;)
The Commentariat -- July 30, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
For those who don't subscribe to the New York Times, digby has republished John Lewis' NYT op-ed. I don't know whether or not she violated copyright law, and here is an instance where I don't care. Thanks to Keith H. for the link. ~~~
~~~ digby appends this to the end of the essay: "Meanwhile, Trump, who couldn't be bothered to pay tribute or even hav the decency to STFU, has spent this week pushing racist housing policies and trying to manipulate, suppress and now, delay the vote. If there's a more graceless barbarian on earth I don't know who it might be." Amen, Sister.
Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "President Barack Obama hailed the late Rep. John Lewis as a modern-day founding father of a more perfect union that has not yet come to fruition -- and challenged Americans to carry on Lewis' legacy. In a 40-minute eulogy that was part a celebration of Lewis and part a call to action, Obama chronicled Lewis' journey as a young civil rights activist to an elderly congressman who led a sit-in inside the U.S. Capitol, evidence that Lewis never stopped fighting for what was right. Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid tribute to the late Democratic congressman before Obama spoke. Former President Jimmy Carter sent his condolences in a letter that was read aloud during the service." ~~~
~~~ At about 22 min. in, President Obama begins speaking about how civil rights are being curbed today. At 27:55, he speaks about expanding the Voting Rights Act. ~~~
The Washington Post has live video of John Lewis' funeral. You can watch it on this YouTube page, which is subscriber-free. ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE, in Harrison, Arkansas:
~~~ Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post: "Over the three days Rob Bliss held the sign in the sweltering July heat in Harrison, a town known as a haven for white supremacists and home to the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, similar interactions happened again and again.... Bliss is a director and producer based in Los Angeles and is known for making viral stunts aimed at socially conscious messages.... Bliss's video swiftly went viral after he uploaded it Monday...."
New York Times: "President Trump suggested on Thursday that the Nov. 3 general election be delayed, something he has no authority to order and that top Republicans quickly rejected. 'Never in the history of the federal elections have we not held an election, and we should go forward,' said Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader. Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, dismissed Mr. Trump's suggestion in an interview with WNKY television in Bowling Green, Ky. 'Never in the history of the country, through wars, depressions and the Civil War, have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time, and we'll find a way to do that again this Nov. 3,' Mr. McConnell said.... Even for Mr. Trump, suggesting a delay in the election is an extraordinary breach of presidential decorum that will increase the chances that he and his core supporters don't accept the legitimacy of the election should he lose to former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.' The Hill's story is here. Politico's story is here.
Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "A federal appeals court in Washington will take a second look at a judge's effort to scrutinize the Justice Department's decision to drop its case against President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed Thursday to revisit U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan's plan to examine the politically charged matter, reviving the unusual case testing the limits of the judiciary's power to check the executive branch. The court's brief order set oral arguments for Aug. 11. The decision to rehear the case before a full complement of judges wipes out the June ruling from a three-judge panel that ordered Sullivan to immediately dismiss the case and said Sullivan was wrong to appoint a retired federal judge to argue against the government's move to undo Flynn's guilty plea." A Reuters story is here.
Adam Edelman of ABC News: "Herman Cain, a successful businessman who ran for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination and later became a backer of ... Donald Trump, has died from complications from COVID-19, according to a statement posted Thursday on his personal website. He was 74."
~~~~~~~~~~
** "Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation." John Lewis, "the civil rights leader who died on July 17, wrote this essay shortly before his death, to be published [in the New York Times] upon the day of his funeral. Editorial Page Editor Kathleen Kingsbury wrote about this piece and Mr. Lewis's legacy in Thursday’s edition of our Opinion Today newsletter." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I looked around the Internets to see if I could find Lewis' essay elsewhere, on a firewall-free site, and I could not. The Guardian has a summary report here.
~~~ Jeff Martin of the AP: "When John Lewis is mourned, revered and celebrated at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Thursday, he returns to a sacred place for many of those who helped to shape civil rights history. The arc of Lewis' legacy of activism will once again be tied to Ebenezer's former pastor Martin Luther King Jr., whose sermons Lewis discovered while scanning the radio dial as a 15-year-old boy growing up in then-segregated Alabama.... Former President Barack Obama will be attending Thursday's funeral and is expected to address mourners, according to a person familiar with the arrangements who was not authorized to speak publicly. President George W. Bush's office said the former president and first lady Laura Bush also will attend." Former President Bill Clinton also is expected to attend Lewis' funeral.
** Charlie Savage, et al., of the New York Times: "Since the disclosure ... [that] Russia had covertly offered bounties to kill American troops..., no new National Security Council interagency meetings on the topic have been scheduled, one official said, adding that officials who were alarmed about the bounties intelligence -- and the lack of response -- have essentially given up because the White House's narrative has made it politically impossible to reverse course and treat the intelligence as a serious matter." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: During the Axios interview & later on the White House lawn, Trump offered a number of sometimes contradictory excuses on why he has not acted against Russia: (1) "... many people said [this] was fake news." (2) "If it reached my desk, I would have done something about it." (3) "Nobody has been tougher on Russia than I have. I don't know why they'd be doing this." (4) "We supplied weapons when they were fighting Russia, too." So there's the anonymous "many people" claim combined with the "fake news" claim, two of Trump's favorite fallbacks. Then the claim Trump never saw the intel, which has been disproved, but a way to blame others. This claim he combined with the bravado that he would have done something tough to retaliate against Russia, had he but known. Then he asserts that Russia would have had no reason to put bounties on U.S. soldiers, which he follows with the argument that Russia had plenty of reason to kill U.S. soldiers because the U.S. had done something similar to Russia decades ago. Pathetic. And U.S. soldiers are dead. ~~~
~~~ Erin Banco & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "The U.S. State Department has issued warnings to Russia that there will be repercussions if Moscow pays
Trump, Stormtroopers & Scare Tactics
Trump Tosses the Whistle, Buys a Bullhorn. Annie Karni, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump vowed on Wednesday to protect suburbanites from low-income housing being built in their neighborhoods, making an appeal to white suburban voters by trying to stir up racist fears about affordable housing and the people who live there. In a tweet and later in remarks during a visit to Texas, Mr. Trump painted a false picture of the suburbs as under siege and ravaged by crime, using fear-mongering language.... Mr. Trump said on Twitter that 'people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream' would 'no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood.' The president was referring to the administration's decision last week to roll back an Obama-era program intended to combat racial segregation in suburban housing. The program expanded provisions in the Fair Housing Act to encourage diversification and 'foster inclusive communities.'" CNBC has a story here.
One of These Creeps Sounds Just Like the Other One:
~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "... the politics of division and race ring through the generations as President Trump tries to do what [Alabama Gov. George] Wallace could not. Comparisons between the two men stretch back to 2015 when Mr. Trump ran for the White House denouncing Mexicans illegally crossing the border as rapists and pledging to bar all Muslims from entering the country. But the parallels have become even more pronounced in recent weeks after the killing of George Floyd as Mr. Trump has responded to demonstrations by sending federal forces into the streets. The Wallace-style tactics were on display again on Wednesday as Mr. Trump stirred racist fears about low-income housing moving into the suburbs."
Jessica Wolfrom of the Washington Post: "President Trump said Wednesday that he would send the National Guard into Portland if the violence doesn't subside. The president's remarks come as federal officials are preparing to pull out of the city and de-escalate the fevered tensions between police and protesters. Just hours earlier, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) announced that the federal government had agreed to pull federal officers out of the city.... [Speaking in Midland Texas, Trump said,] 'And I told my people a little while ago, if they don't solve that problem locally very soon, we're going to send in the National Guard and get it solved very quickly, just like we did in Minneapolis and just like we will do in other places.'...." This is part of a liveblog & is way down the page. ~~~
~~~ ** 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 yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Maybe Chad just realized that teargassing (white) moms is not a good look: ~~~
Dani Blum of the New York Times: "In the flurry of videos and social media posts that have emerged from the protests in Portland, Ore., activist moms are everywhere. They sing lullabies. They link arm-in-arm, forming a human barricade between protesters and federal agents. Some wear respirators, gas masks and helmets. Some hand out sunflowers.... Since then, the Wall of Moms has continued to protest nightly in Portland, with hundreds of women dressed in yellow to identify themselves as participants turning out. A Wall of Dads has also joined the front lines of the protests, many carrying leaf blowers to redirect the tear gas that federal agents have deployed.... More recently, new chapters of Wall of Moms collectives have mobilized across the country, with several turning out at demonstrations on Saturday.... The Wall of Moms groups consist of predominantly white women who have garnered a swell of attention that Black mothers protesting in Portland for months did not receive, participants and organizers said in interviews."
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, the U.S. attorney general testified under oath before Congress, "I don't agree there is systemic racism in police departments generally in this country." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
Jeff Cox of CNBC: "The U.S. economy saw the biggest plunge in activity it has ever known in the second quarter, though it wasn't quite as bad as feared. Gross domestic product from April to June plunged 32.9%, according to the Commerce Department's first reading on the data released Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a drop of 34.7%. Sharp contractions in personal consumption, exports, inventories, investment and spending by state and local governments all converged to bring down GDP, which is the combined tally of all goods and services produced during the period." ~~~
~~~ Fred Imbert of CNBC: "The number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits ... for the week ending July 25 came in at 1.434 million.... This also marks the second consecutive week in which initial claims rise after declining for 15 straight weeks. It is also the 19th straight week in which initial claims total at least 1 million. Continuing claims -- which are composed of those receiving unemployment benefits for at least two straight weeks -- rose by 867,000 to 17.018 million. Data on continuing claims is delayed by one week." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates of economic & financial developments are here.
The Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here. The New York Times' live updates for Thursday are here.
"We Really Don't Care." -- Trump. Emily Cochrane & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "The prospects for a quick agreement between the Trump administration and congressional Democrats on a new round of aid for the ailing economy faded on Wednesday, as President Trump undercut his own party's efforts to negotiate a deal and a top White House official declared that a lifeline to unemployed workers would run out as scheduled at week's end. With negotiations barely started to find a middle ground between Republicans' $1 trillion plan and Democrats' $3 trillion package, Mr. Trump poured cold water on the entire enterprise, saying that he would prefer a bare-bones package that would send 'payments to the people' and protect them from being evicted. 'The rest of it, we're so far apart, we don't care,' Mr. Trump said before leaving the White House for an event in Texas. 'We really don't care.' The comments stoked questions about whether the president -- whose re-election prospects, and his party's hold on the Senate, could turn on the health of the economy -- was willing or able to find a compromise to inject one last dose of stimulus before he faced voters in November." ~~~
~~~ 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.... 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." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ 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." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Zeke Miller of the AP: "The Trump administration wants $377 million in the next coronavirus relief bill for a long-delayed modernization of the West Wing, but the timetable for construction is yet to be determined. The sum, included in the draft aid legislation from Senate Republicans, would also cover a new security screening facility for the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the White House complex. While lawmakers, including Republicans, have balked at the administration's request for more than $1 billion in the bill for a new FBI headquarters in Washington, the West Wing plan has drawn relatively little scrutiny. The administration says the White House work would 'increase the White House campus's ability to detect, mitigate and alleviate external security and pandemic threats."
If It Talks Like a Chicken & Clucks Like a Chicken.... Tax Axelrod of the Hill: "Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on Thursday declined to take a definitive stance on whether people should take hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the coronavirus, instead saying that decision should be made between a doctor and a patient. 'We had data that when this drug was combined with others, there was some risk associated with that. But the question you're asking me is a decision between a doctor and a patient,' Hahn said on NBC's 'Today' show.... Hydroxychloroquine was thrust back into the news this week after President Trump doubled down on his support for the drug in spite of medical evidence questioning its efficacy as a treatment for COVID-19 and raising concerns over possible side effects."
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." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ 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." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Oh, Update. The Mask Made Me Sick. -- Gohmert. Madeline Charbonneau of the Daily Beast: "Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on Wednesday suggested that he contracted coronavirus because he wore a mask more frequently in recent days. 'I can't help but think that if I hadn't been wearing a mask so much in the last 10 days or so, I really wonder if I would have gotten it,' he said in an interview with The American Independent. In a later statement on Twitter, he explained that he often touches his face while wearing his mask to make it comfortable. 'I can't help but wonder if that put some germs in the mask,' he said." ~~~
Kevin McCarthy accidentally calls Louie Gohmert "Congressman COVID" pic.twitter.com/UcQcvHtEU9
— The Recount (@therecount) July 29, 2020
~~~ Jerry Lambe of Law & Crime: "Following reports that Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) tested positive for the novel COVID-19 coronavirus, one of the lawmaker's aides contacted Politico journalist Jake Sherman via email saying that the Texas Congressman repeatedly 'berated' staffers for wearing masks in the office. Less than an hour after Sherman posted a tweet with the text of the aide's email, he said he had received a 'flood' of additional emails from other GOP staffers making similar claims." ~~~
~~~ Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "Fresh off his coronavirus diagnosis, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) boasted to Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday night that he is 'all in' on taking controversial anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and thanked the pro-Trump star for his promotion of the unproven drug. The ultra-conservative firebrand left his fellow lawmakers 'pissed' over news that he contracted COVID-19, especially since the Texas congressman has largely refused to wear a mask on Capitol Hill and pushed his coronavirus denialism on aides. Politico, for instance, reported on Wednesday that one staffer claims Gohmert demanded a 'full staff' in the office and people were 'berated for wearing masks.'" ~~~
~~~ Cristina Marcos of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Wednesday that masks will be mandatory on the House floor, after a GOP lawmaker who has at times flouted the health recommendation [Louis Gohmert] tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the day. 'Members and staff will be required to wear masks at all times in the hall of the House except that members may remove their masks temporarily when recognized,' Pelosi said from the House floor. Pelosi warned that lawmakers and staff without masks will not be permitted to enter the House chamber and risk removal by the Sergeant at Arms if they don't comply." ~~~
~~~ Update. From the Washington Post's live coronavirus updates for Thursday, linked above. @6:46 am ET: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has directed that, starting Thursday morning, all House members and staff on her side of the Capitol complex must wear face coverings, with very limited exceptions, and will be asked to leave if they don't. The directive, distributed late Wednesday by the House sergeant at arms and attending physician, expands on a requirement announced earlier in the day by Pelosi that members must wear masks while appearing on the House floor." ~~~
~~~ Steve M. checks some winger sites to see what their readers think of Congressman Covid's diagnosis. Well, it's a liberal plot & a total fake.
Daniel Lippman & Tina Nguyen of Politico: "The co-founder of conservative student group Turning Point USA, Bill Montgomery, has died from complications of the coronavirus, according to two friends of his. Montgomery, who started it in 2012 with young conservative star Charlie Kirk, died at the age of 80 on Tuesday from Covid-19.... In two previous episodes of his podcast, March 16 and April 23, Kirk stated that he believed that the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions should self-quarantine. Outside of that, however, he has questioned the vast majority of public health proposals to limit community spread. On the Sunday edition of his podcast, Kirk said: 'Do not force me to wear a mask, it's that simple. I'm not gonna do it, I'm not.'"
Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "The leaders of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google took a brutal political lashing Wednesday as Democrats and Republicans confronted the executives for wielding their market power to crush competitors and amass data, customers and sky-high profits. The rare interrogation played out over the course of a nearly six-hour hearing, with lawmakers on the House's top antitrust subcommittee coming armed with millions of documents, hundreds of hours of interviews and in some cases the once-private messages of Silicon Valley's elite chiefs. They said it showed some in the tech sector had become too big and powerful, threatening rivals, consumers and, in some cases, even democracy itself.... Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.)..., the chairman of the antitrust panel, opened a congressional investigation of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google last year, aiming to explore whether the tech industry's most influential quartet of companies had attained their status through potentially anti-competitive means. In response, the four chief executives -- Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Apple's Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google&'s Sundar Pichai -- took the witness stand to fiercely defend their businesses Wednesday as rags-to-riches success stories, made possible only through American ingenuity and the sustained support of their ever-growing customer bases." ~~~
~~~ 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 -- appear[ed] 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 liveblogged the hearing at the linked page. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of the big-tech hearing are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Thanks to PD Pepe for the link.
Elections 2020
AND He's Off! John Wagner & Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: “President Trump on Thursday floated the prospect of delaying the November election, as he ramped up his attacks on mail-in voting, claiming without evidence that its widespread use would be a 'catastrophic disaster' that could lead to fraudulent results. 'With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history,' Trump tweeted. 'It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???' The U.S. Constitution gives the power to regulate the 'time, place and manner' of elections to the U.S. House and Senate, with Congress also empowered to alter the rules. Nowhere is the president granted such power. In addition, the Constitution spells out a hard end to a president's term on Jan. 20 in the year following a presidential election." CNN has a story here.
Shane Goldmacher & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "At fund-raising events where he has pulled in more than $24 million for Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s campaign in the past two months, former President Barack Obama has privately unleashed on President Trump to party donors, bringing up past accusations of Mr. Trump's' assaulting women' and warning of his efforts to push 'nativist, racist, sexist' fears and resentments.... Mr. Obama has laid out the stakes of 2020 in forceful fashion. He has urged support for Mr. Biden, his former vice president, while worrying about the state of American democracy itself, even making an oblique reference to Nazi Germany, according to notes made from recordings of Mr. Obama's remarks, donors and others who have been on the calls."
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. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Kevin Stone of KTAR Phoenix: “A banned former Democratic volunteer was arrested for arson Wednesday in the fire that destroyed the party's Maricopa County headquarters in Phoenix last week, authorities said. Matthew Silvanus Egler, 29, was booked on one count of arson of an occupied structure, a class 2 felony, in connection to the blaze set early Friday morning in central Phoenix. Egler had been banned from volunteering at the Democratic office 'due to the nature of his previous behavior,' according to a joint press release from the Phoenix fire and police departments. He claimed responsibility for the fire on social media and threatened more violence, according to the release." CCTV also caught Egler at the scene.
Pete Williams & Dartunorro Clark of NBC News: "Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was admitted to the hospital Wednesday to undergo a routine non-surgical procedure to correct a bile stent, a court spokesperson told NBC News.... She underwent a minimally invasive procedure Wednesday at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York to revise a bile duct stent that was originally placed in August 2019, the court said in a statement. 'According to her doctors, stent revisions are common occurrences, and the procedure ... was done to minimize the risk of future infection,' the court spokesperson said. 'The Justice is resting comfortably and expects to be released from the hospital by the end of the week.'"
Marcia Dunn of the AP: "The biggest, most sophisticated Mars rover ever built -- a car-size vehicle bristling with cameras, microphones, drills and lasers -- blasted off for the red planet Thursday as part of an ambitious, long-range project to bring the first Martian rock samples back to Earth to be analyzed for evidence of ancient life. NASA's Perseverance rode a mighty Atlas V rocket into a clear morning sky in the world's third and final Mars launch of the summer. China and the United Arab Emirates got a head start last week, but all three missions should reach their destination in February after a journey of seven months and 300 million miles...." ~~~
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JOINED AT THE HIP
George Wallace only dreamed of making that racist dent; Trump has succeeded. As creepy as it is to listen to the two, it's almost comical the way Fatty fuels the flames–-his cadence similar to a sing-songy reading of a tall tale. One could say––and why not––that Wallace meant business while Trump is acting––putting on a play–-entertaining an audience of like-minded. That's not to say, however, that he doesn't harbor evil doings, just that he's so lacking in reality he can't help the play acting.
Mary Trump tells us that this uncle of hers from the very beginning was Daddy's favorite ( I betcha because Donnie was dumb while the other children has some brains and fought their father on many issues–-poor Fred Jr. became an alcoholic.) So Fred Sr. took Donald in hand and handed him the kind of scam filled power play that we see displayed today and through the years.
Mary thinks Putin has taken the place of Daddy for Fatty. We certainly have seen the relationship between these two something to be alarmed about. "Putin's puppet" is an apt description. The latest decision by Trump to reduce American military from Germany plays right in the hands of Putin who wants a weakened Germany. Now you could argue Fatty did this because he's pissed at Merkel and the E.U.––he's that stupid. But we have a long list of incidences that prove there is something that facilitates Fatty's infatuation. My guess––Putin has something over him––something "bad" that he's using as a cudgel to quell any inference in the way Putin wants to work. We may never discover what that is but when someone says "Sit!" and the dog sits, we can be pretty sure he's been well trained––with treats.
Here's a good overview (with video and transcript) on the Masters of the Universe" hearing yesterday.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/house-subcommittee-grills-tech-ceos-over-possible-anti-competitive-practices
Flags are at half-mast all across Uzbeki-beki-beki-stan-stan today.
Not sure of web linkage stuff, but on the Wapo.com first page but Clinton is giving his eulogy for John Lewis. Lewis was a guy who showed up into the arena and inspired those around him.
Party of Fiscal Responsibility and their little king record biggest plunge in GDP in the history of the country.
Fatty, the Master of the Deal, super-duper business guy and “self-made gajillionaire” (chortle, guffaw, slap knee) with his reliance on ignorance, gut-feelings (aka backed up bowels), and reliance on “experts” who espouse alien demon sperm theories and who say things he and his idiot spawn like to hear, has driven the US economy into an abyss, set the car on fire, thrown out the map, and is now sitting in his soiled diaper crying that no one appreciates his genius.
Fatty lies, but figures can provide at least a semblance of accuracy as to the relative effectiveness of the current administration* and its congressional sycophants and fellow ignoramuses. So here’s their report card:
“Gross domestic product from April to June plunged 32.9% on an annualized basis, according to the Commerce Department’s first reading on the data released Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a drop of Gross domestic product from April to June plunged 32.9% on an annualized basis, according to the Commerce Department’s first reading on the data released Thursday.”
Got it? A 33% drop in GDP in a single quarter. Worse than the Decider’s recession and the previous Republican induced Great Depression.
Party of Fiscal Responsibility strikes again.
And yet they all leave town while letting millions twist in the wind because they can’t figure out the best way to help their billionaire pals while sticking it to the poor and middle class. Again.
Meanwhile Fatty and his (not an) economist, Larry (laffer boy) Kudlow continue to jabber about how great the economy is doing. Fatty even sez things are great because there are places where there’s no coronavirus, must be referring to that hole under the third saguaro cactus from the left in Death Valley. Well, heck, donnie, sounds peachy. Things are great in Trump World.
But back in the real world:
“ Neither the Great Depression nor the Great Recession nor any of the more than three dozen economic slumps over the past two centuries have ever caused such a sharp drain over so short a period of time.”
The report goes on to note the effects of the pandemic, but declines to clearly state why and how those effects have been amplified and assisted by Fatty and his acolytes in asininity.
Four more years? Hey, by then the GDP will be measured in negative integers.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/30/us-gdp-q2-2020-first-reading.html
AK stirred the pot by mentioning Grover Norquist yesterday. Norquist is a Cheney-like rat whose actions are shit wherever they are located: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-06/grover-norquist-s-anti-spending-group-took-small-business-relief. The fact that this creep qualifies and takes government assistance is proof of his hollow beliefs and even hollower words.
Digby has transcribed the John Lewis essay. Here's the link:
https://digbysblog.net/2020/07/a-final-moment-of-grace-and-inspiration/
How about we expand the election? Have the ability to go in to the county/city elections office and cast a ballot starting say, the first of September, Monday through Saturday business hours until the 31st of October. This should eliminate long lines and allow people who don't trust mail in ballots to get their vote counted.