;)
The Commentariat -- January 23, 2021
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.
The Rapid Evolution of a Dumb Trumpist:
(1) Amanda Terkel of the Huffington Post: "House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) attracted attention [link fixed] last week when he said in a floor speech that ... Donald Trump 'bears responsibility' for the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.... On Thursday, he told reporters that he didn't actually believe Trump had 'provoked' the mob of his supporters.... He stood by his assertion that Trump does bear some responsibility for what happened. But, he added, so does every other person around the country. 'I also think everybody across this country has some responsibility,' he said. McCarthy then started pointing to Democrats who opposed Trump, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), people who are rude on social media and law enforcement authorities who didn't prepare for the attack as some of the people who were somehow responsible." MB: Yes, I personally blame Maxine Waters, Akhilleus, and myself.
(2) Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he has 'concerns' over Rep. Liz Cheney's (R-Wyo.) vote to impeach former President Trump, his sternest comments yet on the controversial vote. McCarthy, in an interview with Greta Van Susteren airing Sunday, maintained that he supports keeping Cheney in her role as the No. 3 Republican in the House but said she did not inform him of her decision to impeach Trump before she cast her vote. 'Look, I support her, but I also have concerns. She took a position as a No. 3 member in conference. She never told me ahead of time. One thing about leadership, if we're going to work together, we should understand. We know that this is going to become a difficulty,' he said.... McCarthy has said in the past that he supports Cheney staying in her role as chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, but her vote has led to broad pushback from conservative members of Congress." MB Translation: I am more askeert now of losing my top job than I am of violent, radical revolutionaries taking over the government, threatening the lives of my colleagues & forcing me to hide in lockdown.
Mike Schneider of the AP: "The U.S. Census Bureau is suspending efforts to create neighborhood-level statistics on the citizenship and age of residents, using 2020 census data, in the latest rollback of Trump administration census-related initiatives that critics feared would be used to favor Republicans and whites during the drawing of state and local districts. As part of an order President Joe Biden signed Wednesday on the 2020 census, the Census Bureau said Friday that it would discontinue efforts to create citizenship tabulations at the city-block level using 2020 census data combined with administrative records. Among his first acts as president, Biden's order revoked two Trump directives related to the 2020 census. The first attempted to discern the citizenship status of every U.S. resident through administrative records, and the second sought to exclude people in the U.S. illegally from the numbers used for apportioning congressional seats among the states."
Marshall Cohen of CNN: "The Justice Department revealed new charges against a Texas man who allegedly participated in the Capitol attack and posted online death threats against Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a US Capitol Police officer. Garret Miller of Texas faces five criminal charges stemming from the Capitol insurrection, including trespassing offenses and making death threats. Miller allegedly tweeted, 'assassinate AOC,' according to court documents. He also said the police officer who fatally shot a Trump supporter during the attack 'deserves to die' and won't 'survive long' because it's 'huntin[g] season.' Prosecutors said in newly released court documents that Miller posted extensively on social media before and during the attack, saying a 'civil war could start' and 'next time we bring the guns.'"
Colin Kalmbacher of Law & Crime: "Without comment, the [Texas supreme court] found that America's foremost conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones, and his flagship media outlet, InfoWars, are subject to liability in four separate defamation lawsuits filed over the past two-plus years. Those lawsuits were filed by parents of children who were killed during the Sandy Hook massacre and by a man Jones and his network falsely identified as the perpetrator of the Parkland massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School."
Robyn Dixon & Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post: "Protesters took to the streets Saturday in nearly 70 cities and towns across Russia calling for the release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny -- a massive show of defiance against President Vladimir Putin and his widening crackdowns against challenges to his power. More than 1,850 people were detained, including Navalny's wife, Yulia. The rallies -- from Russia's Far East to central Moscow -- came less than a week after Navalny returned from Germany, where he recovered from a nerve agent poisoning in August during a trip to Siberia. Navalny was arrested shortly after stepping off the plane. Some 40,000 people participated in the Moscow protest, the Reuters news agency reported, while police said 4,000 people took part." An AP story is here. ~~~
~~~ The New York Times is live-updating developments in the Navalny protests.
~~~~~~~~~~
Julian Barnes & Hailey Fuchs of the New York Times: "President Biden on Friday ordered the director of national intelligence to work with the F.B.I. and the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the threat from domestic violent extremism, a sign of how seriously the new administration is taking the issue in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. The request comes only days after Avril D. Haines, the newly installed director of national intelligence, pledged to members of Congress during her confirmation hearing that she would help with just such an assessment.... The domestic terrorism order is the second assignment in two days for Ms. Haines, who was confirmed by the Senate Wednesday evening. On Thursday, the White House ordered a new intelligence assessment of Russia and its role in a broad hacking of government computers."
Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "The Kremlin on Friday welcomed the Biden administration's offer to extend a nuclear disarmament treaty that is set to expire next month, signaling, as had been expected, that Russia intends to cooperate with the United States on nuclear security despit President Biden's pledges to otherwise pursue a harder line with Moscow than his predecessor.The agreement was last updated in 2010 and puts a cap on the number of strategic nuclear warheads both sides can deploy." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Paul Sonne of the Washington Post: "Retired four-star Army general Lloyd Austin became the first African American defense secretary on Friday, after the Senate confirmed him as President Biden's nominee in a 93-2 vote. His confirmation to the post breaks down a racial barrier for the military and makes Austin one of the most powerful members of President Biden's Cabinet, which is far more diverse than that of his predecessor..., Donald Trump.... Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) were the lawmakers in the chamber to vote against Austin's nomination." The New York Times story is here. An NBC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Victoria Guida of Politico: "The Senate Finance Committee on Friday unanimously approved Janet Yellen's nomination for Treasury secretary, sending her candidacy to the full Senate for a vote that could come as early as today. The overwhelming support for Yellen suggests that she will have no problem clearing the final hurdle to confirmation, after which she will begin working with Congress to advance President Joe Biden's plan for an additional $1.9 trillion stimulus package." (Also linked yesterday.)
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, et al., of the New York Times: "President Biden on Friday called the chief of the National Guard Bureau to apologize after troops who had been brought in to protect his inauguration were ordered to sleep in an unheated parking garage after they were booted from the Capitol on Thursday, administration officials said.... Several governors and members of Congress have criticized the move, even as the reasons for the troops' relocation remain murky. In the telephone call with Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, the head of the National Guard Bureau, Mr. Biden apologized and asked what he could do, the officials said. Jill Biden ... visited some of the troops stationed outside of the Capitol on Friday afternoon, thanking them for their work and handing out chocolate chip cookies. 'The National Guard will always hold a special place in the hearts of all the Bidens,' she said, noting that their son Beau, who died in 2015, was a member of the Delaware Army National Guard."
Diet Coke Button Removed from Resolute Desk. Erin Carson of CNet: "The Biden administration is making plenty of changes in the wake of the Trump presidency.... President Joe Biden has reportedly nixed Trump's Diet Coke button. The button, according to a 2018 report from the Associated Press, sat on ... Donald Trump's desk in the Oval Office. Whenever he pushed it, 'a White House butler walked in with a single glass of Diet Coke on a silver tray for the commander in chief,' the AP's Julie Pace said, having watched the button deployed." MB: Akhilleus made me do this.
The New York Times is concerned Joe Biden wears a Rolex and a couple of other high-end, and high-priced, watches.
Republicans Still Control the Senate. Lauren Fox of CNN: "The talks of bipartisanship are quickly getting ensnared by must-move Senate business, not the least of which is getting an agreement on how the Senate will be run over the next two years.... The Senate is operating on the organizing resolution from the last Congress, when the GOP was in the majority. Because of that, for instance, confirmation hearings for President Joe Biden's Cabinet picks this week are being chaired by Republicans.... The fight over the organizing resolution, which appeared to be a temporary disagreement on Wednesday, has reared its head as a full-out legislative crisis that could threaten to stall committee business, cast a shadow over talks about when to start the impeachment trial and constrain the first days of Chuck Schumer's role as majority leader.... Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is making a play to exert as much power over the Senate in his new role as possible and Schumer is going to have to make some impossible choices about how to go forward. Schumer's announcement Friday that the impeachment article will be delivered to the Senate on Monday puts a new deadline for the Senate leaders to reach an agreement -- the impeachment logistics are part of a broader negotiation over the Senate's power-sharing agreement that remains stalled over a fight about the filibuster." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "Federal law enforcement agents across the country detailed on Friday the weapons they say rioters wielded against police during the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, arguing for some men to be jailed until trial while arresting others for the first time. Among those deemed too dangerous for release were a recently homeless D.C. resident with a history of mental health issues and a New York geophysicist who prosecutors say tried to flee to Switzerland. Both are accused of assaulting officers."
How Not to Visit Historic Sites. Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post: "When federal agents asked Houston police officer Tam Dinh Pham why he was in Washington during the pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, he said he had traveled there on business and then attended the president's rally on a whim. But most importantly, Pham told the agents, he did not go inside the Capitol during the attempted insurrection. That's when an FBI agent showed him his own deleted images and videos from inside the Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 6, according to court documents. Faced with the photo evidence, Pham then allegedly admitted to climbing over torn-down fences to get inside. But still, he insisted his reasons were benign: He just wanted the rare opportunity to view 'historical art,' investigators said. Pham, 48, was arrested on Wednesday on charges of unlawful entry of the Capitol and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Roger Sollenberger of Salon: "In his first run for Congress, [Sen. Tom] Cotton [R-Arkansas] leaned heavily on his military service, claiming to have been 'a U.S. Army Ranger in Iraq and Afghanistan,' and, in a campaign ad, to have 'volunteered to be an Army Ranger.' In reality, Cotton was never part of the 75th Ranger Regiment, the elite unit that plans and conducts joint special military operations as part of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Rather, Cotton attended the Ranger School, a two-month-long, small-unit tactical infantry course that literally anyone in the military is eligible attend. Soldiers who complete the course earn the right to wear the Ranger tab -- a small arch that reads 'Ranger' -- but in the eyes of the military, that does not make them an actual Army Ranger.... Reached for comment, Cotton spokesperson Caroline Tabler told Salon in an email, 'Senator Cotton graduated from Ranger school and is more of a Ranger than a Salon reporter like you will ever be.'" MB: As far as I know, Sollenberger has not claimed to be a Ranger, so I don't see where Tabler's remark is relevant. Sollenberger does list other instances in which Cotton made the claim.
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here.
Michael Birnbaum & Martin Sorensen of the Washington Post: "Like a speeding car whose brake lines have been cut, the coronavirus variant first spotted in Britain is spreading at an alarming rate and isn't responding to established ways of slowing the pandemic, according to Danish scientists who have one of the world's best views into the new, more contagious strain. Cases involving the variant are increasing 70 percent a week in Denmark, despite a strict lockdown, according to Denmark's State Serum Institute, a government agency that tracks diseases and advises health policy. 'We're losing some of the tools that we have to control the epidemic,' said Tyra Grove Krause, scientific director of the institute, which this past week began sequencing every positive coronavirus test to check for mutations.... British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday suggested for the first time that the variant may be more deadly than the original virus.
The Kaiser Will Always Be with Us
** Flashback to Bizarro World. Katie Benner of the New York Times: "The Justice Department's top leaders listened in stunned silence this month: One of their peers, they were told, had devised a plan with ... Donald J. Trump to oust Jeffrey A. Rosen as acting attorney general and wield the department's power to force Georgia state lawmakers to overturn its presidential election results. The unassuming lawyer who worked on the plan, Jeffrey Clark, had been devising ways to cast doubt on the election results and to bolster Mr. Trump's continuing legal battles and the pressure on Georgia politicians. Because Mr. Rosen had refused the president's entreaties to carry out those plans, Mr. Trump was about to decide whether to fire Mr. Rosen and replace him with Mr. Clark. The department officials, convened on a conference call, then ... unanimous[ly agreed] they would resign. Their informal pact ultimately helped persuade Mr. Trump to keep Mr. Rosen in place, calculating that a furor over mass resignations at the top of the Justice Department would eclipse any attention on his baseless accusations of voter fraud. Mr. Trump's decision came only after Mr. Rosen and Mr. Clark made their competing cases to him in a bizarre White House meeting that two officials compared with an episode of ... 'The Apprentice.'... After nearly three hours, Mr. Trump ultimately decided that Mr. Clark's plan would fail, and he allowed Mr. Rosen to stay." If you don't have a NYT subscription, this article is worth using one of your freebies on. ~~~
~~~ Update. Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post have the story now: At the meeting among Trump, Clark, Rosen, "along with Richard Donoghue, the acting deputy attorney general; Steven A. Engel, the head of the department's Office of Legal Counsel; and Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel, Cipollone ... pushed hard against a letter Clark wanted to send to Georgia state legislators, which wrongly asserted the department was investigating accusations of fraud in their state and Biden's win should be voided.... 'Pat pretty much saved Rosen's job that day,' said one senior Trump White House official." ~~~
~~~ Rayne of Emptywheel: "Overturning Georgia's results and fraudulently awarding the stat's electoral votes to Trump wouldn't have been enough to give Trump the election. But the same powers might have been used to pressure other states or to provide cover for states with GOP elected officials or legislature which favored Trump. We really need to know if Trump made calls to other states like the one he made to Georgia's secretary of state to lean on him for 11,780 votes."
Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "The impeachment trial of ... Donald Trump will begin Feb. 9 under a deal reached Friday by top Senate leaders -- delaying by two weeks the high-stakes proceedings over whether Trump incited the violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The agreement was made by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) following a standoff over the timing of the trial, which could permanently bar Trump from holding public office.... Had no accord been reached, the trial would have started Tuesday and run uninterrupted by other Senate business until the Senate rendered its verdict. The agreement does not resolve another brewing conflict between Schumer and McConnell: over how the Senate will handle a 50-50 partisan split, with Vice President Harris breaking ties in Democrats' favor." Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marianne Levine & Sarah Ferris of Politico: "House Democrats will deliver an impeachment charge against ... Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday, triggering the start of a second trial in the coming days. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer first announced the move on Friday morning, effectively rejecting a request from Senate Republicans to delay the start of the proceedings for two weeks so that Trump can formulate a legal defense. In a statement later on Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed the plan and dismissed concerns by Republicans that Trump's legal team wouldn't have adequate time. 'The former president will have had the same amount of time to prepare for trial as our Managers,' Pelosi said.... Democrats have not yet offered details on when the trial will begin, but Pelosi's decision to formally deliver the article of impeachment on Monday means that the Senate trial will likely begin early next week, absent a consent agreement between Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Under Senate rules, an impeachment trial must begin within one day after the House sends its article if the chamber is in session, unless Schumer and McConnell agree to a different timetable." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Michael Warren & Jamie Gangel of CNN: "As the House prepares to send articles of impeachment to the Senate on Monday, CNN has learned that dozens of influential Republicans around Washington -- including former top Trump administration officials -- have been quietly lobbying GOP members of Congress to impeach and convict Donald Trump. The effort is not coordinated but reflects a wider battle inside the GOP between those loyal to Trump and those who want to sever ties and ensure he can never run for President again. The lobbying started in the House after the January 6 attack on the Capitol and in the days leading up to impeachment. But it's now more focused on Sen. Mitch McConnell, the powerful minority leader who has signaled he may support convicting Trump. 'Mitch said to me he wants Trump gone,' one Republican member of Congress told CNN. 'It is in his political interest to have him gone. It is in the GOP interest to have him gone. The question is, do we get there?'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE. Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Republicans say the chances that former President Trump will be convicted in an impeachment trial are plummeting, despite lingering anger among some Republicans over his actions. Only five or six Republican senators at the most seem likely to vote for impeachment, far fewer than the number needed, GOP sources say. A two-thirds majority vote would be necessary for a conviction, something that would require at least 17 GOP votes if every Democrat votes to convict Trump." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "House Democrats have renewed their long-stalled demand for Donald Trump's federal tax records, but the Biden administration has not decided whether it will drop its predecessor's objections and release the Treasury Department records to investigators, Justice Department attorneys told a federal judge Friday. U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden declined Friday to lift a stay on a pending House lawsuit. Instead, the judge agreed to give Treasury and Justice Department officials two weeks to report back to him, acknowledging that President Biden's team was just settling in after the inauguration this week. McFadden also kept in place an order requiring the government to give the former president's lawyers 72 hours' notice before releasing his tax return information to allow them to file a request to block the release." McFadden is Trump appointee. A Politico story is here.
Marie: So it was not Dr. Jill who fired the chief usher of the White House. And the whole story now makes sense. ~~~
~~~ "So Petty." Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "President Joe Biden was blamed for firing the White House chief usher on his first day on the job, but his predecessor actually did the deed -- apparently to spite the incoming first family. Donald and Melania Trump sent White House ushers home early on Inauguration Day in one of their last acts in a tense presidential transition, a well-placed official not associated with the Biden team told the National Journal. 'The Trumps sent the butlers home when they left so there would be no one to help the Bidens when they arrived,' the official said. 'So petty.' Other knowledgable sources confirmed to the Journal that chief usher Timothy Harleth, a former executive of Trump Hotels hired by Melania Trump, was summarily fired by the outgoing president and first lady -- and not by the Bidens, as was widely reported afterward." Update: During her briefing & in response to a reporter's question, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki just confirmed that Harleth was fired before President Biden took office. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "On the evening before the violent insurrection by his supporters, Trump reportedly warned Pentagon officials they would need 10,000 troops. [Adam Ciralsky of Vanity Fair reported, 'On the evening of January 5 -- the night before a white supremacist mob stormed Capitol Hill ... -- the acting secretary of defense, Christopher Miller, was at the White House with his chief of staff, Kash Patel.... They were meeting with President Trump on 'an Iran issue,' Miller told me. But then the ... president, Miller recalled, asked how many troops the Pentagon planned to turn out the following day. We're like, "We're going to provide any National Guard support that the District requests,"' Miller responded. 'And [Trump] goes, "You're going to need 10,000 people." No, I'm not talking bullsh*t.... That's what he said. Swear to God."'" MB: This may sound exculpatory at first blush; i.e., he tried to warn the Pentagon to be at the ready. But it demonstrates Trump's awareness that he had an impending revolt to tamp down, a revolt which he instead encouraged.
Anna Massoglia of Open Secrets: "... Donald Trump's presidential campaign aides played key roles orchestrating a rally protesting certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election before hundreds of rioters breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. But the full extent of the Trump campaign's ties to the protests may not be not fully known due to its use of shell companies that hide details of its financial dealings and the central role 'dark money' played in the protests. Multiple individuals listed on the permit granted by the National Park Service worked for Trump's presidential campaign, as first reported by the Associated Press over the weekend.... Trump's campaign disclosed paying more than $2.7 million to the individuals and firms behind the Jan. 6 rally. But FEC disclosures do not necessarily provide a complete picture of the campaign's financial dealings since so much of its spending was routed through shell companies, making it difficult to know who the campaign paid and when." ~~~
~~~ Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Senate Democrats plan to focus on the Internal Revenue Service as part of a larger probe into tax-exempt groups that helped organize the pro-Trump rally that preceded the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Democrats, led in part by lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee, have begun asking the IRS to review the tax-exempt status of the dark money groups that were involved with the rally’s planning.... Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the ranking member and expected chairman of the committee, recently sent a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig asking him to investigate any group involved in planning the rally and to look into revoking their tax-exempt status."
Justice Delayed ... But Possible. Andrew Weissmann in Just Security: "... Donald Trump issued numerous pardons and commutations to friends, family and associates, as well as felons who engaged in heinous crimes involving war crimes, murder, political corruption, and civil rights violations. He seemed to revel in absolving corrupt politicians, corrupt law enforcement officers, and of course, anyone prosecuted by Robert Mueller's Special Counsel Office. The latter served not just to reward those who refused to cooperate with this Special Counsel, but also undermined future Special Counsel investigations by setting a dangerous precedent for future efforts to conduct such independent investigations, and to hold a corrupt president to the rule of law.... But there is good news. If the Biden administration's Department of Justice wants to rectify some of Trump's abuse of the pardon power, there are now options at its disposal.... Many [of Trump's pardons] are narrowly drawn." Weissman cites, as an example, Paul Manafort's pardon which is "'for his conviction' on specific charges and not any other crimes (charged or uncharged)." Thanks to RAS for the link.
Fauci Admits Trump Killed Americans. Ben Leonard of Politico: "The Trump administration's lack of candor and habitual breaks with scientific guidance in its pandemic response 'very likely did' cost lives, Anthony Fauci said Friday morning. 'When you start talking about things that make no sense medically and no sense scientifically, that clearly is not helpful,' Fauci ... told CNN Friday. 'There's no secret, we've had a lot of divisiveness, we've had facts that were very, very clear, that were questioned,' Fauci said. 'People were not trusting what health officials were saying. There was great divisiveness, masking became a political issue.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
News Lede
New York Times: "Larry King, who shot the breeze with presidents and psychics, movie stars and malefactors -- anyone with a story to tell or a pitch to make -- in a half-century on radio and television, including 25 years as the host of CNN's globally popular 'Larry King Live,' died on Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 87.... [A] statement [confirming his death] did not specify a cause of death, but Mr. King had recently been treated for Covid-19."
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Reader Comments (17)
Wait...there was a Diet Coke button? Were there other buttons? Maybe an Incompetent Sycophant button? A Shoe Licking Lackey button (for Lindsey Graham, Li’l Randy, Ted Cruz, etc.)? Maybe a Criminal Crony button? Nah. They were all over the place. No need to call for one. You can be sure there wasn’t a Constitution button. I mean, he never read it in the first place.
Luckily Americans had their own button. A Get the Fuck Out button.
Or:
The Pretender's reported 10,000 troops remark wss simply more bragging.
And have to give credit where due:
He did get the biggest insurrection crowd ever, didn't he?
News nobody wants to hear:
1. The new variant cases of Covid in Denmark are increasing exponentially. Denmark is predicting a quadrupling of new cases in 4 weeks. They're on lockdown now. Their info is accurate because they do PCR testing on every case.
2. The new variant has displaced the old one in Ireland to the point that they have the highest per capita rate of new cases in the world now (small country, smaller total #). 100% PCR testing there too.
3. The mortality rate from the new variant is 1.3%, the old: 1.0%.
4. The US, still in the old covid phase, is predicting reaching 500,000 new cases by Feb-March. This is without any consideration of the behavior of the new variant (B117).
5. The new variant exponential growth phase is predicted to come in the US in March 2021 - 7 weeks from now. How will we know this is the new variant? We won't. Our rate of PCR testing is less that 1%. While Covid testing here right now indicates about a 7% lessening of new cases and deaths, which is very good, it says absolutely nothing about the new variant. Like Ireland, we may have the new variant come up from under the current Covid rate, resulting in a noticeable rapid increase in cases and deaths.
This is why there is such terrifying urgency to get those shots in the first 100 days. Exponential new variant covid growth is coming. We MUST have rapid effective dosing of everybody ASAP.
I read through George Conway's op-ed in Wapo and did not see him consider criminally negligent homicide regarding the pandemic. Why not? It was during the first 3 months of 1942, that the Nazis were able to accomplish 1.2 million deaths. These large numbers of deaths are very possible here if those doses don't get out very, very soon.
source: Dr. John Campbell, UK, today.
@Victoria
Noticed the same omission in the Conway op-ed, which I thought otherwise well put together. A roadmap, if you will, for Merrick
Garland to follow.
I wondered, too, if some of those insurrection deaths might not be laid at the Pretender's door?
@Victoria: I signed up ASAP in New Hampshire for my first shot: the first appointment available was February 17, so I took it. No info on how we'll get the second shot. Several people who live in other states (including some who have commented here) have told me they've already gotten their shots.
And they're might disorganized here. Over the course of three days, they changed the first sign-up day four times. I wouldn't have known about the most recent sign-up availability (which pushed forward the sign-up date) if a friend hadn't told me. I just hope when I show up for the shot, they've got the vaccine.
Also, the sign-up, which I made thru a CDC site, was complicated & time-consuming. It was fairly easy for a person who is computer-savvy, but would be difficult for those who aren't used to, say, shopping online.
Thanks Victoria–-sobering post.
On a lighter note, but just as messy, here are the Time's covers that show the chaos left behind by HIM.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/time-magazine-joe-biden-day-one-donald-trump_n_600a7e77c5b6f401aea33dd3
The other news re: Fatty fomenting another coup, this time in the justice dept. reminds us that this soap opera scenario will go on and on and on until the actor himself is finally put out to pasture. The desperation of this man to stay in power is truly astounding and the firing of the butler so the Biden's welcome was a locked door is the height of more than pettiness, it is sheer in your face infantile aggression.
And then Jill offers the soldiers cookies along with, I imagine, apologies for their poor sleeping quarters. The contrast is striking.
Love that Time cover. But Trumpie snowflakes are weeping all over their Diet Coke buttons (home version, available through Trump Enterprises, NLC—no liability corporation—for a mere three grand). “It’s not real!”they cry! Yeah, because reality is their touchstone.
If they wanted reality, the Time illustrator would have included hundreds of thousands of bodies, Americans that evil fat fuck killed so he could show the droolers that he was owning the libs.
Not real. Jesus.
We could all use a lighter moment and here's Bette Midler with an appropriate takeoff.
https://worldofwonder.net/bette-midler-sings-goodbye-donnie-to-the-tune-of-hello-dolly-watch/?fbclid=IwAR24fUjz1wZ7-Ytd8Rael4LCyl-UYPTBvvjX1Y8oMzD4K9EXz8LHJKvMFlQ
An interesting tidbit from the Emptywheel link above: Charles Flynn was nominated "to be the Army’s 'deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and training'" on November 30, 5 days after (brother) Michael Flynn's pardon from T****. He was confirmed by the Senate on December 20.
I hadn't realized that he wasn't already part of the Army chain of command that might be influential in an uprising. The fact that he accepted the nomination five days after his brother was pardoned is a bit iffy, but here's the kicker:
Michael Flynn went on Newsmax on December 17 and talked about "impos[ing] martial law and deploy[ing] the military to "rerun" the election", and then met with T**** and Sidney Powell and discussed the ideas, published by Haberman and Kanno-Youngs in the Times on December 19 and highlighted by Kevin Drum on the same day.
How could Charles not withdraw his name the instant that Newsmax interview aired on December 17? Even if Charles is as pure as the driven snow, surely he understands that the mere presence of his name in relation to ANYTHING relating to the military and domestic operations would destroy any credibility of that action, or inaction.
The Army was lying about his presence in the room at the beginning of the January 6 telephone call asking for help. Is Charles resigning now? No. In fact, he is soon to be promoted to 4-star General.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/flynn-national-guard-call-riot/2021/01/21/943854be-5c36-11eb-aaad-93988621dd28_story.html
From the article: "Charles Flynn also rejected the notion that his relationship with his brother, a retired Army lieutenant general who suggested that President Donald Trump should “rerun” the presidential election and could declare martial law, was a factor in his response. 'Suggesting that my brother’s relationship would somehow influence my actions — I categorically deny,' Flynn said in a conference call with reporters. 'And I take it as a bit of a questioning of my integrity. So those are my thoughts on that.'”
You bet your ass I question your integrity.
This "new reporting" on Dumpie's desperate attempt to get GA through the justice department is all-of-a-piece with everything else he tried to do. The thing is, he did not think these things up, because he has no idea how government works. There are likely other people who knew what he was up to, or put the ideas in his head. It's like an octopus with mile-long arms. Some of it was in the open, some underground. I am never surprised by anything we hear anymore. Last night's shows were full of people with boggled minds-- why are they surprised?? This business of Mike Flynn's brother-- no surprise, no accident. None of these people should be anywhere near the engines of democracy.
Thanks, Victoria-- it sounds dire. Husband spent hours trying to find us vaccine. PA is muddled beyond repair, of course. We got moved from 1B to 1A, meaning we should get it now, and the only appointments he found were March. The clinic folks tell us to "check the public health website." That is it. I don't know how long antibodies last, but we could be out of range by the time March rolls around. Ye gods. This country is almost unrepairable, it seems. How much damage can one ignoramus do in four years? This much...
Evidently Salon reporter Sollenberger touched a tender spot concerning Mr. Tom Cotton's heroic military attainments. I recommend that Cotton challenge Sollenberger to a duel. With luck the future president will emerge with a suitably conspicuous scar, compensating for various unspecified other inadequacies. As I recall, he already tried growing a beard.
But, Jeanne, as you mention in your first graf - he had help fucking things up.
So how come we aren’t hearing about any Rs testing COVID-positive after having to huddle with the Ds during the Capitol siege? The Ds who have tested positive had to get it from somewhere but none of the Rs are sick? Is it that the Rs are less likely to get tested and so feel free to spread their asymptomatic selves all around to everyone else? Inquiring minds want to know ...
@NiskyGuy: Thank you for the analysis. I had not realized how Charles Flynn's career advancement fit so neatly with Michael Flynn's pardon & insurrectionist activities. Surely this all isn't just coincidence. And you're absolutely right. Charles should have withdrawn -- or at least postponed -- his name for consideration for the chief-of-staff job till after Biden was sworn in, in view of his brother's activities.
One thing you didn't mention was that Michael spoke at the insurrection rally January 5, one day before Charles semi-secretly participated in that call where the decision was not to send aid to the Capitol Police because of the "optics." Well, the "optics" of the Charles-Michael Flynn involvement don't look too good, either. Looks like somebody in the Army brass figured that out when they decided to pretend Charles wasn't in on the call.
@RockyGirl
My take:
Were any R's to admit they spread Covid to the D's, that would be an admission of responsibility, the "R" word R's have come to hate.
They had a good teacher for the last four years, the I don't know anything about it, I'll have to look into it, the I never knew that fellow pretend president whose name I'm trying to forget.
Mrs. Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian, has a very good assessment of recent events. I especially like how she points out the relationship of the current R "unity" calls to those same (not!) reactions after 9/11.
https://youtu.be/nMHviQunXBA
McCarthy does sort of resemble Otter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ4-ajeeFzY