you for your comments re: my Weaver unravel. If I do ever end up in one of those Homes for the Bewildered I'd love to have you as my roommate. What fun we could have playing (cheating) at bingo and sing along with those nice folks who try and get those elders to raise their voices to "some where over the rainbow" while the two of could strut our stuff to "Uptown Funk." Always something to look forward to but you're right: That's far in the future, if indeed, we will even have one that's sustainable.
PD,
I seem to recall that Marvin had cancer (but I could be misremembering). He had quite a CV. He was a specialist in genomic medicine and taught molecular genetics and microbiology. Just search for “Dr. Marvin N. Schwalb” for his obit. He was a great contributor to this site and is sorely missed. If you recall, he pointed to Fatty’s NPD and his penchant for chaos right out of the gate.
I’m no longer surprised at the number of smart, accomplished people Marie has attracted to this site, but I’m never too jaded to be continually impressed.
Oh dear: just wrote a comment and lost it, for some reason...let's try again.
PD: thanks for your kind words! I can't wait to be your roommate at the Center for Advanced Dementia, but hopefully no time soon! I will move to CT or you can come to PA-- we are a destination for some reason-- many retirees and places, and our city is building a new one for 2022-- 19 stories...yikes...I wonder if they would tolerate a washed-up flute player...
Madison C gives me the creeps. I keep wondering how these people get elected, and apparently everyone voting for this little rodent did it by throwing darts. I wonder what the positive vibes were that stood out, since there is nothing about him that meets any criteria whatsoever. Spent all day avoiding CPAC and now it is even more necessary today. Ugh. GQP=wallowers in slime-- let's leave them to it. Happy really rainy Sunday-- only snow piles left. March looming.
So far (6:45 pm EST) T****'s blathering is "below the fold" on the Times site. I hope it stays there.
My mother took it upon herself to watch 45 minutes of it. She said it was just a rerun of the greatest hits.