;)
The Commentariat -- July 29, 2020
Afternoon Update:
** Mike Baker of the New York Times: "Federal tactical teams that have clashed with protesters in Portland in recent weeks will soon begin leaving the city, Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon said Wednesday. The federal agents will begin leaving downtown on Thursday, Ms. Brown said in a statement. An agreement between federal and state officials calls for the Oregon State Police to provide security for the exterior of the courthouse, while the usual team of federal officers that protects the courthouse year-round will continue to provide security for the interior of the courthouse. Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that while the department has agreed with the Oregon governor on a withdrawal plan, the department will proceed with the withdrawal of security personnel in Portland only if federal officials are confident that federal properties will no longer be under attack." Related AP story linked below.
Nevada. Tim Elfrink of the Washington Post: "The Douglas County, Nev., public library wanted to take a stand this week: 'Everyone is welcome,' read a proposed diversity statement, which added the library 'denounces all acts of racism, violence and disregard for human rights. We support #BlackLivesMatter.' But Douglas County Sheriff Daniel Coverley quickly took a stand of his own. 'Due to your support of Black Lives Matter and the obvious lack of support or trust with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, please do not feel the need to call 911 for help,' Coverley wrote in a letter to the library published Monday. 'I wish you good luck with disturbances and lewd behavior.' A county spokesperson later told the Reno Gazette Journal that despite the sheriff's statement, deputies would continue responding to calls from the library. After a follow-up meeting with the library's director on Tuesday, Coverley blamed the stress protests have put on police for his response." Mrs. McC: Way back yesterday, Bill Barr testified under oath before Congress, "I don't agree there is systemic racism in police departments generally in this country."
"We Really Don't Care." -- Trump. Erica Werner, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump called for a quick fix Wednesday to address expiring unemployment benefits and a moratorium on evictions, saying the other parts of the GOP's $1 trillion relief bill can wait. 'The rest of it, we're so far apart, we don't care, we really don't care,' Trump told reporters outside the White House, referring to divisions between the two parties. Democrats have repeatedly rejected the idea of a piecemeal approach that would involve a stand-alone unemployment insurance bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has not embraced the idea either, insisting any bill must include a five-year liability shield for businesses, health-care providers and others -- a non-starter for Democrats." ~~~
~~~ Orion Rummler of Axios: Donald Trump went on a little rant Wednesday about how Republicans who don't want funding in the coronavirus package for a new FBI building across from his D.C. hotel should "go back to school."
Jake Sherman of Politico: "Rep. Louie Gohmert -- a Texas Republican who has been walking around the Capitol without a mask -- has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to multiple sources. Gohmert was scheduled to fly to Texas on Wednesday morning with ... Donald Trump and tested positive in a pre-screen at the White House.... Gohmert attended Tuesday's blockbuster House Judiciary Committee hearing with Attorney General William Barr in person, where lawmakers were seated at some distance from one another. But footage from before the hearing shows Gohmert and Barr walking together in close contact, with neither wearing a mask." ~~~
~~~ Matt Shuham of TPM: "Gohmert, who's become known on Capitol Hill for often refusing to follow public health experts' guidance to wear a mask, said in June that he'd mask up in the event that he got sick. Given that masks are meant to protect against asymptomatic people spreading the virus, the comment was just one in a long line of bizarre or wrong statements about the virus from the Texas lawmaker. Here's a look back through his greatest hits."
New York Times: "The captains of the New Gilded Age -- Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sundar Pichai of Google -- will appear together before Congress for the first time to justify their business practices. Members of the House judiciary's antitrust subcommittee have investigated the internet giants for more than a year on accusations that they have stifled rivals and harmed consumers." The Times is liveblogging the hearing at the linked page. Includes live video. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of the big-tech hearing are here. Includes video. Plus the Post has video on its front page, so free to nonsubscribers.
South Carolina Senate Race. He's So Black. Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Sen. Lindsey Graham's reelection campaign posted an advertisement to Facebook earlier this month featuring a digitally altered image of his opponent -- who is Black -- with a darker skin tone. The campaign ad, uploaded to Graham's Facebook on July 23, includes an image of his Senate rival Jaime Harrison that was originally published in the New York Times. The version of the image in Graham's ad, however, shows Harrison surrounded by a dark, portrait-style background effect with a notably darker skin tone." Mrs. McC: AND yesterday, we learned that Georgia's U.S. Sen. David Perdue had run an ad digitally-altering opponent Jon Ossoff's nose, so the rednecks would get the hint Ossoff was so Jewish. This is not a coincidence.
~~~~~~~~~~
When the POTUS* Is Batshit Crazy
The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Wednesday are here.: "President Trump insisted on Tuesday that large portions of the country were 'corona-free' -- even though no portion actually is free of the virus -- and said that governors should proceed with reopening, despite a new federal report warning 21 states that they were in a 'red zone' and needed to take aggressive steps to slow the spread of the virus. The report, dated Sunday, was shared with state officials by the White House coronavirus task force." The report, via the NYT, is here, and it includes state-by-state & some county-by-county data. Because it's such a big file, it takes some time to fully load. Here's a NYT pdf of the report, which is a much faster load. Mrs. McC: One of the states that is in the red zone is North Carolina, where on Monday Trump repeated his admonition that states needed to re-open.
Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "President Trump devolved into self-pity during a White House coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, lamenting that his approval ratings were lower than those of two top government medical experts. Just over a week after he began a rebooted effort, driven by rising infection rates and sinking poll numbers, to talk about the virus in terms more in line with medical consensus, Mr. Trump was again making unfounded claims and defending discredited medical experts. It was the sort of eccentric, science-deficient performance that many of his aides believe unnerved the public during the spring.... Noting that Dr. Anthony S. Fauci ... and Dr. Deborah L. Birx ... have high approval ratings even as his own have sagged, Mr. Trump added, 'And yet, they're highly thought of -- but nobody likes me. It can only be my personality,' he concluded.... When reporters pressed him on a viral video he had retweeted on Monday night that included doctors falsely claiming that hydroxychloroquine was a 'cure' for the virus and that masks were unnecessary, Mr. Trump responded: 'They're very respected doctors. There was a woman who was spectacular in her statements about it, and she's had tremendous success with it." When a reporter noted that the physician who spoke of 'a cure,' Dr. Stella Immanuel of Houston, also 'made videos saying that doctors make medicine using DNA from [space] aliens,' Mr. Trump responded, 'I know nothing about her,' and abruptly ended the briefing moments later." A related CNN story is here. ~~~
For some reason the internet wanted to take them down and took them off. I guess Twitter took them off and I think Facebook took them off. I don't know why[.] I think they're very respected doctors. -- Donald Trump, press briefing Tuesday, on the nutty doctors' group
~~~ "Corona-Free." Ben Gittleson, et al., of ABC News: "As the U.S. neared 150,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus..., Donald Trump doubled down on his defense of an unproven drug to treat COVID-19 and offered a rosy picture of the growing public health crisis and of what is to come. 'We're seeing improvements across the major metro areas and most hot spots. You can look at large portions of our country, it's -- it's corona-free,' Trump said Tuesday afternoon. 'But we are watching very carefully California, Arizona, Texas and most of Florida is starting to head down in the right direction -- and I think you'll see it rapidly head down very soon.'... The briefing comes amid a broadened rift between Trump and several of his top public health officials and follows the president's recent social media promotion of hydroxychloroquine, a drug still unproven to treat COVID-19 despite his push. Asked to clarify his position on the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine, Trump said that 'many doctors think it is extremely successful.'"
AND This (first reported by Aaron Rupar of Vox): ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Bloomberg is a petite guy with wavy gray hair. The reporter looks hefty, has a shaved or bald head, and as he's wearing a mask, one can't tell much about what he "looks like," but my guess is not much like Michael Bloomberg.
Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "... Joe Biden announced a plan Tuesday to spend tens of billions of dollars to help people of color overcome inequities in the economy, a move that comes amid financial and racial upheaval nationwide. The plan calls for dedicating $30 billion worth of previously proposed government investments to a small business opportunity fund benefiting black, brown and Native American entrepreneurs. The goal is to spur five times as much in private investments. Biden is also proposing to triple the goal for federal contracting with small disadvantaged businesses, from 5 percent to at least 15 percent of all spending on materials and services by 2025. And he is calling for President Trump and Congress to create an emergency housing support program, along with promoting a refundable tax credit of up to $15,000 to help families purchase their first homes. The plan marks Biden's latest attempt to make a major statement on racial issues, a topic on which he has faced blowback from activists on several occasions during his campaign." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ So while Joe was figuring out ways to provide better economic possibilities for minorities & inch toward the American idea of equal opportunities for all, let's see what Donnie was doing: ~~~
~~~ Reed Richardson of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump went on a late night Twitter binge on Monday with more than a dozen posts pushing dubious claims about the drug hydroxychloroquine, including twice retweeting a video from a woman falsely claiming that the drug was a 'cure' for Covid-19 and that 'you don't need a mask.'" Mrs. McC: People should be tearing their hair out over this story. It is the craziest thing Trump has ever espoused, and he has had many, many crazy ideas. AND it's dangerous. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "... Donald Trump exhibited his new serious tone toward the coronavirus crisis on Monday night, sharing a viral video of fringe doctors touting the controversial anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as 'a cure for COVID.' The video, which also featured the doctors dismissing mask-wearing, was eventually taken down by Facebook for 'sharing false information' about the virus, after racking up millions of views in a matter of hours. Several right-wing outlets and personalities, however, continued to promote the clip of the doctors' press conference on Twitter, eventually reaching the president's timeline.... Trump then shared a tweet directly from Dr. Stella Immanuel, one of the physicians who took part in the press conference. Immanuel is also a preacher who once wrote a book claiming that there is a Satanic plot to take over the world and href="https://twitter.com/willsommer/status/1287912805857931264">recently challenged CNN anchors and top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci to provide her with urine samples.... The president also shared tweets attacking Fauci on Monday night, despite insisting recently that he had a 'very good relationship' with the doctor after White House officials publicly blasted him." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Darlene Superville & Amanda Seitz of the AP: "... Donald Trump's attempt to project a more serious tone about the coronavirus lasted for about a week. On Tuesday, he resumed spreading misinformation about how to fight the virus and amplifying criticism of Dr. Anthony Fauci.... Social media platforms worked to remove multiple versions of a video promoted by Trump that included unproven claims about treating people who test positive for the virus, but only after more than 17 million people had seen one version of it.... Fauci, a leading member of the White House coronavirus task force, responded to Trump's tweets during an appearance Tuesday on ABC's 'Good Morning America.' 'I go along with the FDA,' said Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases. 'The overwhelming prevailing clinical trials that have looked at the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine have indicated that it is not effective in coronavirus disease.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Chip off the Old Blockhead. Katie Shepherd & Taylor Telford of the Washington Post: "Twitter on Tuesday penalized Donald Trump Jr. for posting hydroxychloroquine misinformation, the social media giant said.... Twitter said it ordered the president's son to delete the misleading tweet and said it would 'limit some account functionality for 12 hours.' The tweet, which featured a viral video showing a group of doctors making misleading and false claims about the coronavirus pandemic, was directly tweeted by Trump Jr.'s account. That contrasts with his father, who retweeted multiple clips of the same video to his 84.2 million followers Monday night. Twitter removed the videos, deleting several of the tweets that President Trump shared, and added a note to its trending topics warning about the potential risks of hydroxychloroquine use." An Axios story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Will Sommer of the Daily Beast: "A Houston doctor who praises hydroxychloroquine and says that face masks aren't necessary to stop transmission of the highly contagious coronavirus has become a star on the right-wing internet, garnering tens of millions of views on Facebook on Monday alone. Donald Trump Jr. declared the video of Stella Immanuel a 'must watch,' while Donald Trump himself retweeted the video. Before Trump and his supporters embrace Immanuel's medical expertise, though, they should consider other medical claims Immanuel has made.... She has often claimed that gynecological problems like cysts and endometriosis are in fact caused by people having sex in their dreams with demons and witches. She alleges alien DNA is currently used in medical treatments, and that scientists are cooking up a vaccine to prevent people from being religious." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Brandy Zadrozny & Ben Collins of NBC News: "A dozen doctors delivered speeches in front of the U.S. Capitol on Monday to a small crowd, claiming without evidence that the coronavirus could be cured and that widely accepted efforts to slow its spread were unnecessary and dangerous. It was the latest video to go viral from apparent experts, quietly backed by dark money political organizations.... Dressed in white coats with 'America's Frontline Doctors' stitched on the chest, the stars of the Facebook video claimed that business and school closings, social distancing and even masks were not needed, because hydroxychloroquine ... could both prevent and cure the coronavirus.... Livestreamed by the far-right website Breitbart News, the video spread quickly, initially through conservative, anti-vaccination and government conspiracy groups. Within hours, it had reached over 20 million Facebook users. he event was hosted and funded by the Tea Party Patriots, a right-wing political nonprofit group...." ~~~
~~~ The Veep Is Crazy, Too. Will Sommer & Adam Rawnsley of the Daily Beast: "Dr. Simone Gold, the leader of America's Frontline Doctors, tweeted later Tuesday to announce the group had met with Vice President Mike Pence. 'We have just met with Vice President Mike Pence to request the administration's assistance in empowering doctors to prescribe hydroxychloroquine without political obstruction. We also discussed the recent censorship of doctors on social media platforms,' Gold wrote." ~~~
~~~ Steve M.: "As the GOP blocks climate action, rejects vaccines, and increasingly flirts with crackpottery such as QAnon, mainstream media figures still treat Republicans as responsible governing partners. How far do Republicans have to go before it's generally acknowledged that they're unfit to hold office? Do they have to start talking about demon sex? Would they be shunned even then?" Mrs. McC: Nope. The leader of the Republican party already is, at least indirectly, endorsing the demon sex theory of endometriosis, and it's not a banner headline anywhere.
Erica Werner, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump brushed off the new $1 trillion Senate GOP coronavirus legislation as 'sort of semi-irrelevant' Tuesday, dismissing its significance just a day after Senate Republican leaders overcame contentious internal divisions to roll it out. At the Capitol, meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) disavowed a key Trump administration priority in the bill -- funding for a new FBI headquarters [which potentially would profit the nearby Trump hotel] -- while the second-ranking GOP senator ... John Thune (R-S.D.) ... suggested that Congress might be unable to make a deal in time to avert the expiration of emergency unemployment benefits on Friday." ~~~
~~~ Laura Reiley of the Washington Post: "About 26 million adults reported going without enough food to eat in the previous week, according to an analysis of the Census Bureau's weekly household data survey in early July. But Republicans' Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools Act (the Heals Act) does not expand the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, nor does it extend the Pandemic EBT program, a debit-card benefit for households with children who have temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price school meals. The Pandemic EBT program expired at the end of June.... Although the Senate GOP proposal offers no new funds for SNAP and Pandemic EBT, it does double the tax deduction for business meals, known as the 'three-martini-lunch deduction,' increasing the reimbursement from 50 percent to 100 percent of meals.? ~~~
~~~ Andrew Taylor of the AP: "A new $1 trillion COVID-19 response package by Senate Republicans is supposed to give the government more weapons to battle the surging coronavirus pandemic.... The Republican measure includes billions for F-35 fighters, Apache helicopters and infantry carriers sought by Washington's powerful defense lobby. Overall, the proposal stuffs $8 billion into Pentagon weapons systems." --s
Texas. Alex Samuels of the Texas Tribune: "Vance Ginn, the chief economist for the [confederate think tank] Texas Public Policy Foundation, is facing fierce backlash for a recent racist tweet that said schools should open since most of the people dying from the coronavirus in Texas are elderly or Hispanic.... Ginn tweeted that the people most likely to perish from the deadly virus are people older than 50 and Hispanics [and 'very few kids die]. Why not #openschools, end universal mandates, target vulnerable & check those from #Mexico?' Ginn ... since deleted [the] tweet. He juxtaposed his tweet with a GIF of Prince Harry of Wales miming a mic drop. He later apologized for tweeting the GIF." Mrs. McC: Right. Because the GIF was offensive but not caring about the deaths of older teachers & Hispanics is just fine.
Eric Tucker of the AP: "Russian intelligence services are using a trio of English-language websites to spread disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, seeking to exploit a crisis that America is struggling to contain ahead of the presidential election in November, U.S. officials said Tuesday. Two Russians who have held senior roles in Moscow's military intelligence service known as the GRU have been identified as responsible for a disinformation effort meant to reach American and Western audiences, U.S. government officials said.... The disclosure comes as the spread of disinformation, including by Russia, is an urgent concern heading into November's presidential election as U.S. officials look to avoid a repeat of the 2016 contest...." Mrs. McC: Trump probably gave Putin more disinformation ideas during their recent phone call. Sadly, I'm not kidding. More on the Trump-Putin conversation linked below. ~~~
~~~ Julian Barnes & David Sanger of the New York Times: "The disinformation efforts are a refinement of what Russia tried to do in 2016.... While the disinformation efforts outlined on Tuesday by American officials were focused on the pandemic, security researchers said Russia continued to push disinformation on a variety of topics."
Nicholas Fandos & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "Attorney General William P. Barr vigorously defended the federal response to nationwide protests and civil unrest in a combative congressional hearing on Tuesday where Democrats accused him and other Trump administration officials of suppressing protesters' rights in an overly violent crackdown. The attorney general also insisted that he intervened in the criminal cases of President Trump's allies Roger J. Stone Jr. and Michael T. Flynn to uphold the rule of law, not to do Mr. Trump's bidding.... He also said of the criminal cases that grew out of the Russia investigation that he wanted to be fair to Mr. Trump's former advisers.... Amid frequent sniping, lawmakers came away with few, if any, new facts or admissions." The Washington Post's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Nicholas Fandos & others at the New York Times report on the, ah, highlights of Bill Barr's testimony. Matt Zapotosky & others have the Washington Post's "highlights" report. Even Chuck Todd! ran a short montage of Barr's echoing some of Trump's stupider remarks. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Amber Phillips of the Washington Post homes in on five takeaways: "1. He is all in as a partisan player[.]... 2. Under increased scrutiny, Barr is not backing down from sending federal agents into cities[.]... 3. Barr doesn't think police have a racism problem[.]... 4. Barr continued to cast doubt about voting by mail[.]... 5. Barr hesitates to say a president shouldn't accept foreign help to get elected[.] In probably one of the most stunning exchanges of the day, Barr at first did not denounce clearly illegal behavior. The question was from Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.).
"Cicilline: Is it ever appropriate, sir, for the president to solicit or accept foreign assistance in an election?
"Barr: It depends what kind of assistance.
"Cicilline: Is it ever appropriate for the president or presidential candidate to accept or solicit foreign assistance of any kind in his or her election
"Barr: No, it's not appropriate.
"Foreign help, of any kind, in an election is absolutely illegal." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I thought the most consequential testimony Barr made lay in the fact-free and evasive answers he gave in response to Democrats' questions about the upcoming election. Besides claiming, without evidence, that mail-in ballots invited voter fraud, he would not commit to not interfering in state election results if he thought they violated federal guidelines. Whereas I had pictured Trump chaining himself to the Resolute Desk if he lost the election, now it appears there will be a broad effort to undermine or reverse election results if they don't go in Republicans' favor, and Barr will lead the charge. You thought Florida 2000 was a travesty? At least that election really was very close. Trump, Barr and their allies seem to be planning to muck up the entire 2020 election. ~~~
~~~ Thanks to PD Pepe on the lead to the video.
Tom Jackman of the Washington Post: "The acting chief of the U.S. Park Police [Gregory T. Monahan] told a House committee on Tuesday that he was informed on June 1 that President Trump would be visiting Lafayette Square later that day, but that the decision to forcefully clear protesters from the park at 6:30 that evening was unrelated to Trump's visit soon after the dramatic use of force. He said the two events occurring within a half-hour was a coincidence.... Monahan said the Park Police decided to erect a fence on the north end of Lafayette Square, and 'there is 100 percent zero correlation between our operation and the president's visit to the church.' That claim was contested by an Army National Guard major [Adam DeMarco] who testified later.... DeMarco's testimony, released on Monday, said the fencing did not arrive at the park until around 9 p.m., so there would be no urgency to clear the park before that. [Monahan] denied that tear gas was used on the protesters. DeMarco insisted, from his training at the United States Military Academy and his active duty tours in the Army, that tear gas was used, that he saw tear gas canisters on Park Police officers, and that he found a spent canister on the ground.... Monahan's claim that police used a powerful sonic device to issue the warnings 'is simply false,' said David H. Laufman, DeMarco"s attorney."
Dara Lind of ProPublica: "Federal authorities are using a new tactic in their battle against protesters in Portland, Oregon: arrest them on offenses as minor as 'failing to obey' an order to get off a sidewalk on federal property -- and then tell them they can't protest anymore as a condition for release from jail. Legal experts describe the move as a blatant violation of the constitutional right to free assembly, but at least 12 protesters arrested in recent weeks have been specifically barred from attending protests or demonstrations as they await trials on federal misdemeanor charges."
Zolan Kanno-Youngs, et al., of the New York Times: "From the earliest days of the recent protests against police brutality and racism, some top federal law enforcement officials viewed the demonstrators with alarm and called for an aggressive federal response that two months later continues to escalate. A memo from the deputy director of the F.B.I., dated June 2, demanded an immediate mobilization as protests gathered after George Floyd's death while in police custody a week earlier. David L. Bowdich, the F.B.I.'s No. 2, declared the situation 'a national crisis,' and wrote that in addition to investigating 'violent protesters, instigators' and 'inciters,' bureau leaders should collect information with 'robust social media exploitation teams' and examine what appeared to be 'highly organized behavior.'... The memo came after a weekend in which protests gave way to looting in some cities and the day after federal agents forcibly cleared peaceful protesters from the White House so President Trump could walk through Lafayette Square. Since then, the federal response has become a focal point of the Trump administration and of Mr. Trump's re-election campaign. The Bowdich memo suggests agencies need little prodding to adopt the president's forceful posture."
Gillian Flaccus, et al., of the AP: "The Trump administration has started talks with the Oregon governor's office and indicated that it would begin to draw down the presence of federal agents sent to quell two months of chaotic protests in Portland if the state stepped up its own enforcement, a senior White House official said Tuesday. The official stressed to The Associated Press that the talks with the office of Democratic Gov. Kate Brown are in the early stages and there is no agreement."
Joshua Partlow of the Washington Post: "Across the country, conservative armed civilians have surged into public view -- marching on statehouses, challenging Black Lives Matter protests, chasing Internet rumors -- and bringing the threat of lethal force to local politics. Their emergence has prompted congressional hearings on the surge in anti-government militias and domestic extremism and has alarmed researchers who track hate groups. Unlike the old image of militiamen as fringe elements motivated by a desire to overthrow the federal government, these groups often rally in defense of the president and see themselves as pro-government allies of local law enforcement.... With a hodgepodge of military garb and over-the-counter assault rifles, such self-styled 'patriots' come from lots of backgrounds, but they are predominantly white and male. They are often veterans who say the mission now is to defend the Constitution and the freedoms they fought for in Iraq and Afghanistan." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Looks as if we should consider the Tea Party a relic of the good old days when angry white seniors raised their fists & demanded "Make English America's official Language" and "RESPECT ARE-COUNTRY SPEAK ENGLiSH." Now the rabble-rousers are weaponized young militiamen who support a fascistic president*.
Minnesota. Libor Jany of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "A masked man who was seen in a viral video smashing the windows of a south Minneapolis auto parts store during the George Floyd protests, earning him the moniker 'Umbrella Man,' is suspected of ties with a white supremacist group and sought to incite racial tension, police said. A Minneapolis police arson investigator said the act of vandalism ... helped spark a chain reaction that led to days of looting and rioting. The store was among dozens of buildings across the city that burned to the ground in the days that followed. 'This was the first fire that set off a string of fires and looting throughout the precinct and the rest of the city,' Sgt. Erika Christensen wrote in a search warrant affidavit filed in court this week. '... The actions of this person created an atmosphere of hostility and tension. Your affiant believes that this individual's sole aim was to incite violence.' Police identified 'Umbrella Man' thanks to a tip that came via e-mail last week, Christensen said. The Star Tribune could not independently verify the police account, which has so far only surfaced in the search warrant.... The man ... has a criminal history that includes convictions of domestic violence and assault...."
Caitlin Emma & Sarah Ferris of Politico: "House Democrats on Tuesday were forced to pull their Homeland Security spending bill from the floor, just days before it was slated for a vote, after it faced strong blowback from both progressives and centrists within the caucus. Dozens of vulnerable Democrats in swing districts as well as progressives had threatened to torpedo the measure in recent days: The moderates argued the bill went too far in cracking down on immigration enforcement, while liberals argued it didn't do nearly enough to rein in the Trump administration's draconian policies.... Democrats had also crafted an amendment to the DHS bill to block federal funding for the administration's use of paramilitary action to quell protests in Oregon and Washington state, in hopes of winning over more progressive votes."
John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump said in an interview broadcast Wednesday that he has not spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about U.S. intelligence reports of Russian bounties given to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. 'I have never discussed it with him, no,' Trump said during a taping of 'Axios on HBO.' He said he did not bring up the issue during his most recent conversation with Putin last week, which Trump said was 'a phone call to discuss other things.'... During the interview, Trump continued to cast doubt on the intelligence, saying, 'Frankly, that's an issue that many people said was fake news.' Pressed by Axios's Jonathan Swan on whether he believes the intelligence, Trump did not answer directly. 'You know, it's interesting,' Trump said. 'Nobody brings up China. They always bring Russia, Russia, Russia.'" Axios' report, by Swan & Dave Lawler, is here.
Lolita Baldor of the AP: "Spurred on by ... Donald Trump's demand to pull troops out of Germany, the U.S. will bring about 6,400 forces home and shift about 5,400 to other countries in Europe, U.S. defense officials said Wednesday, detailing a Pentagon plan that will cost billions of dollars and take years to complete. The decision fulfills Trump's announced desire to withdraw troops from Germany, at least in part due to its failure to spend enough on defense. U.S. officials said that some moves will begin in months and would likely send air and ground forces to countries that already have an American troop presence. The plan leaves about 25,000 troops in Germany."
Many of the Best People ... Are Crazy. Julian Borger of the Guardian: "The US ambassador to Iceland [Jeffrey Ross Gunter], a dermatologist and major Republican donor, reportedly became so paranoid about his security he asked to carry a gun and to be taken everywhere in an armoured car.... Gunter's alleged antics are not an isolated case. A record share of Donald Trump's ambassadorial appointments have been political, mostly rewards for big-money donors, and his nominees have frequently stood out for their lack of qualifications or aptitude.... Since being nominated [in] May 2019, Gunter has proved so hard to work with he has gone through seven deputy chiefs of mission (DCMs) career diplomats who do most of the day-to-day management of the embassy.... A report to be published on Tuesday by Senate Democrats on the current situation at the state department, titled Diplomacy in Crisis ... includes a litany of cases of unqualified or unvetted diplomatic nominees." --safari: Numerous examples are highlighted in the article.
Presidential Race
Hans Nichols, now of Axios: "Former Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he'll announce his running mate 'the first week in August.'... Last week, Biden seemed to back away from his timeline of early August, but he recommitted to it Tuesday at a speech in Delaware announcing his plans for fighting systemic racism." ~~~
~~~ Bill Barrow & Andrew Harnik of the AP: "As he took questions from reporters on Tuesday, [Joe] Biden held notes that were captured by an Associated Press photographer. [Sen. Kamala] Harris' name was scrawled across the top, followed by five talking points. 'Do not hold grudges.' 'Campaigned with me & Jill.' 'Talented.' 'Great help to campaign.' 'Great respect for her.'... Biden's list, at the least, suggests that he wants to defuse any tensions around his relationship with Harris."
S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "... Donald Trump's campaign is violating federal election law by funneling close to a quarter-billion dollars to date through private companies in order to hide the ultimate recipients of the money, including the wife of one of his sons and the girlfriend of another, a watchdog group charged in a complaint filed Tuesday. 'The money is being laundered through corporations run by top Trump campaign officials,' said Brendan Fischer, a lawyer with the Campaign Legal Center. 'That has the effect of keeping the public in the dark as to a big chunk of Trump campaign spending.' The group's complaint with the Federal Election Commission asks for an investigation to put an end to the practice and to punish the campaign with fines. How quickly any of that might happen, though, is an open question, given that the commission currently does not have a quorum to take official actions. Even with one in place, investigations can last for several years." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A Washington Post story is here.
Oliver Milman of the Guardian: "A lack of bees in agricultural areas is limiting the supply of some food crops, a new US-based study has found, suggesting that declines in the pollinators may have serious ramifications for global food security.... Of seven studied crops grown in 13 states across America, five showed evidence that a lack of bees is hampering the amount of food that can be grown, including apples, blueberries and cherries.... Swaths of American agriculture is propped up by honeybees, frantically replicated and shifted around the country in hives in order to meet a growing need for crop pollination.... The researchers found that wild native bees ... are often more effective pollinators than [controlled] honeybees but research has shown several species are in sharp decline." --s
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Reader Comments (12)
Ah-ha! Now we know why Fatty only allows quack doctors to “examine” him. A real doctor might uncover the truth. He’s made from alien DNA and conceived via demon sex.
MAGA really means “make aliens great again”! He’s an advance agent of an evil race of alien invaders from the planet Trumpalump.
Also, Ron Johnson, Tom Cotton, Louie Gohmert, and Fatso Barr (but of course). They’re all demon aliens.
Explains everything.
@Akhilleus: Thank you, thank you. All this speculating we've been doing for the past four years on whazzamatta with Donald, and -- admittedly with some helpful research provided by a Nigerian doctor -- you have developed a Unified Theory of Trump.
Are these the Lizard Aliens we've come to know over the decades, or are they a newly identified race of alien overlords?
It's important to know what to feed them.
Yesterday I mentioned that I thought the women Dems did a bang up job getting under Barr's butt exposing his hypocrisy. Here's one of the best: Pramila Jayapal gives it a shot!
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pramila-jayapal-bill-barr-protests_n_5f210826c5b66a5dd636e06c
Demon lovers, slinky sucubuses, alien alcoholics, dead men walking, robots talking, and a bunch of quacky doctors (from what school of medicine, pray tell!) are invading our space and polluting the air. And we ask the crucial question of all thanks to Patrick–––
"It's important to know what to feed them."
"Four of the Wealthiest Men are Preparing for Battle." A hearing is scheduled for today.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/opinion/tech-ceo-hearing-congress.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
Thanks PD for that video link. Now Barr knows what fiesty looks like. Pramila Jayapal sure made Barr look like his real self. The ultimate toady.
The answer to the question “What to feed them?” comes directly from Trumpalump native and alien demon, Grover Norquist: starve the beast(s). Feed ‘em nothin’. Put ‘em all in cages and let ‘em die.
As long as the Alien Demon Party controls the country, ain’t none of us safe, except perhaps certain one percenters who gleefully feed these monsters the filthy lucre that helps them spread the various poisons they use to retain dominance.
I’d go so far as to say “Drown them in a bathtub”, but the head Trumpalump Alien Demon is too fat. Not even the William Howard Taft memorial bathtub would be big enough for the Tubby Alien.
So starve the beast.
At the polls.
The administration* is providing A VERY LARGE loan to Eastman Kodak, under the Defense Production Act and through the Development Finance Corporation (a USG entity which finances FOREIGN!! development), to produce precursor chemicals for US drug manufacturers.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/28/kodak-produce-pharmaceutical-ingredients/
The purpose of the USG loan is to allow US drug manufacturers to use US-sourced materials rather than rely on foreign (say China) providers.
I don't have any real problem with this type of command-economy socialist autarky production quota planning -- Japan, Korea, China, Malaysia, Singapore and other developing countries have done well with this type of government-bank zaibatsu system.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaibatsu).
But it is a-effing-MAZING that a conservativer republican US gummint would not consider this a consummation of conversion to socialism. Not a step on the long slippery slope, but the immersion in state-sponsored consumer production.
Since the pharmacologics market is not really a free market, and since precursor production done right can hold down costs (and, hopefully, prices of end products), this is a worthwhile experiement. I have no idea whether the loan amount is a good deal or another grift.
But, still .... jeez! Republicans?
And, re: Kodak -- if this is really a financially sound concept, why can't Kodak raise the money through Wall Street the old-fashioned way, especially when there's a lot of cash sloshing around looking for good investments?
Maybe because the administration* wants control?
Bernie has decided that we all deserve free masks. What a concept! Actually real-life on-the-ground solutions to a terrible problem. Not a big supporter but we share a birthday--pragmatic and simple approach is common denominator.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/28/politics/bernie-sanders-masks-for-all/index.html
In what world does your elected leader careen from cheesing for pinto beans one week to presidential lauding of the powers behind satanic alien sperm the next?
Our world.
From the "What can you say?" department. Had an email from a friend in the EU and at the end he asked me "You are going to get rid of him, aren't you?" I replied that we're going to give it our best shot. His reply: "That's not too comforting."